Yoshishige Nitta

A military commander from the end of the Heian period to the beginning of the Kamakura period. Founder of the Nitta clan. His father was Yoshikuni, the son of Minamoto no Yoshiie, and his mother was the daughter of Kozuke no Suke Atsumoto. In 1157 (Hogen 2), he was appointed as a subordinate official of Nitta Sho in Kozuke Province (Gunma Prefecture) by the lord Fujiwara Tadamasa. He inherited this landlord position from his maternal grandfather through his mother, and it is believed that the manor was donated, and his father Yoshikuni is said to have lived in the manor. Under the Heike government, he worked hard to secure his lordship while allied with and opposed the neighboring clans of Fujiwara Hidesato's lineage, such as the Ashikaga clan, and worked hard to develop it by placing his descendants in villages and towns within the manor. Because he joined Minamoto no Yoritomo's uprising in 80 (Jisho 4) late, he was not highly esteemed by the Kamakura shogunate, but he maintained a hidden influence in Kozuke, and his descendants, such as Yamana, Satomi, and Nitta, each flourished as vassals.

[Toyohiko Fukuda]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

平安末期・鎌倉初期の武将。新田氏の祖。父は源義家(よしいえ)の子義国(よしくに)、母は上野介敦基(こうずけのすけあつもと)の娘。1157年（保元2）領家藤原忠雅(ただまさ)から上野国（群馬県）新田荘(しょう)の下司職(げししき)に任じられた。この地主職は母を通じて外祖父から継承し、荘園として寄進されたものと推察され、父義国も当荘に住んでいたと伝えられる。平氏政権下では、近隣の足利(あしかが)氏などの藤原秀郷(ひでさと)流の諸氏と、連合あるいは対立しながら領主権の確保に腐心し、子孫を荘内の村郷に配置して開発に努めた。80年（治承4）の源頼朝(よりとも)挙兵に遅れて参向したこともあって、鎌倉幕府では重んじられなかったが、上野では隠然たる勢力を保持し、子孫は山名(やまな)、里見(さとみ)、新田など、それぞれに御家人(ごけにん)として発展した。

［福田豊彦］

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