Hiromoto Oe - Hiromoto Oe

Japanese: 大江広元 - おおえのひろもと

Year of death: 16 July 1225
Year of birth: 1148
A leader in the founding period of the Kamakura Shogunate. He had been known by the surname Nakahara for a long time, but in 1216 he was allowed to change his surname and took it to Oe. He listed Nakahara Hiroki and Oe Koremitsu as his fathers, but it is difficult to distinguish between his real father and adoptive father. There are various theories about his real father, including Hiroki, Koremitsu, and Fujiwara Mitsuyoshi. Born in Myotsu-no-Mikoto, he gained experience in the imperial court as a lower-ranking aristocrat who worked exclusively as a shogunate official (administrative affairs) before turning to become a Shogunate leader in his mid-30s. With the outbreak of the Genpei Civil War, his elder brother Nakahara Chikayoshi was in Minamoto no Yoritomo's camp from an early stage, and Hiromoto is thought to have descended to Kamakura shortly after the Taira clan fled the capital in July 1183. Yoritomo recognized his talent for writing and appointed him as the head of the Komonsho and the Mandokoro. However, he was not just a practical man. In 1185, he served as a "Shinjuku" (a person who conveyed the appeals of the vassals to Yoritomo) (for example, Minamoto no Yoshitsune's famous "Koshigoe letter" was addressed to Hiromoto), and solidified his position as a close aide to Yoritomo. In the same year, he gained Yoritomo's trust by proposing policies for the shugo and jito positions, and he began to demonstrate his abilities as a leader in both name and reality. During the Bunji and Kenkyu eras (late 1180s to early 1190s), he was particularly used in negotiations with the Imperial Court, and stayed in Kyoto as Yoritomo's envoy almost every year, working to build the foundation for relations between the Imperial Court and the shogunate. Looking at the rankings within the leadership in the list of names from 1199 (a council of thirteen), Hiromoto is third after Hojo Tokimasa and Hojo Yoshitoki. After Yoritomo's death, the shogunate was shaken by internal strife for a while, but he consistently maintained a position of cooperation with Hojo Yoshitoki, supporting Yoshitoki's hegemony. During the Jokyu War in 1221, he advocated an aggressive attack on Kyoto, contributing to the shogunate's victory. After serving Yoritomo, he was appointed to the positions of Inaba no Kami, Myohō Hakase, Saemon-taiju, Daizen-taifu, Sobe-no-kami, and Mutsu no Kami, and was given the rank of Shoshi no Ge. His descendants were divided into the Nagai, Mori, and Nawa clans, and inherited the position of Shogunate Councilor. <References> Mezaki Tokuei, "On the Officials in the Early Days of the Kamakura Shogunate" (Miura Kobunka, No. 15)

(Kawachi Shosuke)

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

Japanese:

没年：嘉禄1.6.10(1225.7.16)
生年：久安4(1148)
鎌倉幕府創立期の首脳。長く中原姓を称していたが,建保4(1216)年に改姓を許され,大江姓に変わった。みずから中原広季と大江維光の2人を父と記しているが,実父,養父の区別はつけにくい。系図類にも実父は広季,維光,藤原光能などの諸説に分かれる。明経生から出身し,外記(局務)を専職とする下級貴族として朝廷実務の経験を積んだのち,30歳代半ばから幕府首脳への途に転身した。源平の内乱の勃発とともに兄の中原親能が早くから源頼朝の陣営にあり,広元も寿永2(1183)年7月の平家都落ちののちまもなく,鎌倉に下ったと思われる。頼朝に文筆の才を見込まれ,公文所別当および政所別当に取り立てられた。しかし,単なる実務家ではなかった。文治1(1185)年には御家人らの訴えを頼朝に取り次ぐ「申次」を務め(たとえば源義経の有名な「腰越状」も広元宛である),頼朝の側近としての地位を固める。そして同年,守護・地頭政策に関する献策により頼朝の信頼を高め,名実ともに首脳としての実力を発揮するようになった。文治・建久年間(1180年代後半～90年代前半)には特に対朝廷交渉に起用され,ほぼ連年,頼朝の使節として京都に滞在し,朝廷・幕府関係の基礎作りに働いた。首脳部内の序列を正治1(1199)年の名簿(十三人合議制)にみれば,広元は北条時政,北条義時に次ぐ第3位である。頼朝の死後,しばらく幕府は内部抗争に揺れ動いたが,一貫して北条義時と連携する立場を守り,義時の覇権を支えた。承久3(1221)年の承久の乱に際しては,積極的な京攻めを主張して,幕府の勝利に貢献している。頼朝に仕えて以後,因幡守,明法博士,左衛門大尉,大膳大夫,掃部頭,陸奥守などに任官し,正四位下に叙された。子孫は長井,毛利,那波などの諸氏に分かれ,幕府評定衆の職を受け継いだ。<参考文献>目崎徳衛「鎌倉幕府草創期の吏僚について」(『三浦古文化』15号)

(河内祥輔)

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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