Named for Taira-no Tokitada (1130–1189), a Japanese military commander in the late Heian era who was the uncle of Taira-no Kiyomori {see planet  (4375)}. After the battle of Dannoura, Tokitada was sent into exile to the Noto peninsula, where Percival Lowell {see planet  (1886)} visited in 1889 and wrote ”Noto, an unexplored corner of Japan“. (M 19697) _ _.