Changes

Tametomo fought alongside his father in the Hôgen Rebellion of [[1156]], siding with [[Emperor Sutoku]] against [[Emperor Go-Shirakawa]] (who, incidentally, had Minamoto no Yoshitomo, Tametomo's brother, on his side). After Go-Shirakawa's victory, Yoshitomo was forced to behead his father, Tameyoshi, and several of his brothers and other close relatives who had opposed Emperor Go-Shirakawa. Tametomo, renowned for his skill with a bow, had the ligaments or tendons of his bow arm cut, rendering it useless, before he was exiled to Izu Ôshima.

Tametomo fought alongside his father in the Hôgen Rebellion of [[1156]], siding with [[Emperor Sutoku]] against [[Emperor Go-Shirakawa]] (who, incidentally, had Minamoto no Yoshitomo, Tametomo's brother, on his side). After Go-Shirakawa's victory, Yoshitomo was forced to behead his father, Tameyoshi, and several of his brothers and other close relatives who had opposed Emperor Go-Shirakawa. Tametomo, renowned for his skill with a bow, had the ligaments or tendons of his bow arm cut, rendering it useless, before he was exiled to Izu Ôshima.

Some accounts have him simply committing suicide on Izu Ôshima, never seeing the mainland again.<ref name=yokoyama>Yokoyama Manabu 横山学, ''Ryûkyû koku shisetsu torai no kenkyû'' 琉球国使節渡来の研究, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (1987), 5.</ref> However, according to the tales in which he traveled to Ryûkyû, he regained use of his arm before long. On Ôshima, he is said to have taken a young woman named Sasarae, the daughter of the island magistrate Tadashige, as his wife, giving her two sons, Tamemaru and Tomokawa, and a daughter named Shimagimi. He is said to have taken over the island, and several others nearby, before leaving for Ryûkyû, where he is said to have married the chieftain's daughter Nei, and sired the son Shunten.

Some accounts have him simply committing suicide on Izu Ôshima, never seeing the mainland again.<ref name=yokoyama>Yokoyama Manabu 横山学, ''Ryûkyû koku shisetsu torai no kenkyû'' 琉球国使節渡来の研究, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (1987), 5-6.</ref> However, according to the tales in which he traveled to Ryûkyû, he regained use of his arm before long. On Ôshima, he is said to have taken a young woman named Sasarae, the daughter of the island magistrate Tadashige, as his wife, giving her two sons, Tamemaru and Tomokawa, and a daughter named Shimagimi. He is said to have taken over the island, and several others nearby, before leaving for Ryûkyû, where he is said to have married the chieftain's daughter Nei, and sired the son Shunten.

 

The various versions of Tametomo's legend relate his death in different ways. Some sources have him dying in Okinawa, while others have him returning to Izu Ôshima and fighting off naval attackers sent by the emperor, only to kill himself in the end; still other versions of Tametomo's story have him escaping these Imperial assaults and traveling to [[Hachijojima|Hachijô-jima]], where he again fights off imperial forces and then commits suicide.

The legend of his involvement in [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû]] is related in numerous [[Edo period]] texts; the precise origin of the myth is unclear, but it appears as early as [[1650]], in the ''[[Chuzan Seikan|Chûzan Seikan]]'' compiled by Ryukyuan royal advisor [[Sho Shoken|Shô Shôken]]. The story is repeated, or elaborated upon, in [[Arai Hakuseki]]'s [[1719]] book ''[[Nantoshi|Nantôshi]]'', [[Morishima Churyo|Morishima Chûryô's]] [[1790]] publication ''[[Ryukyu-banashi|Ryûkyû-banashi]]'', and [[Takizawa Bakin]]'s novel ''[[Chinsetsu yumihari tsuki]]'', which expands the story out to a full novel. This myth is said to have had a central place in Japanese popular conceptions of Ryûkyû in the Edo period, and even in Ryûkyû, a number of sites including [[Naminoue Shrine]] enshrine Tametomo's spirit or are otherwise associated with him.<ref name=yokoyama/>

The legend of his involvement in [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû]] is related in numerous [[Edo period]] texts; the precise origin of the myth is unclear, but it appears as early as [[1650]], in the ''[[Chuzan Seikan|Chûzan Seikan]]'' compiled by Ryukyuan royal advisor [[Sho Shoken|Shô Shôken]]. The story is repeated, or elaborated upon, in [[Arai Hakuseki]]'s [[1719]] book ''[[Nantoshi|Nantôshi]]'', [[Morishima Churyo|Morishima Chûryô's]] [[1790]] publication ''[[Ryukyu-banashi|Ryûkyû-banashi]]'', and [[Takizawa Bakin]]'s novel ''[[Chinsetsu yumihari tsuki]]'', which expands the story out to a full novel. This myth is said to have had a central place in Japanese popular conceptions of Ryûkyû in the Edo period, and even in Ryûkyû, a number of sites including [[Naminoue Shrine]] enshrine Tametomo's spirit or are otherwise associated with him.<ref name=yokoyama/>

This story is generally regarded today as pure fiction, and as an idea invented and perpetuated in order to justify Japanese dominion over the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]]. The vast distance between Izu Ôshima and Ryûkyû is but one of many elements which make the story seem rather unlikely; had he been exiled to an island off of Kyushu, in the [[Amami Islands]] chain, such as [[Kikaigashima]], where the monk [[Shunkan]] was exiled a few years later ([[1177]]), it might be easier to believe. Yet, as recently as the 1950s, historian [[George Kerr]] devoted several pages to the Tametomo tale, and wrote that while it "cannot be verified at this time; neither can it be dismissed as pure fiction."<ref>Kerr, George. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. Tuttle Publishing, 2000. p46.</ref>

This story is generally regarded today as pure fiction, and as an idea invented and perpetuated in order to justify Japanese dominion over the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]]. The first to assert its falsity was [[Kato Sango|Katô Sango]], in his [[1906]] publication ''Ryûkyû no kenkyû'' (lit. "Ryûkyû Research"). He asserted it was a total fabrication, and cited in particular four points of suspicion.<ref name=yokoyama/> The vast distance between Izu Ôshima and Ryûkyû is but one of many elements which make the story seem rather unlikely; had he been exiled to an island off of Kyushu, in the [[Amami Islands]] chain, such as [[Kikaigashima]], where the monk [[Shunkan]] was exiled a few years later ([[1177]]), it might be easier to believe. Yet, as recently as the 1950s, historian [[George Kerr]] devoted several pages to the Tametomo tale, and wrote that while it "cannot be verified at this time; neither can it be dismissed as pure fiction."<ref>Kerr, George. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. Tuttle Publishing, 2000. p46.</ref>

 

==References==

==References==