親愛なる読者の皆様（Dear my readers)：）
本日は、私が日本史において最も尊敬して愛してやまない政治家について話します。源頼朝公は鎌倉幕府の創設者であると同時に、武家を頂点とする仕組みを気づき、その後７００年近くに渡る太平の世の礎を築いた人物です。
(Today, I will talk about the politician I respect and love in Japanese history. Lord Minamoto no Yoritomo is a man who established bakufu (de facto govenment of the nation) at Kamakura, just south of Tokyo. He is the first person to set rules that enables Samurai as an important player of the society, and the system has functioned for about 700 years that brought peaces and order to Japan.)
現在大河ドラマで、『清盛』をやっているので、ご存じの方も多いでしょう。僕が右大将頼朝公を尊敬するには訳があります。今の日本社会で、彼ほど職責を持って、政治に臨む政治家を僕は、他に知らないからです。与党民主党も野党の連中も特に国家への将来のビジョンが明確にないくせに、国政を語り善良な国民を混乱させる。こんなことが許されていいはずがありません！
(Many of my readers might know Yoritomo because he appears in the taiga-drama "Kiyomori," popular TV historical drama in Japan. I have a reason why I love lord Yoritomo, also known as "udaisho" from his post as Captain of Imperial Guard of the right* in the imperial court. Nowadays, Japanese political world lacks politicians that can take responsibilities in a real sense like the lord. Politicians of both the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and opposition parties talk about domestic politics without clear political prospects. As a result, these guys confuse us good Japanese citizens. This is unforgivable!)
*Under the Ritsuryo code court officers are distinguished either left or right and the left one is higher than the right one.
頼朝公は、多くのことを犠牲にしてまで、秩序のある世の中の基をつくった方です。ご興味がありましたら、ぜひ本屋でも図書館でもいいので、頼朝公の自伝もしくは、鎌倉時代（１１９２年～１３３３年）の書籍を購入・貸し出し、してください (0^^0)/
(Yoritomo had established a world with proper rules and disciplines, having sacrificed many things in his life. If you are interested in him, please go to either bookstores or libraries and search his biographies or books on Kamakura period (1192-1333).)
下記に、公の簡単なプロファイルを、日英両方載せておきます (=^^=)/
(I wrote a brief profile on him in both Japanese and English below↓)：(Japanese→English translation)
源頼朝
源頼朝は、河内源氏の棟梁源義朝(１１２３年～１１６０年）の三男として、久安三年（１１４７年）に生まれる。三男であるが、正妻の息子であったがために、生まれた時点で跡継ぎと定められる。順風満帆であった人生も、平治元年（１１５９年）に平治の乱に対抗勢力である、平清盛（１１１３年～１１８１年）に負けたために、伊豆の国に流される。２１年もの長い流人生活を送ったのち、治承四年（１１８０年）に後白河院（１１２７年～１１９２年）の三ノ宮以仁王（１１５１年～１１８０年）の令旨を受け、挙兵をし、瞬く間に東国を手中に治める。文治元年（１１８５年）に宿敵平家を滅ぼし、同五年（１１８９年）に、敵である弟源義経（１１５９年～１１８９年）とそれをかくまった奥州藤原氏を滅した。建久三年（１１９２年）に征夷大将軍宣言を受け、鎌倉幕府を創設した。建久十年（１１９９年）に落馬がもとで亡くなった。享年５１歳。
Minamoto no Yoritomo
Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199) was born as the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo(1123-1160). As he was a son of a wedded wife, he was named as a successor at an early age. His promised life was thrown into an abyss when his father lost to his nemesis Taira no Kiyomori (1113-1181) in 1159. He was exiled to the Izu peninsula, south of Tokyo, until 1180. A golden opportunity arrived when he received His Highness' address when he was 33. Prince Mochihito (1151-1180), Emperor Masahito's third son, sent his decrees to Heike clan's enemies, and Yoritomo was one of them. After receieved the address, he gathered his troops and governed the entire Kanto, central region of Japan including Tokyo, and the surrounding prefectures in a lightening speed. After subverting the Heike clan in 1185, he later marched his forces to northeastern Japan and destroyed the Oshu branch of the Fujiwara clan that harbored his younger brother Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159-1189) in 1189. The imperial court, the main government, appointed him seiitaishogun, barbarian-subduing generalissimo, in 1192. In the same year, Yoritomo established his administration. He died at the age of 51 from an injury he received when he fell from a horse.
* I borrowed the picture from Wikipedia.