Soga Sukenari

In this Japanese name, the surname is Soga.

Soga Sukenari 曾我祐成
Eiyū Sanjyūrokkasen: Soga Jyūrō by Toshihide Migita
Born	1172
Died	28 June 1193
Nationality	Japanese
Other names	Jyūrō
Occupation	samurai

Soga Sukenari (Japanese: 曾我祐成, 1172 - June 28, 1193) was a samurai in the early Kamakura period. He is known for his participation in the incident known as the Revenge of the Soga Brothers.

Life

In 1176, when Sukenari was five years old, his biological father, Kawazu Sukeyasu, was killed by Kudō Suketsune. The two had been quarreling over the inheritance of land. After that, Sukenari's mother married Soga Sukenobu, the lord of Soga-sō, Sagami Province (currently Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture). Later, Sukenari lived under the protection of Hōjō Tokimasa.

In June 1193, at shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo's grand hunting event Fuji no Makigari, Sukenari killed his father's killer, Kudō Suketsune, along with his younger brother, Tokimune. The brothers managed to kill 10 other participants until Suketsune's subordinate Nitta Tadatsune ran to the scene and killed Sukenari. Tokimune was taken down by Gosho no Gorōmaru in the shogun's mansion and was executed the next day at the request of Suketsune's son, Itō Suketoki.

After the incident, Sukenari's concubine, a prostitute named Tora, was interrogated but was later released because she found innocent of any involvement. In Hakone, she held a memorial service for Sukenari and sacrificed a grey horse that Sukenari had given her. She then left home for Zenkō-ji in Shina Province. The youngest brother of Sukenari was invited to Kamakura and joined the elder brothers in death by committing suicide by hanging. A biological brother of the Soga brothers, Hara Kojirō, was executed for this incident as a collective punishment for Minamoto no Noriyori losing his position and due to his connection to the incident.

Genealogy

The Soga clan's origins are in Soga Manor in Sagami Province. They descended from the Kanmu Heishi line of the Taira clan through the Chiba clan.