Shunkan

Japanese: 俊寛 - しゅんかん

Years of birth: unknown. A monk from the end of the Heian period. A close attendant monk to Emperor Goshirakawa, and executive officer of Hossho-ji Temple. A grandson of Murakami Genji's Minamoto Masatoshi, and the son of Kitera Hoin Kanga. He succeeded his father Kanga and began to appear as executive officer of Hossho-ji Temple around the Jin'an period (1166-1169), taking charge of the vast Hossho-ji estate and handling Buddhist rites related to the temple. In 1174, he also performed memorial services for the halls of Hachijo-in, and made his son Shungen Hokyo. Perhaps because he had served Emperor Goshirakawa closely for many years, he became increasingly dissatisfied with the Taira clan, and in 1177, together with the Emperor's close aides Fujiwara Narichika and Saiko, he plotted to overthrow the Taira clan at his mountain villa in Shishigatani (although the Tale of the Heike states that this is Shunkan's mountain villa, the Gukansho states that it was Seiken, the successor to the head priest of Hossho-ji Temple after Shunkan), but he was betrayed by Tada (Minamoto) Yukitsuna, and was immediately pursued and captured by Taira no Kiyomori, and exiled to Iwo Jima in Satsuma Province (Kagoshima Prefecture) (the Shishigatani Incident). His movements after exile completely disappear from records, so we must rely on stories. The Tale of the Heike goes into great detail about what happened to Shunkan after that, but because he is placed in a particularly tragic situation in the tale, Shunkan plays the role of a supporting character in the tale of a visit to the underworld in the legend of the king, and it is quite questionable how much of the story is true. However, since "Gukansho" states that "Shunkan died again," it is likely that he died in exile. Although his true identity is not very clear, the tragic circumstances of his life have made him the subject of Noh, Joruri, Kabuki, and other plays, and he has also been featured in modern dramas.

(Mamiko Kimura)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

生年：生没年不詳
平安末期の僧。後白河院の近習僧,法勝寺執行。村上源氏源雅俊の孫で木寺法印寛雅の子。父寛雅のあとを襲い仁安(1166～69)ごろから法勝寺執行としてその名がみえ,膨大な法勝寺領を管掌し,院関係の仏事を勤めた。承安4(1174)年には八条院の御堂供養なども行い,子の俊玄を法橋にしている。長年後白河院の側近く仕えていたためか平氏に対する不満が募り,治承1(1177)年院近臣の藤原成親や西光らと共に鹿ケ谷の山荘(『平家物語』では俊寛の山荘とあるが,『愚管抄』は俊寛の次の法勝寺執行静賢のものとする)で平氏打倒計画を企てるが多田(源)行綱の裏切りにあい,たちまち平清盛によって追捕され,薩摩国(鹿児島県)硫黄島に配流された(鹿ケ谷事件)。配流後の動向については記録類から一切姿を消してしまうため物語類に頼らざるをえない。『平家物語』では俊寛のその後について非常に詳細であるが,物語中の俊寛はことさら悲惨な状況におかれることによって有王説話の冥界訪問譚の脇役としての役割を負い,どこまで真実が含まれているのかかなり疑問である。しかし『愚管抄』に「カシコニテ又俊寛ハ死ニケリ」とあるので,配流地での死去はほぼ間違いなかろう。実像はあまり明確でないが,その境遇の悲劇性の故に能や浄瑠璃,歌舞伎などの主題ともなり,また現代劇にも取りあげられている。

(木村真美子)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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