Kumagai Naozane

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kumagai Naozane

Kumagai no Jirō Naozane (熊谷次郎直実, Kumagai no Jirō Naozane^?) (March 24, 1141 - December 4, 1208) was a famous retainer of the Japanese clan of Minamoto during the Heian period of Japanese history. Kumagai is particularly known for his exploits during the Genpei War, in which the Minamoto fought the Taira clan for dominance of Japan, and most specifically for killing the young warrior Taira no Atsumori at the battle of Ichi-no-tani in 1184. Atsumori's death and the circumstances surrounding it went on to be fictionalized and retold in numerous forms, including the Heike Monogatari epic, a number of Noh plays, and in the jōruri and kabuki theatres as well.

Though generally regarded to have been called "Kumagai" in actual historical fact, Naozane is almost always called "Kumagae" in theatrical productions and other fictionalized works.

[edit] Birth and origins

Kumagai was born in Kumagai village, in the Ōsato District of Musashi Province. He lost his father at a young age, and was raised by his maternal uncle, Hisaka Naomitsu. When Minamoto no Yoritomo first raised his army, Kumagai sided with the Taira clan. However, he soon switched allegiances to the Minamoto clan. Kumagai's most well-known battle was at Ichi no Tani, where he fought the Taira warrior Taira no Atsumori.

[edit] Atsumori and Ichi-no-tani

During the battle of Ichi-no-Tani, Atsumori and Kumagai met on the beach at Suma, as the main Minamoto force approached and the Taira fled to their ships. As it is told in the monogatari epic, and in most of the plays which came afterwards, Atsumori told Kumagai to take his head, but Kumagai hesitated because Atsumori was very young, and reminded him of his own son, roughly the same age. Kumagai wished to spare Atsumori's life, due to his kind nature, but saw that his allies, the Minamoto, were approaching, and watching. To let Atsumori go would be a terrible show of disloyalty, and so he had no choice but to kill him.

The Noh play Atsumori describes Atsumori's death as follows: ^[1] The death of Atsumori is describned as follows:

Overwhelmed by compassion, Naozane could not find a place to strike. His senses reeled, his wits forsook him, and he was scarcely conscious of his surroundings. But matters could not go on like that forever: in tears, he took the head.^[2]

Because Atsumori's name was not familiar to him, Kumagai then knew that Atsumori had never been in a battle before. After taking the time to look through Atsumori's belongings, he found a certain flute, known as the "Saeda" (little twig). Discovering that the flute was given to Taira no Tadamori by Emperor Toba, and later passed down to Atsumori, he reportedly felt even more sadness and regret for his actions. The night before the battle, while Kumagai was in his tent, he had heard someone playing the flute with skill outside the enemy camp, and he now realized that that flute player may have been Atsumori. After the Genpei War ended, Kumagai retired as a samurai and become a Buddhist monk. He is said to have later committed seppuku as penance for his actions.