(1106 – 20 June 1180) was a prominent
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese poet whose works appeared in various
anthologies
In book publishing
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed work ...
. 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, leading 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 ...
armies at the beginning of 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 the clashes between the Minamoto and
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 ...
clans that had gone on for decades, Yorimasa had tried to stay out of politics, and avoided taking sides. He did participate in the
Hōgen rebellion
In Japanese, Hōgen may refer to several words. Among them:
* Hōgen (era) (保元, 1156–1159), an era in Japan
* Hōgen rebellion, a short civil war in 1156
* dialect (方言) — for example: "eigo no hōgen" (English dialect)
See also
* ...
in 1156. For a time, he was even friends with
Taira no Kiyomori
was a military leader and ''kugyō'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan.
Early life
Kiyomori was born in Heian-kyō, Japan, in 1118 as the first so ...
. During the
Heiji Rebellion of 1160, he leaned just enough in favor of the Taira that it allowed them to overthrow the Minamoto. However, by the time he officially retired from military service in Kiyomori's army in 1179, Yorimasa had changed his mind about opposing his own clan. He entered the Buddhist priesthood. In May 1180, he sent out an appeal to other Minamoto leaders, and to temples and monasteries that Kiyomori had offended.
In the Genpei War, which began with the
Battle of Uji in 1180, Yorimasa led Minamoto forces, along with
warrior monks from
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 ...
, in defending
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 Hei ...
. Despite the monks' having torn up the planks of the bridge leading to the temple, the Taira managed to break through the defenses, and take the temple. Suffering defeat at Uji, he committed suicide at Byōdō-in.
[ Minamoto no Yorimasa's ritual suicide by ]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 ...
may be the earliest recorded instance of a samurai's suicide in the face of defeat, although Minamoto no Tametomo
, also known as , was a samurai who fought in the Hōgen Rebellion of 1156. He was the son of Minamoto no Tameyoshi, and brother to Yukiie and Yoshitomo.
Tametomo is known in the epic chronicles as a powerful archer and it is said that he onc ...
, who died in 1170, ten years before Yorimasa, may hold this distinction.
According to legend, after his death a retainer took Yorimasa's head to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Taira. He then fastened it to a rock and threw it into 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 ...
so it could not be found.[
Yorimasa's daughter was the poet Nijōin no Sanuki.
Yorisama's son was ]Minamoto no Nakatsuna
Minamoto no Nakatsuna (died 1180) was a Japanese samurai lord. He was the elder son of Minamoto no Yorimasa, and fought in the Battle of Uji in 1180, during the Genpei War. Together with his father and younger brother Minamoto no Kanetsuna, the ...
.
Poetry
In a famous episode in the Taiheiki
The (Chronicle of Great Peace) is a Japanese historical epic (see ''gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Taiheiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 923 ...
:
''Samidare ni sawabe no makomo mizu koete/izure ayame to hikizo wazurau''
The fifth-month rains swamp the water-oats along the shore,
making it hard to tell irises from one another and pull
just one
"So, Yorimasa not only added to his reputation as an archer by shooting down a nue; he also proved himself a distinguished poet by winning with a single poem Lady Ayame, whom he had adored for years and months."
Yorimasa's death poem
The death poem is a genre of poetry that developed in the literary traditions of East Asian cultures—most prominently in Japan as well as certain periods of Chinese history and Joseon Korea. They tend to offer a reflection on death—both in g ...
was:
''umoregi no/hana saku koto mo/nakarishi ni/mi no naru hate zo/kanashikarikeru''
Like a fossil tree
From which we gather no flowers
Sad has been my life
Fated no fruit to produce
See also
* Seiwa Genji
The is a line of the Japanese Minamoto clan that is descended from Emperor Seiwa, which is the most successful and powerful line of the clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto warriors, including Minamoto no Yoshiie, Minamoto no Yoritomo, the foun ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minamoto no, Yorimasa
Minamoto clan
Suicides by seppuku
1106 births
1180 deaths
People of Heian-period Japan
Heian period Buddhist clergy
12th-century Japanese poets
Deified Japanese people
Date of birth unknown