Stories of the Japanese 00601 [Early Kamakura Period] The Rebellion of Hatakeyama Shigetada: The Legend of Koigakubo

Now that we have reached the point where Hatakeyama Shigetada died, let us introduce the legends surrounding him. There is a place name called "Koigakubo" in Kokubunji City, Tokyo, where a legend of a love story involving Shigetada remains.
Hatakeyama Shigetada lived a life traveling between his base in Sugaya (Ranzan Town, Saitama Prefecture) and Kamakura. In the post town of Koigakubo-juku, which was on the Kamakura Kaido road, Shigetada fell in love with a courtesan named Asazuma-dayu.
One day, Shigetada was ordered by Yoritomo to depart for the western provinces. It was a departure to suppress the Taira clan, and he did not know if he would return alive. Asazuma-dayu insisted,
"Please take me with you,"
but Shigetada could not take a woman into battle, so he headed to the western provinces alone.
Meanwhile, a man who had been harboring a secret love for Asazuma-dayu, who was worried about Shigetada's safety, lied to her, saying,
"Shigetada was killed in action at Dan-no-ura."
He likely tried to break the two of them apart to make Asazuma-dayu his own.
Upon hearing this, Asazuma-dayu was overcome with grief and threw herself into a pond. This pond is called "Sugatami no Ike" (Mirror Pond) because it is said that courtesans often looked into it to see their own reflections, and it still exists in Koigakubo today.
The villagers, saddened by Asazuma-dayu's death, planted a pine tree beside the place where she was buried. The pine tree then grew toward the west, as if following Shigetada, and only one leaf grew on each needle. This mysterious pine tree is called the "Ichiyo-matsu" (One-Leaf Pine) and has become a famous landmark of Koigakubo. Unfortunately, the original pine tree has withered, and it is said that the one currently there is the third generation.
Later, when Shigetada returned to Musashi and learned of Asazuma-dayu's death, he built Dojoji Temple to hold a memorial service for her and enshrined a standing statue of Amitabha Buddha. Dojoji Temple was later renamed "Tofukuji Temple" and still exists in Koigakubo today.
This love story of Shigetada is thought to be a later creation, but the fact that such a story has been passed down suggests that Shigetada was a warrior popular among the common people. The fact that such a legend remains in Koigakubo, which was not even Shigetada's territory, may suggest that Shigetada treated the residents along the Kamakura Kaido road with kindness.