Minamoto no Yoshitsune

Introduction

Minamoto no Yoshitsune is sometimes called the general of tragedy. Now why has he become known for this name? And what was the reason behind his confrontation with his older brother, Minamoto no Yoritomo? Perhaps many of you do not know the story in full detail.

In this article, we would like to get into depth of Yoshitsune’s mysterious life. As much as he was the general of tragedy, he was also a great military strategist. We hope you get to discover different aspects of his life because his life was not only about tragedy.

Childood as Ushiwakamaru

Yoshitsune was born as the 9th son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo of the Kawachi Genji Line in 1159. The Kawachi Genji Line was a line of Seiwa Genji, and its headquarters were based in the Kawachi Province which is a portion of present day Osaka. Seiwa Genji was a divided clan of the 56th Seiwa Emperor.

What this meant was that the Kawachi Genji line was a family of warriors of royal lineage. They suppressed the Former Nine Years’ War as well as the Later Three Years’ War, and established themselves as the head of the eastern warriors.

Many of you are probably aware of the Taira clan, which is the rival of the Minamoto clan. When referring to the Taira clan, it usually points to the Ise Heishi Line which is related to Taira no Kiyomori’s family lineage. The rivalry of the Minamoto clan and the Taira clan has been ongoing for generations before Yoshitomo’s time.

Now to explain about Minamoto no Yoshitsune, he is famous for his childhood name, Ushiwakamaru. Apart from Yoritomo, he also had other older brothers named Imawakamaru and Otowakamaru. Their mother was a woman named Tokiwagozen, and she worked as a servant in the capital. It has been said that she was the most beautiful woman in the capital, and she later became the concubine of Yoshitomo.

In 1160, the Heiji Rebellion occurred with a battle between the Minamoto clan and the Taira clan. The battle ends with the defeat of the Minamoto clan. Yoshitomo, his eldest son Yoshihira, second son Tomonaga, and fourth son Yoshikado are killed in the battle.

Following the battle, there were voices that demanded for the execution of the rest of the Yoshitomo children, but this was avoided by Tokiwagozen becoming Kiyomori’s mistress.

The lives of the 3 sons born between Yoshitomo and Tokiwagozen, as well as Yoritomo were all spared as a result.

Yoritomo had been born as the third son of Yoshitomo; he and Yoshitsune are half brothers with different biological mothers. He took part in the Heiji Rebellion as well but survived, and with the plea of Kiyomori’s stepmother Ikenozenni, he was sent to exile to the Izu Province.

Yoshitomo’s fifth son Mareyoshi is also sent to exile to the Tosa Province.

Imawakaru and Otowakamaru leave home to become monks. 11 year old Yoshitsune goes under the custody of Kuramadera (Kurama temple) in Kyoto, and he was given the name Shanaō. However, Yoshitsune refused to become a monk and ran away from the temple.

He adds the kanji character of “義” in association with his Minamoto family and gave himself the name “義経” (Yoshitsune). Yoshitsune heads down to Hiraizumi to seek support from Fujiwara no Hidehira, the suzerain of the Ōshū Fujiwara Clan. This marked the beginning of Yoshitsune’s life as a bushi warrior.

Encounter with Musashibō Benkei

Musashibō Benkei comes to mind when we talk about Yoshitsune’s servant. However, very little is known about Benkei, and it seems that his image projected from Kabuki and historical narratives is quite strong. Well-known episodes of Benkei and Yoshitsune will be explained next.

Benkei was originally a monk of Mt. Hieizan, but he is driven away due to his rash actions from his love for military art. He makes a promise to himself to steal a thousand tachis (long swords) in Kyoto, attacks passers-by and collects 999 tachis.

He had only one more tachi to steal. That was when he came across Yoshitsune, who was blowing a flute on Gojō Ōhashi (bridge). Benkei steps forward to challenge him, but is made a fool by Yoshitsune who jumps from handrail to handrail, and in the end Benkei loses. After this incident, Benkei became Yoshitsune’s servant.

On a side note, it has been said that Gojō Ōhashi was not built at this time. But the episode that Yoshitsune had a faithful servant who protected him until the end is most likely true. Even today, Benkei is as popular as Yoshitsune and is known as a synonym for a daring hero.

The Jishō・Jyūei War

After driving away the Minamoto forces out of the capital, the Taira clan was at the peak of its prosperity. In 1179, Kiyomori launched a coup d’etat and imprisoned the Cloistered Emperor Goshikawara who had always been an opponent.

Prince Mochihito, the third son of Cloistered Emperor Goshikawara decides on the subjugation of the Taira clan. In April of 1180 the following year, he issued an order to subjugate the Taira clan. There is also a theory that the prince had raised an army because the enthronement of Emperor Antoku made it impossible for him to succeed to the imperial throne.

The orders of Prince Mochihito also reach Yoshitsune’s uncle Minamoto no Yukiie and the members of the Minamoto clan who were lying low all over Japan, waiting for an opportunity. In May of the same year, Prince Mochihito himself dies in battle at Byōdōin of Uji but with this incident, the wheels of fortune began to turn for Yoshitsune and the men of Minamoto.

In August the same year, Yoritomo raised an army at the Izu Province. Yoshitsune wished to take part in this army and hastened to join his brother. At this time, Yoshitsune was 22 years old. At Kisegawa of Shizuoka Prefecture, he finally meets Yoritomo in person for the first time; it would have been an emotional meeting for the two brothers.

Yoritomo also joins his brother Noriyori (the sixth son of Yoshitomo). He leaves his brothers Noriyori and Yoshitsune to command the expeditionary forces. As for himself, Yoritomo decides to settle in Kamakura which had been the headquarters.

In July of 1183, Minamoto no Yoshinaka’s army drove the Taira clan out of the capital and entered Kyoto. The Taira clan had no other choice but to hand over Emperor Antoku and the “Sanshu no Jingi” (Three Sacred Treasures of Japan) and escape to Kyūshū. Yoshinaka was the cousin of the Yoritomo and Yoshitsune brothers.

However, Yoshinaka insisted that the Emperor’s successor should be Prince Mochihito’s first son Hokurokunomiya, which enrages Goshikawarain.

Goshikawarain ranks the achievements of the punitive expedition against the Taira clan with Yoritomo as the first and Yoshinaka as the second, giving Yoshinaka a low rating. This ignites a confrontation between Yoshinaka and Yoritomo. Later on, Yoshitsune receives Yoritomo’s orders and marches his army forwards to the capital.

Yoshinaka, who was losing out, imprisons Goshikawarain. In January of 1184, Noriyori joins Yoshitsune. With Noriyori’s army from Oumi Seta and Yoshitsune’s army from Yamahiro Tawara, they launch an all-out attack. Yoshitsune defeats the enemy’s army force at the Battle of Uji and enters the capital, but Yoshinaka is defeated in the Battle of Awazu.

However, while the Minamoto clan were fighting against each other, the Taira clan returned to power and they were close at hand, having reached Kobe of Hyogo Prefecture which was next to Kyoto. Yoshitsune along with Noriyori are ordered to hunt down and kill the Taira clan. Yoshitsune leads his army, makes a detour at the Harima Province, and demolishes the enemy general.

And on February 7th, the Battle of Inotachi occurs which was to be the high point in Yoshitsune’s career as a bushi warrior. The Taira clan had set up a military camp in Ichinotani, but were completely negligent of the mountainside which was a sheer cliff. This is where Yoshitsune leads 70 selected soldiers and plans a surprise attack on the headquarters of the Taira clan by a “sakaotoshi” or downhill rush from the cliff of Hiyodorigoe.

The Ichinotani camp falls into confusion with an attack from an unexpected direction. Yoshitsune ignites a fire, and the soldiers of the Taira clan escape to the sea.

In such a way, the Minamoto clan achieved great victory. Yoshitsune, with his stroke of genius, finally appeared on the center stage of history. In September, Yoshitsune married and took a legal wife following the recommendation of Yoritomo.

In February of 1185, Yoshitsune set out inside a storm with several ships without regard to his own life. It only took him a few hours to reach Yashima, when normally it would have taken 3 days to travel the same distance. Yashima was where the Taira clan’s base was located, and Yoshitsune launched a surprise attack on them. He burns down the mountain and houses and puts them on the run.

Noriyori’s army also crossed to Kyūshū on March 24, and finally the last battle between the Minamoto clan and Taira clan began; the famous Battle of Dannoura. The Battle of Dannoura was a naval battle aboard ships.

Yoshitsune is attacked by the enemy general but jumps up and moves from ship to ship in a relaxed manner. This is what is known as Yoshitsune’s “Hassō Tobi” (leaping of the eight ships).

The people of the Taira clan including the generals and women who sensed defeat began to commit suicide one after another by drowning. Both the young Emperor Antoku and the Sanshu no Jingi sank into the depths of the ocean. The once prosperous Taira clan was completely defeated, and the war between the Minamoto clan and the Taira came to an end.

Confrontation with his brother Yoritomo

What awaited Yoshitsune who had defeated the Taira clan was the cold treatment from his brother Yoritomo. Yoshitsune had been sending Taira no Munemori and his son Kiyomune, the captives of the Battle of Dannoura, to Kamakura. However, Yoritomo did not allow Yoshitsune’s entry into Kamakura, and Yoshitsune was detained in Koshigoe.

There are several theories behind the reasons why Yoritomo began to oppose Yoshitsune. One of them was because Yoshitsune had received an official rank from the Emperor without Yoritomo’s permission.

After the Battle of Ichinotani, Cloistered Emperor Goshikawara appoints Yoshitsune to be the third-ranked assistant officer of the left division of the outer palace guards, as well as the police and judicial chief. However, this was considered a threat to Yoritomo, who had not yet received an official rank of any sort.

Furthermore, Yoshitsune had made the hasty decision to attack and drive Emperor Antoku into committing suicide and losing the Sanshu no Jingi which would have been serious blows; although they did defeat the Taira clan, they failed to return all of the Sanshu no Jingi to the imperial court.

Another theory is that Yoshitsune was somehow under the impression that one of Yoritomo’s servants was his own and acted arrogantly. His arrogance can also be seen in his decisions to choose surprise attacks all the time instead of fighting with the attitude required in a bushi warrior which was to fight fair and square. This would have annoyed Yoritomo.

An extremely merciless person, Yoritomo did not like getting too close with people around him, and the same went for the relationship with his brother Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune’s continuous victory against the Taira clan would have placed pressure on him.

Yoshitsune’s military tactics and fame gained the trust of the Cloistered Emperor. His popularity among the bushi warriors was a hindrance to Yoritomo who was aiming to establish a military government. What’s more, Yoshitsune had taken the Taira captive, Taira Tokitada’s daughter as his wife, and he was able to inherit the traditional status of the Taira family as well.

All this was unacceptable to Yoritomo. The one person he thought he could rely on the most had become a potential threat.

Yoritomo’s Attack and the End

Yoshitsune was unable to enter Kamakura ever since the defeat of the Taira clan. He naturally began to hold a grudge against Yoritomo, and Yoritomo who found this out began to confiscate all his property. In October of 1185, Yoshitsune is attacked by one of Yoritomo’s retainers in Kyoto who was ordered by Yoritomo to take Yoshitsune’s life.

Furthermore, the Cloistered Emperor makes an imperial command to hunt down and kill Yoshitsune, putting him into a predicament. At first, Yoshitsune makes an attempt to escape to Kyūshū, but comes across a storm causing shipwreck. There was a need to come up with another plan.

Yoshitsune, who was unable to remain in Kyoto anymore, takes his legal wife and child to Ōshū to seek the support of Fujiwara no Hidehira. Hidehira, who was vigilant against Yoritomo’s forces, considered making Yoshitsune the general of the army to fight against Kamakura. However, in October of 1187, Hidehira passes away from illness.

Before his death, Hidehira leaves a will to his successor Yasuhira to seek directions from Yoshitsune from there on. On the other hand, Yoritomo repeatedly exerts pressure on Yasuhira to capture Yoshitsune.

There was a scheme behind this request. If Yoritomo himself invaded Ōshū, it was very likely that Yasuhira would cooperate with Yoshitsune to fight against him.

On the contrary, if he is able to get Yasuhira to kill Yoshitsune, it would weaken Ōshū. In the end, Yasuhira succumbs to the third pressure from Kamakura, ignores his father’s will and attacks Koromogawaratate where Yoshitsune resided.

Against Yasuhira’s 500 soldiers, Yoshitsune only had 10 and a few soldiers left. Although Yoshitsune was a clever strategist, the situation was out of hand. There was nothing else he could do but shut himself up in the Jibutsudō (private Buddhist hall) of Hiraizumi. Yoshitsune killed his wife and child, then killed himself at the age of 31.

In Summary

After the death of Yoshitsune, Yoritomo invaded Ōshū and the Fujiwara clan was destroyed. This was to lead to the first military government; the beginning of the Kamakura shogunate. It can be said that Yoshitsune did not die in vain when considering the fact that he contributed to the birth of a new shogunate.

In the present, many T.V. series feature Kamakura after the deaths of Yoshitsune and Yoritomo. After learning what they risked for establishing the new government, it might be worth a watch to follow the subsequent events regarding the Kamakura shogunate.