Shibuya Shigekuni

Gokenin of the Kamakura shogunate

Shibuya Shigekuni is a warrior of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods, from the Kawasaki lineage of the Chichibu group, established in Musashi. As lord of lands ranging from Tanimori (Musashi) to the Shibuya estate in Sagami province (present-day Ayase, Fujisawa and Yamato), he fought under Minamoto no Yoshitomo during the Heiji Rebellion, then took in and protected the family of the Sasaki brothers. Initially aligned with Ōba Kagechika against Minamoto no Yoritomo at Ishibashiyama in 1180, he nonetheless refused to hand over the Sasaki, then submitted to Yoritomo and became one of his gokenin. Local tradition holds that Hayakawa Castle, in Ayase, was his residence, although excavations have not confirmed this.