Tada Mototsuna (多田基綱)

Mototsuna TADA (year of birth unknown - June 1221)was a busho (Japanese military commander), who lived during the early Kamakura period. He was the fourth son of Yukitsuna TADA. His sons were Shigetsuna TADA (Saburo TADA), Chikatsuna (shuri no suke [assistant officer of the Office of Palace Repairs]), Yukinari, among others. His official court rank was unknown. He took a second name or alias Kurodo TADA (Chamberlain Tada).

His father Yukitsuna was the heir of the Tada-Genji (Minamoto clan), but he was impoverished after his family's hereditary estate, Tada no sho, was confiscated during the political purge carried out by MINAMOTO no Yoritomo. Since then, no information had been available about Yukitsuna and his sons until 1221. However, it is documented that when the Retired Emperor Gotoba raised an army to overthrow the Shogunate, Mototsuna took part in the Retired Emperor's side, and that when it was defeated, he was killed and his severed head was exposed (the article of July 18, 1221 in "Azuma Kagami" [The Mirror of the East]). It is considered that he participated in the Retired Emperor's side with the intention of recapturing Tada no sho estate.

His sons, Shigetsuna and Chikatsuna were adopted by his nephew Mitsutsuna TADA, and according to "Sonpi Bunmyaku" (a text compiled in the fourteenth century that records the lineages of the aristocracy), Shigetsuna's descendent can be traced down to the third generation later.

[Original Japanese]