Minamoto no Mitsunaka, Date of Birth, Date of Death
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Samurai and Court official of Japan's Heian period
Date of Birth: 
About Minamoto no Mitsunaka
- Minamoto no Mitsunaka (? ??, April 29, 912? – October 6, 997), was born as Myoomaru (???) son of Minamoto no Tsunemoto, was a samurai and Court official of Japan's Heian period.
- Mitsunaka belonged to the Seiwa Genji branch of the Minamoto clan, which traced its ancestry to Emperor Seiwa.
- He loyally (if not selflessly) served several successive Fujiwara regents (sessho and kampaku) beginning with Fujiwara no Morotada.
- There is debate among scholars as to his involvement in the Anna Plot of 969 (named for the era it took place in).
- All agree that Mitsunaka alleged that Minamoto no Takaakira was plotting against the Throne.
- However, whilst some believe that there was a genuine threat to the Throne, and that it was Mitsunaka's warning that prevented the plot from succeeding, others view the incident as one manufactured for political gain.
- Takaakira was Morotada's principal rival, and his being implicated in the plot removed him as a threat; the truthfulness of the accusations levelled against Takaakira is not known.
- In any case, the negative consequences for Takaakira put Mitsunaka firmly in Morotada's good graces.
- Later, Mitsunaka would assist Fujiwara no Kaneie in his plot to coerce Emperor Kazan into taking Buddhist vows and abdicating in favor of Fujiwara's seven-year-old grandson.Mitsunaka's association with Fujiwara clan made him one of the richest and most powerful courtiers of his day.
- He served as the acting governor (kokushi) of ten provinces, most notably Settsu, which became the mainstay of his military and economic power.
- In addition, Mitsunaka inherited his father's title of Chinjufu-shogun, Commander-in-chief of the Defense of the North.
- The patron/client relationship between the Fujiwara and the Seiwa Genji continued for nearly two hundred years after Mitsunaka's death; indeed, the Seiwa Genji came to be known as the "teeth and claws" of the Fujiwara.Mitsunaka married the daughter of Minamoto no Suguru, from the Saga Genji branch of the Minamoto.
- He was the father of three sons: Minamoto no Yorimitsu (who became the hero of a large body of folklore), Minamoto no Yorinobu, and Minamoto no Yorichika.
- "He had many sons, all of them accomplished in the way of the warrior, except one who was a monk.
- His name was Genken." This monk of the Tendai Sect, with the aid of Genshin, was able to convert his father to Buddhism.
- Upon his conversion, Minamoto no Mitsunaka built a hall to atone for his sins.
- "What is known as Tada Temple is a cluster of halls that began to be built with this one."In his later years, Mitsunaka retired to his manor in Tada, a town in Settsu province; for this reason, he is also known as Tada Manju.
- (Manju is the Sino-Japanese reading of the characters for "Mitsunaka").
- His descendants are sometimes referred to as the "Settsu Genji" or the "Tada Genji".In 987, along with 16 vassals nad 30 court ladies, Mitsunaka ordained as a Buddhist monk and received the Dharma name Mankei (??). Mitsunaka appears in the anime Otogi Zoshi, along with fictionalized versions of a number of other historical figures.
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