Soga Tokimune

Soga Tokimune (Japanese: 曾我時致, 1174 - June 29, 1193) was a Japanese samurai in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. He and his brother Soga Sukenari are known for being the perpetrators of the Revenge of the Soga Brothers incident. He is a central character in noh and kabuki Sogamono plays, which are based on the revenge. He is also known as Soga Gorō.

Life

Early life and family Tokimune was born Kawazu Hako'ō (河津 筥王) in 1174, the son of Kawazu Sukeyasu, a gōzoku in Izu Province. He had an elder brother, Ichimanmaru (later Sukenari). Through his father, the eldest son of Itō Sukechika, he descended from the Itō clan, a branch of the Kudō clan, and through Fujiwara no Korekimi (727–789), ultimately the Fujiwara clan, a powerful family of Japanese regents and court nobility.

In 1176, when Hako'ō was two years old, his biological father, Kawazu Sukeyasu, was killed by Kudō Suketsune, who accidentally killed him during an assassination attempt on Itō Sukechika. Suketsune and Sukechika had been quarreling over the inheritance of land. After Sukeyasu's death, Hako'ō's mother remarried to Soga Sukenobu, the lord of Soga Manor in Sagami Province (in present-day Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture). Sukenobu became the stepfather of Hako'ō and Ichimanmaru, and the brothers became members of the Soga clan. The Soga clan was founded by Soga Sukeie, an eighth generation descendant of Taira no Yoshifumi, and they descended from the Kanmu Heishi line of the Taira clan through the Chiba clan, making them direct descendants of the 8th century Emperor Kanmu. Hako'ō and his brother are said to have mourned for their biological father.

The Soga brothers had a difficult upbringing, and the elder brother Sukenari took over the Soga family. Hako'ō held his coming-of-age ceremony (genpuku) at Tokimasa's mansion with Tokimasa as his guardian (eboshi-oya). Tokimasa bestowed the kanji "toki" (時) in his name upon Hako'ō, giving him the imina name Tokimune. Tokimasa would be the greatest supporter of the Soga brothers in the midst of their hardships, and the Soga brothers never forgot their father's vengeance. according to Soga Monogatari, Sukenari was armed with a shakudō tachi sword, and Tokimune with a hyōgogusari tachi sword and a copper sasuga sword.

The next day, Tokimune was called in for interrogating about the motives of the massacre. Tokimune insisted Yoritomo personally question him. He gave a detailed explanation about the revenge and its motives. Yoritomo was impressed by Tokimune's bravery, and even expressed his desire to make him his retainer. In Soga Monogatari, Tokimune is said to have been brought to tears after being asked if his mother knew about the revenge, after which Yoritomo and the audience were also brought to tears. Although at first Yoritomo considered sparing his life, Tokimune was executed that day on June 29, 1193, at the request of Suketsune's son, Itō Suketoki. Furthermore, before that, Tokimasa had established a strong relationship with the Soga brothers, and especially with Tokimune, being his guardian during genpuku and bestowing one of the kanji in his name to Tokimune.

Hiroyuki Miura, along with many others have debated that it was through Tokimasa's strong relation to the Soga brothers that led Tokimune to attack the shogun.

Graves The Soga brothers' grave at Soga Hachiman Shrine, in Kamiide, Fujinomiya, Shizuoka PrefectureThere are the graves of Tokimune and Sukenari at Soga Hachiman Shrine in Kamiide, Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture. There is another set of graves located at Jōsen-ji temple of the Soga Manor (in present-day Sogayatsu, Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture) where the brothers grew up. These two gravesites are the two original gravesites of the Soga brothers. However, there are numerous other graves located around Japan dedicated to the Soga brothers' spirits, which are seen as goryō (vengeful ghosts). It is said that two brothers called Oniōmaru and Danzaburō served Tokimune's father Sukeyasu, and Oniōmaru protected Tokimune and Danzaburō protected Sukenari. The two are said to have continued their service under the Soga brothers after Sukeyasu was killed. It is said that after the Soga brothers were killed, the Oniō brothers buried the Soga brothers' bones in Yamaguwa, the Oniō brothers' home. The graves dedicated to the Soga brothers remain at the Oniō family cemetery.

Family

Father: Kawazu Sukeyasu Stepfather: Soga Sukenobu Mother: Yokoyama Tokishige's daughter Brothers: Soga Sukenari Hara Kojirō Risshi Stepbrothers: Soga Suketsuna Children: Kawazu Nobuyuki

In popular culture

Filmography

Soga Kyōdai Fuji no Yashū (曽我兄弟 富士の夜襲) (1956) Toei, Soga Tokimune portrayed by Yorozuya Kinnosuke

TV series

Kusa Moeru (1979) NHK Taiga drama, Soga Tokimune portrayed by Yasuyoshi Hara The 13 Lords of the Shogun (2022) NHK Taiga drama, Soga Tokimune portrayed by Shunsuke Tanaka

Theater

Soga Tokimune appears in noh and kabuki in the Sogamono plays, which are based on the Revenge of the Soga Brothers incident.

"Soga Kyōgen" (曽我狂言) is a story about the Revenge of Soga brothers. "Soga Moyōtateshi no Gosho-zome" (曽我綉侠御所染) is a story about the Soga brothers and the protagonist Gosho no Gorozō.

Art Soga Tokimune has been the subject of several ukiyo-e paintings. The most famous include the following:

Soga Gorō and Gosho no Gorōmaru (1794) by Sharaku Warriors Trembling with Courage: Soga Tokimune and Gosho no Gorōmaru (1886) by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi Buei Moyu Kagami by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Gallery