was the progenitor of the
Nitta branch family of 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 ...
samurai clan, who fought alongside the Minamoto in 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 is also known as Nitta Tarō and Nitta Yoshishige.
His father was
Minamoto no Yoshikuni
was son of famous samurai Minamoto no Yoshiie and an ancestor of the Ashikaga and Nitta clans. Yoshikuni was the samurai who first implored the spirit of the Iwashimizu Shrine to start living in this bamboo grove and he built the shrine in hon ...
and his grandfather
Minamoto no Yoshiie
Minamoto No Yoshiie (源 義家; 1039 – 4 August 1106), also known as Hachimantarō, was a Minamoto clan samurai of the late Heian period, and '' Chinjufu-shōgun'' (Commander-in-chief of the defense of the North).
The first son of Minamoto ...
.
In 1156, he fought in the
Hogen Rebellion 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 ...
. He also fought with Kiyomori in the
Heiji Rebellion in 1160 along with his younger brother
Minamoto no Yoshiyasu
Minamoto no Yoshiyasu, also called Ashikaga Yoshiyasu (源 義康/足利 義康, 1127 – 1157) was a samurai of the late Heian period. He is known for his participation in the Hōgen rebellion in 1156. He is best known as the founder of the Ashika ...
. However he switched sides shortly after the rebellion and fought with 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 ...
in 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 ...
two decades later. He fought in the
Battle of Awazu
Minamoto no Yoshinaka made his final stand at Awazu, after fleeing from his cousins' armies, which confronted him after he attacked Kyoto, burning the Hōjūjiden, and kidnapping Emperor Go-Shirakawa. During the pursuit he was joined by his ...
with his brother in 1184, and again in the
Battle of Yashima
Battle of Yashima (屋島の戦い) was one of the battles of the Genpei War on March 22, 1185 in the Heian period. It occurred in Sanuki Province (Shikoku) which is now Takamatsu, Kagawa.
Background
Following a long string of defeats, the Tai ...
a year later. He died in 1202.
Yoshishige was posthumously awarded the title of ''
Chinjufu-shōgun'', or Commander-in-chief of the Defense of the North, in 1611, four centuries after his death, by the second
Tokugawa shōgun,
Tokugawa Hidetada
was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Early life (1579–1593)
Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...
.
He ordained as a Buddhist monk and received the
Dharma name
A Dharma name or Dhamma name is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The nam ...
Jōnichi (上西).
References
*Papinot, Edmond (1910). Historical and geographical dictionary of Japan. Tokyo: Librarie Sansaisha.
Minamoto clan
Nitta clan
1135 births
1202 deaths
People of Heian-period Japan
People of Kamakura-period Japan
Kamakura period Buddhist clergy
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