Minamoto Tametoki

• Other Names: Gen Tametoki, Hôshin (法心, priestly name)
• Japanese: 源為時 (Minamoto Tametoki)

Minamoto Tametoki was a resident of Arakawa manor (shô) in Kii province of some influence and power. He is chiefly known as the leader of an akutô uprising against Kôya-san, which controlled the manor.

An "important man" (jûnin) in the area, Tametoki held hereditary lands (shinryô) and was relied upon by Kôya-san to oversee certain activities, particularly the collection and forwarding to the temple of taxes. A prominent local figure, he is also known to have made loans of seeds to the local farmers, collecting collateral in exchange.

The temple accused him and his close cohorts of a number of unsavory and violent activities, including theft, arson, and murder, as well as disruption of trade, tax payments, and transportation along major routes within the estate. He also led outright invasions of neighboring estates, and was finally deprived by the temple of his holdings. Kôyasan officials also drew up a list of Tametoki's accomplices and had them summoned; meanwhile, Tametoki was made to swear an oath to end his activities, though he did not abide by it. Violent attacks continued, and Tametoki fought the temple through legal and bureaucratic means as well, compiling a list of crimes and affronts which he blamed upon Kôyasan officials, reversing the situation and naming the Kôyasan officials the akutô. His extensive local prestige and connections earned him the support of many residents of Arakawa and neighboring estates, who defied Kôya-san's attempts to inflict punishment upon Tametoki.

References

• Harrington, Lorraine F. "Social Control and the Significance of Akutô." in Mass, Jeffrey (ed.). Court and Bakufu in Japan: Essays in Kamakura History. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1982. pp221-250.