The first battle of

Uji is a city on the southern outskirts of the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Founded on March 1, 1951, Uji is between the two ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto. The city sits on the Uji River, which has its source in Lake Biwa. ...

is famous and important for having opened the

Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himself ...

. In early 1180,

Prince Mochihito (died June 1180), also known as the Takakura Prince, and as Minamoto no Mochimitsu (源以光), was a son of Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan. He is noted for his role in starting the Genpei War. Believing that Taira no Kiyomori was causing suffe ...

, the

Minamoto was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during the ...

Clan's favored claimant to the

Imperial Throne Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

, was chased by

Taira The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divided i ...

forces to the

Mii-dera , formally called , is a Buddhist temple in Japan located at the foot of Mount Hiei, in the city of Ōtsu in Shiga Prefecture. It is a short distance from both Kyoto, and Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. The head temple of the Jimon sect ...

, a temple just outside

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

. Due to the interference of a Mii-dera monk with

sympathies, the

army arrived too late to help defend the temple.

Minamoto no Yorimasa (1106 – 20 June 1180) was a prominent Japanese poet whose works appeared in various anthologies. He served eight different emperors in his long career, holding posts such as ''hyōgo no kami'' (head of the arsenal). He was also a warrior, ...

and

, along with a force of about fifteen hundred men including the warrior monks of Mii-dera and the Watanabe clan, fled south towards

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

. They crossed the

Uji River The , also called the Seta River (瀬田川 ''Seta-gawa'') and the Uji River (宇治川 ''Uji-gawa'') at portions of its route, is the principal river in Osaka Prefecture on Honshu, Japan. The source of the river is Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefectur ...

, just outside the

Byōdō-in is a Buddhist temple in the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, built in the late Heian period. It is jointly a temple of the Jōdo-shū (Pure Land) and Tendai-shū sects. History This temple was originally built in 998 in the He ...

, and tore up the planks of the bridge behind them to prevent the Taira from following. Three warrior monks in particular are named in the ''

Heike Monogatari is an epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). Heike () refers to the Taira (), ''hei'' being the ''on'yo ...

'': Gochi-in no Tajima,

Tsutsui Jōmyō Meishū Tsutsui no Jōmyō Meishū (筒井浄妙明秀) was a warrior monk (''sōhei'') from Mii-dera who fought alongside Minamoto no Yorimasa and his fellow monks at the Battle of Uji in 1180, defending the Byōdō-in and Prince Mochihito from the Tair ...

, and

Ichirai Hōshi Ichirai (一来, died 1180) was a Japanese warrior monk who supported the Minamoto clan of samurai against their rivals, the Taira clan The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Ka ...

. These three, along with the other monks of Mii-dera, fought with bow and arrow, a variety of swords, daggers and

naginata The ''naginata'' (, ) is a pole weapon and one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades (''nihontō''). ''Naginata'' were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei ( ...

. As for the

troops, they were led by

Ashikaga Tadatsuna Ashikaga (足利) may refer to: * Ashikaga clan (足利氏 ''Ashikaga-shi''), a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Minamoto clan; and that formed the basis of the eponymous shogunate ** Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府 ''Ashikaga bakufu''), a ...

, one of the few warriors of direct Minamoto descent who stayed loyal to his oath to the Taira family up until he and his father were murdered by one of their retainers, Kiryū Rokurō. According to Azuma Kagami, the 18-year-old Tadatsuna is supposedly remembered as having had the strength of one hundred men, a voice that echoed over 10 li (5 km), and teeth of 1 sun (3.03 cm) long. Further stating that "there will be no warrior in future ages like this Tadatsuna." Led by their young general, the Taira forces soon began to ford the river and caught up with the Minamoto. Tadatsuna was the first warrior on the frontline and following a custom of the period is said to have proclaimed his name and lineage before charging his enemies. Yorimasa tried to help the Imperial Prince get away, but was struck with an arrow in the right elbow. While his sons, Nakatsuna and Kanetsuna were fighting to fend off their enemies, Yorimasa committed ''

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

''. And it is said that "Yorimasa committed seppuku in a way that was to set the standard for generations to come." While as for Prince Mochihito, he was captured and killed shortly after the battle by the Taira clan.

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

* Turnbull, Stephen (2003). ''Japanese Warrior Monks AD 949-1603''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. 1180s in Japan 1180 in Asia Uji 1180 Uji 1180 Japanese imperial history