photo #1983318

Minamoto no Tametomo committed the first seppuku on this day, April 23, 1170.Minamoto no Tametomo was the brother of the first Shogun, Yoshitomo, and was said to have stood 210cm tall, and with his right arm said to be some 12cm longer than his left, adding to the amount of pull he had on the bowstring. He was one of the finest archers of his day, and was said to have sunk an enemy ship by shooting an arrow through its hull.After the Hogen Rebellion, a civil war fought over the succession of the Imperial Throne, he was captured when the enemy attacked his palace, and he was forced to flee the flames.The enemy cut the tendons in his left arm, preventing him from being able to use the bow. He then used his sword to cut himself open in what is thought to be one of the first cases of seppuku.