Everything about Minamoto No Yoritomo totally explained
was the founder and the first
shogun of the
Kamakura Shogunate of
Japan. He ruled from 1192 until
1199.
Early Life and Exile (1147-1180)
Minamoto no Yoritomo was the third oldest son of
Minamoto no Yoshitomo, the heir of the
Minamoto (
Seiwa Genji) clan, and his official wife, a daughter of
Fujiwara no Suenori, who was a member of the illustrious
Fujiwara clan. Yoritomo was born in
Heian-kyō, then the capital of Japan (now known as
Kyoto). At that time Yoritomo's grandfather
Minamoto no Tameyoshi, was the head of the Minamoto.
In 1156, factional divisions in the court erupted into open warfare within the capital itself. The
cloistered Emperor Toba and his son
Emperor Go-Shirakawa sided with the son of Fujiwara regent
Fujiwara no Tadazane,
Fujiwara no Tadamichi as well as
Taira no Kiyomori (a member of the
Taira clan), while
Cloistered Emperor Sutoku sided with Tadazane's younger son,
Fujiwara no Yorinaga. This was known as the
Hōgen Rebellion, or the 'Hogen Disturbance'.
Unfortunately the Seiwa Genji were split. The head of the clan, Tameyoshi, sided with Cloistered Emperor Sutoku while his son, Yoshitomo, sided with Cloistered Emperor Toba and Emperor Go-Shirakawa, as well as Kiyomori. In the end, the supporters of Emperor Go-Shirakawa won the civil war, thus ensuring victory for Yoshitomo and Kiyomori. Cloistered Emperor Sutoku was placed under house arrest, and Yorinaga was fatally wounded in battle. Even Tameyoshi was executed as well, even after numerous pleas from Yoshitomo. Nonetheless, Emperor Go-Shirakawa and Kiyomori were ruthless, and Yoshitomo found himself as the head of the Minamoto, while Yoritomo became the heir.
Since Yoritomo was descended from the imperial family on his father's side and the Fujiwara noble family on his mother's side, he received his first court title and was appointed an administrator. Nonetheless, in Kyoto, the Taira clan, now under the leadership of Kiyomori, and the Minamoto clan, under the leadership of Yoshitomo, began to factionalize again.
Kiyomori supported the
Emperor Nijō, who was the son of Go-Shirakawa. Kiyomori had the support of
Fujiwara no Nobuyori. Meanwhile, Yoshitomo supported the now cloistered
Emperor Go-Shirakawa and their old ally
Fujiwara no Tadamichi and the scholar-courtier
Fujiwara no Michinori. This was known as the
Heiji Rebellion, or the 'Heiji Disturbance'. Nonetheless, the Minamoto were not well prepared, and the Taira took control of Kyoto.
In the aftermath, harsh terms were imposed on the Minamoto and their allies. Fujiwara no Michinari and Fujiwara no Tadamichi were executed, while the palace of Cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa was burned down by the Taira. Meanwhile, Yoshitomo fled the capital just as the Taira marched in
1160, but was betrayed and executed by a retainer in
Owari. As for Yoritomo, the new head of the Minamoto, he was exiled to Hirugashima, an island in
Izu province, which at that time was under the rule of the
Hōjō clan. Kiyomori and the Taira clan were now the undisputed leaders of Japan. Yoritomo wasn't executed by Kiyomori because of pleas from Kiyomori's stepmother
Lady Ikenozenni. Yoritomo's half brother,
Minamoto no Noriyori, was also exiled, while
Minamoto no Yoshitsune, another half-brother, was forced to enter a monastery. All other siblings were executed.
Yoritomo grew up with a life in exile. In
1179, he married into the
Hōjō clan, led by
Hōjō Tokimasa. He married Tokimasa's daughter,
Hōjō Masako. Meanwhile, he was notified of events in Kyoto thanks to helpful friends. Soon enough, Yoritomo's passive exile was to be over.
Call to Arms and the Genpei War (1180-1185)
In
1180,
Prince Mochihito, a son of Cloistered
Emperor Go-Shirakawa, humiliated by the Taira because of the Taira-backed accession of the throne of his nephew,
Emperor Antoku (who was half Taira himself) made a national call to arms of the Minamoto clan all over Japan to rebel against the Taira. Yoritomo decided to take part in this, especially after things escalated between the Taira and Minamoto after the death of
Minamoto no Yorimasa and
Prince Mochihito himself. Yoritomo set himself up as the rightful heir of the Minamoto clan, and, with financial backing of the Hōjō, his wife's family, he set up a capital at
Kamakura in the east. Not all Minamoto thought of Yoritomo as rightful heir. His uncle,
Minamoto no Yukiie, and his cousin
Minamoto no Yoshinaka conspired against him.
In
1181, Taira no Kiyomori died, and the Taira clan was now led by
Taira no Munemori. Munemori took a much more aggressive policy against the Minamoto, and attacked Minamoto bases from Kyoto. Nonetheless, Yoritomo was well protected in Kamakura. His half-brothers,
Minamoto no Yoshitsune and
Minamoto no Noriyori defeated the Taira in several key battles, but they couldn't stop Minamoto no Yoshinaka, Yoritomo's rival, from entering
Kyoto in 1183 and chasing the Taira south. They took Emperor Antoku with them, so when the Minamoto entered the capital, they enthroned the half-brother of Antoku,
Emperor Go-Toba, as the new emperor.
In 1180, Yoritomo was defeated at
Ishibashiyama, his first major battle; but his early years as an insurgent chief were mostly spent in consolidating his power over the warrior aristocrats in the Kantō area, most of whom accepted his authority peaceably. From 1181 to 1184, a de facto truce with the Taira dominated court allowed Yoritomo the time to build an administration of his own, centered on his military headquarters in Kamakura. In the end he triumphed over his rival cousins, who sought to steal from him control of the clan, and over the Taira, who suffered a terrible defeat at the
Battle of Dan-no-ura in
1185. Yoritomo thus established the supremacy of the warrior
samurai caste and the first
bakufu (shogunate) at Kamakura, beginning the feudal age in Japan which lasted until the mid-
19th century.
His wife's family, the
Hōjō, took control after his death at Kamakura, maintaining power over the shogunate until 1333, under the title of
shikken (regent to the Shogun).
Eras of Yoritomo's bakufu
The years in which Yoritomo was shogun are more specifically identified by more than one
era name or
nengō.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Minamoto No Yoritomo'.
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