Chiba Tsunetane

Japanese: 千葉常胤 - ちば・つねたね

Year of death: 24th March 1st of the Kennin Era (28th April 1201)
Year of birth: 1118.6.14 (Gen'ei 1.5.24)
A vassal of the early Kamakura period. He was the eldest son of Tsuneshige. His mother was the daughter of Taira Masamoto. In February 1135, Tsuneshige passed on the Soma Mikuriya in Kazusa Province to him. However, due to the intervention of the provincial governor Fujiwara Chikamichi and Minamoto no Yoshitomo, his control over the area was unstable. He joined the army of Minamoto no Yoshitomo in the Hogen Rebellion, which is thought to be the result of him forming a vassal relationship with Yoshitomo in order to maintain control over the area. However, after Yoshitomo was defeated in the Heiji Rebellion, Soma Mikuriya was returned to the possession of the Satake clan of the neighboring Hitachi province, and Fujiwara Chikamichi's grandson, Chikamasa, who lived in Senda-sho in Shimousa, allied with the Taira clan and expanded his influence, so the Chiba clan's territory was limited to only Chiba-sho, their main territory, as well as Kokubunji in Katsushika County and Sakai-go in Yamabekita County in Kazusa Province. Under the Taira government, Fujiwara Chikamasa, who had a double marriage relationship with the Taira, controlled the Hara and Kanehara clans, who were also part of the Taira clan of both sides, like the Chiba clan, and further oppressed the Chiba clan. Under these circumstances, when Minamoto no Yoritomo raised an army against the Taira clan in Izu in August 1180, the entire clan responded vigorously, killing the Shimousa deputy of the Taira clan and defeating Fujiwara no Chikamasa's army with the help of Kazusa Hirotsune. Later, he led his clan in the pursuit of Kiso Yoshinaka and the Taira clan and joined Minamoto no Noriyori's army, and even after the Battle of Dannoura, he remained in Kyushu as the Chinzei Shugonin and handled the aftermath of the war. During this time, Kazusa Hirotsune was killed by Yoritomo in December 1183, and he effectively established his position as the head of the Taira clan of both sides. In August 1187, he went to Kyoto to quell the disturbances in the capital, and in the fifth year of the same year, he marched as the Tokaido Taishogun when pursuing the Oshu Fujiwara clan. Due to these achievements, he acquired many territories in various places, including Shimousa and Kazusa, as well as Satsuma, Hizen, Buzen, and Mutsu, and was appointed as the guardian of Shimousa. He was extremely trusted by Yoritomo, and as the head of his retainers, he was the first to receive the awards for his achievements during the Oshu War. It was also customary for Tsunetane to be the first to perform the New Year's bowl-of-rice ceremony (a ceremony in which a bowl of rice is presented along with a gift). He is revered in later generations as the man who established the foundation of the Kamakura Shogunate and the development of the Chiba clan, and the descendants of the Chiba clan and the Taira clan of both countries use the character "Tane" in their names to bond with their clan. <References> Toyohiko Fukuda, "Chiba Tsunetane"; Minoru Noguchi, "The Establishment and Development of the Bando Samurai Group"; and "The Powerful Clan of Kamakura I"

(Minoru Noguchi)

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

Japanese:

没年：建仁1.3.24(1201.4.28)
生年：元永1.5.24(1118.6.14)
鎌倉前期の御家人。常重の嫡子。母は平政幹の娘。長承4(1135)年2月,常重から上総国相馬御厨を伝領。しかし,こののち国守藤原親通や源義朝の介入によって支配権は安定しなかった。保元の乱に源義朝の軍に属したのは,在地支配権維持のため,義朝と主従関係を結んだ結果とみられる。しかし,平治の乱で義朝が滅亡すると,相馬御厨は隣国常陸の佐竹氏の領有に帰し,また藤原親通の孫で下総千田庄に居住していた親正が平家と結んで勢力を拡大したため,千葉氏の所領は本領千葉庄のほか葛飾郡国分寺・上総国山辺北郡堺郷にすぎなくなった。平氏政権下,平家と二重の姻戚関係を結んだ藤原親正は千葉氏と同じ両総平氏一族の原・金原氏などを配下におさめ,いよいよ千葉氏を圧迫した。こうした状況下で,治承4(1180)年8月,伊豆で源頼朝が反平家の兵を挙げると,一族をあげて積極的にこれに応じ,平家方の下総目代を討ち,上総広常の来援をえて藤原親正の軍にも勝利した。その後,木曾義仲・平家追討には一族を率いて源範頼の軍に属し,壇ノ浦合戦後も鎮西守護人として九州にとどまり,戦後処理に当たった。この間,寿永2(1183)年12月に上総広常が頼朝に誅殺されたことにより,実質的に両総平氏族長の地位も確立している。文治3(1187)年8月,上洛して京中の狼藉を鎮め,同5年の奥州藤原氏追討の際は東海道大将軍として出陣した。これらの勲功によって,下総・上総はもとより,薩摩,肥前,豊前,陸奥などの各地に多くの所領を獲得し,下総守護に補された。頼朝の信頼はきわめて厚く,御家人の筆頭として奥州合戦には勲功の賞を最前に拝領した。また年頭の椀飯沙汰(祝儀の品を添えて椀飯を献ずる儀礼)も常胤が最初に務めるのが恒例であった。鎌倉幕府の草創と千葉氏発展の基礎を固めた人物として後世においても尊崇され,千葉氏や両総平氏一族の子孫は「胤」の字を名の通字に用いて同族内の紐帯とした。<参考文献>福田豊彦『千葉常胤』,野口実『坂東武士団の成立と発展』,同『鎌倉の豪族Ⅰ』

(野口実)

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

<<: Chihaya

>>: Haircut - Chihatsu