Taira no Tadanori (平 忠度)
Tadanori resting under a cherry tree
by Kobayashi Kiyochika
Born1144
Died1184
Occupation(s)Poet and military leader

Taira no Tadanori (平 忠度) (1144–1184) was a poet and military leader of the late Heian period of Japan. He was the brother of clan head Taira no Kiyomori, and one of his generals in the Genpei War against the Minamoto.[1]

Career

Tadanori was the governor of Satsuma and a general in the Genpei War. He was also a well versed poet and a student of the famous poet Fujiwara no Shunzei.[1][2]

Genpei War

Tadanori delivering his poems by Kikuchi Yōsai

Tadnori took part in the Battle of Fujigawa of the Genpei War. He also fought against Minamoto no Yoshinaka in the Battle of Kurikara.[3] According to the Tale of the Heike, before fleeing the capital after a loss to the Minamoto, he visited Fujiwara no Shunzei to deliver a "hundred or so" poems. Shunzei included one anonymously in the Senzaishu. The poem read:[4]

In ruins now, the old capital Shiga by the waves,
yet the wild cherries of Naga still bloom as before.

Death

He died in the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani.[5][6] His body was identified by a signed poem that was fastened to his quiver. The poem read:[4]: 96 

Evening drawing on, I'll take lodging in the shade of this tree,
and make its blossoms my host for the night.

See also

  • Zeami Motokiyo – playwright who wrote the Noh play Tadanori which focuses on Tadanori's spirit and his desire to have his anonymous poem attributed.[7][8]

References

  1. 1 2 Miner, Earl Roy; Morrell, Robert E.; Odagiri, Hiroko (2020-09-01). The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature. Princeton University Press. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-691-21838-0.
  2. ↑ Wells, D.; Wilson, S. (1999-08-24). The Russo-Japanese War in Cultural Perspective, 1904–05. Springer. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-230-51458-4.
  3. ↑ Turnbull, Stephen (1987). Battles of the Samurai. Arms and Armour Press. p. 13. ISBN 0853688265.
  4. 1 2 The Tales of the Heike. Translated by Burton Watson. Columbia University Press. 2006. pp. 72–77. ISBN 9780231138031.
  5. ↑ Sansom, George (1958). A History of Japan to 1334. Stanford University Press. p. 299. ISBN 0804705232.
  6. ↑ Sato, Hiroaki (1995). Legends of the Samurai. Overlook Duckworth. p. 123. ISBN 9781590207307.
  7. ↑ Fraleigh, Matthew (2020-05-11). Plucking Chrysanthemums: Narushima Ryūhoku and Sinitic Literary Traditions in Modern Japan. BRILL. p. 105. ISBN 978-1-68417-565-9.
  8. ↑ "Noh Plays DataBase : Tadanori : Synopsis and Highlight". www.the-noh.com. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  • Turnbull, Stephen (1998). The Samurai Sourcebook. London: Cassell & Co.
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