was a son of

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, ...

. Kanetsuna participated in the first Battle of Uji in 1180 that 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 ...

. He accompanied his father, Yorimasa, and brother, Nakatsuna, in opposing the

Taira clan 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 ...

. In the Battle of Uji, the commander,

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 ...

no Yorimasa, realized that his forces were unable to stop the powerful Taira from advancing. Yorimasa decided to retreat to defend Byōdō-in temple with his army and sōhei, so-called "warrior monks" of feudal Japan. Taira samurai, in pursuit of Yorimasa, soon besieged the temple. Yorimasa was struck in the right elbow by an arrow. Yorimasa's sons, Kanetsuna and Nakatsuna, held off the Taira while their father 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 ...

. Kanetsune was struck under his helmet by an arrow while Nakatsuna fell mortally wounded before joining his father in ritual death. Yorimasa's head was taken by one of his own retainers, weighted by a rock, and sunk in the Uji River.

References

1180 deaths Minamoto clan Nobility from Kyoto Japanese nobility Deified Japanese people Deified men Imperial House of Japan Samurai People of Heian-period Japan Year of birth unknown {{Samurai-stub