Naozane Kumagai

A military commander from the end of the Heian period to the early Kamakura period. The second son of Naosada. His mother was the younger sister of the powerful Musashi no Kami Naomitsu. His posthumous Buddhist name was Rensho. He initially served Naomitsu, but when he served as Naomitsu's deputy governor in Kyoto, he also served Taira Tomomori, the provincial governor of Musashi no Kuni. As a result, Naomitsu seized the Kumagaya district of Musashi no Kuni (Kumagaya City, Saitama Prefecture) that had been given to Naosada and Naozane. From then on, Naozane aimed to become independent from Naomitsu. In the Battle of Ishibashiyama in 1180 (Jisho 4), he joined Obaka Kagechika and attacked Minamoto no Yoritomo, but Naozane, sensing the situation in the eastern provinces, followed Yoritomo and made a distinguished contribution to the pursuit of Satake Hideyoshi, eventually receiving the relief of Kumagaya-go from Yoritomo. He then played an active role in the pursuit of the Taira clan. It is well known that he became a monk after defeating Taira no Atsumori in the Battle of Ichinotani, but in fact, he became a monk in 1192 (Kenkyu 3) after becoming angry at the ruling that Yoritomo was about to make during a dispute over Sakai (border) between him and Naomitsu, which he believed to be unjust. Naozane's actions, along with the episode in which he was appointed as the target bearer for the yabusame horseback archery event at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in 1587 (Bun'ei 3), but he firmly refused, claiming that "all samurai retainers are just subordinates," well illustrate the attitude of small samurai from the eastern provinces who sought independence by becoming samurai retainers.

[Tetsuo Suzuki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

平安末期から鎌倉初期の武将。直貞(なおさだ)の次男。母は武蔵(むさし)国の豪族久下権守直光(くげごんのかみなおみつ)の妹。法名は蓮生(れんしょう)。当初は直光に仕える身であったが、直光の代官として京都大番を務めたおりに、武蔵国の国司平知盛(とももり)に仕えた。そのため直光は、直貞、直実に与えた武蔵国熊谷(くまがや)郷（埼玉県熊谷市）を押領(おうりょう)。以後、直実は直光からの自立を目ざしていく。1180年（治承4）石橋山の戦いには、大庭景親(おおばかげちか)に属して、源頼朝(よりとも)を攻めたが、東国の状況を察した直実は、頼朝に従い佐竹秀義(さたけひでよし)追討に功をたて、ついに頼朝より熊谷郷の安堵(あんど)を受ける。その後、平氏追討に活躍する。一ノ谷の戦いで平敦盛(あつもり)を討ち出家した話は有名であるが、じつは92年（建久3）直光との堺(さかい)（境）相論にあたり、頼朝の下そうとする判決が不当なものだとして怒り出家したものである。この直実の行動は、87年（文治3）鶴岡八幡宮(つるがおかはちまんぐう)の流鏑馬(やぶさめ)に歩行(かち)役である的立役(まとたてやく)に任じられたことに対して、「御家人(ごけにん)はみな傍輩(ほうばい)なり」と主張し、断固拒否したというエピソードとともに、御家人身分に列することで自立化を図ろうとした東国の小武士の姿勢をよく示している。

［鈴木哲雄］

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