Kuyōtō of Tada no Mitsunaka多田満仲供養塔ただのみつなかくようとう

Tomb of Tada no Mitsunaka

The name given on this monument is Tada no Mitsunaka, but he is better known as Minamoto no Mitsunaka (912-997), using the name of the powerful clan that would eventually rule Japan at the beginning of the Kamakura Period (1185-1333).

While the greatest exploits of this clan were carried out by Mitsunaka’s sons, grandsons and great-grandsons, his monument(or kuyōtō) is of note for being the oldest dated gorintō monument at Oku-no-in.

Is anyone actually buried here?

Most of the monuments to the dead at Oku-no-in are commonly identified with the Japanese word, "haka," which is translated as either "grave," or "tomb." But it is important to clarify that the Japanese sense of the word is broader in meaning and includes monuments to the spirit of the deceased.

More strictly speaking, the vast majority of these monuments are kuyōtō 供養塔 which may best be thought of as resting places for the spirit rather than the physical remains of the dead.

For this reason, an individual may sometimes have multiple "tombs." Mitsunaka offers a case in point: there are no fewer than seven locations in Japan identified as his “haka.”

View of Tada no Mitsunaka's monument — Tada no Mitsunaka's Monument

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