忠度は平清盛の末弟で武将ですが藤原俊成に師事し、優れた歌人でもありました。寿永３(1184)年の一ノ谷の戦いに敗れ、両馬川付近で最期を遂げたと言われています。
写真１は追手の岡部六弥太忠澄と騎馬で川を挟んで戦ったことで、命名された両馬川にある石碑です。
この石碑はかつて川に架かっていた両馬橋と眼鏡橋の石材で作られたと伝わっています。
写真２は忠度の切られた右腕を供養した祠が、明治維新後に神社となった腕塚（右手塚）神社です。
写真３は街道から腕塚へ行くための腕塚道を示す道標です。
写真４は忠度の亡骸を埋め、五輪塔が建てられた忠度塚です。荒廃した塚を修復した５代目明石藩主の松平忠国が、自詠の歌を刻んだ石碑もあります。
その他に清盛の甥で、歌人でもある平経正（敦盛の兄）の馬を埋めたと言われる馬塚もあります。
歌人の最期が歌聖・柿本人麻呂縁の地であることを願う心が込められているようです。付近の方々は、史跡を地域の宝物として連綿と大切に維持管理されています。
Trivia 2 Tanka poet Taira-no-Tadanori
Taira-no-Tadanori was Taira-no-Kiyomori’s youngest brother and a general of samurai. He studied under Fujiwara Shunzei and was a good tanaka poet too. It is said that Taira clan was defeated in the Battle of Ichi-no-tani in 1184 and he was killed near the Ryoma River. -shot 1- This is the stone monument of the Ryoma, two horses, River. Since both he and Okabe Rokutaya Tadazumi fought each other on the horses there, the river was named the Ryoma River. It’s reported that this stone monument was made of the stone of Ryoma Bridge and Megane Bridge over the river once. -shot 2- This is Ude-zuka, the grave marker of right arm, Shrine. They held a memorial service for Tadanori’s right arm cut in the fight. After the Meiji Restoration the grave was replaced into the shrine. -shot 3- This is the signpost which showed Ude-zuka Route that led people to Ude-zuka from the highway. -shot 4- This is Tadanori-zuka. They buried Tadanori’s body and built the five-part gravestone. There is the stone monument carved the tanaka poem made by Matsudaira Tadakuni, the 5th feudal lord of the Akashi domain, who restored the grave marker fallen into ruin. They say that there is the Uma-zuka, the grave of Taira-no-Tsunemasa’s horse too. He was a tanka poet and Taira-no-Kiyomori’s nephew and Taira-no-Atsumori’s older brother. The tanka poet seemed to want to die at the place associated with the master of tanka poem Kakinomoto Hitomaro. The local people have maintained those historic sites carefully as their treasure continuously.
明石ヘリテージマップ『人丸』2018
