Kokubun Taneshige (国分胤重)
Taneshige KOKUBUN was a samurai and Gokenin (Shogunal retainer of the Kamakura bakufu) of the Kamakura period. In the March 1, 1250 section of the "Azuma kagami" (The Mirror of the East), there is an article about the visit to temples and shrines at Izu and Hakone of the seii taishogun (literally, "great general who subdues the barbarians") FUJIWARA no Yoritsugu, in which the names of the accompanying Gokenins appear. His name 'KOKUBUN Jiro Taneshige' appears among the 12 accompanying retainers of the rear guard. This was the only reliable historical evidence regarding Taneshige.
Taneshige KOKUBUN in the genealogical table of the Kokubun family of Mutsu Province
According to the genealogical table of the Kokubun family (of Mutsu Province) that was compiled by Yoshikazu SAKUMA of Sendai Domain in the Edo period, Taneshige is said to have been the third head of the family. It is certain that the Kokubun family of Mutsu Province reigned over the southern area of Miyagi County from the period of the Northern and Southern Courts (Japan) to the Sengoku period (Japan) and, according to the genealogical table of the family, their reign over the Mutsu Province is said to have started when their ancestor Tanemichi governed the Kokubun-sho estate of the region in the Kamakura period.
According to the genealogical table, his father was Tanemochi KOKUBUN, his mother a daughter of Taira no Naotsune, and he had a younger brother, Shigeharu, and two sisters who became the wives of Yasutane TAKEISHI and Yorikuni MUTO, respectively. His wife was a daughter of Munenaga NAKAMURA and the couple had three sons, Tanemitsu, Inshi, and Sadamitsu, and two daughters who became the wives of Choin TAKEISHI and Hidekuni KOIZUMI, respectively. Taneshige called himself Jiro, and his official rank was Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade) and Shuri no suke (Assistant officer of the Office of Palace Repairs). He was born in Kokubun, Mutsu Province in 1218 and died at the age of 57 on March 25, 1274. When the seii taishogun (literally, "great general who subdues the barbarians") FUJIWARA no Yoritsugu visited to temples and shrines at Izu and Hakone in January 1251, he was one of the accompanying retainers. He is said to have been appointed attendant of the shogun Prince Munetaka in February 1253.
However, some cast doubt upon his governing Miyagi County while others consider that the family governed the County but the family after the generation of Tanemichi did not move to the Mutsu Province. In this case, all the accounts on the blood relationships that regard Taneshige as a person who lived in the Mutsu Province would turn out to be fictional stories. Even those who support the view that the family moved to the Mutsu Province do not entirely believe in the genealogical tables as reliable resources, there still remains suspicions that some details of the genealogical table may have been made up during compilation.