(1123 – 11 February 1160) was the head of the

Minamoto clan 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 ...

and a general of the late

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

Japanese history The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new invent ...

. His son

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...

became ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

'' and founded the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Y ...

, the first shogunate in the history of

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 ...

. His

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 ...

was Shōjō Juin (勝定寿院).

Hōgen Rebellion

With the outbreak of 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, the members of 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 ...

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

clans were beckoned into the conflict. Yoshitomo sided along 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 ...

in support of the

Emperor Go-Shirakawa was the 77th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His de jure reign spanned the years from 1155 through 1158, though arguably he effectively maintained imperial power for almost thirty-seven years through the ''ins ...

and

Fujiwara no Tadamichi was the eldest son of the Japanese regent ('' Kampaku'') Fujiwara no Tadazane and a member of the politically powerful Fujiwara clan. He was the father of Fujiwara no Kanefusa and Jien. In the Hōgen Rebellion of 1156, Tadamichi sided with the ...

, while his father

Minamoto no Tameyoshi was head of the Minamoto clan during his lifetime, and son of Minamoto no Yoshichika, son of Minamoto no Yoshiie. He led the Minamoto in the Hōgen Rebellion. Tameyoshi is also known as . Though he was most famous for his involvement in the H� ...

sided with the retired

Emperor Sutoku was the 75th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 崇徳天皇 (75)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Sutoku's reign spanned the years from 1123 through 1142. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chry ...

and

Fujiwara no Yorinaga was a Japanese statesman and a member of the Fujiwara clan who was highly significant in determining the course of 12th century Japanese political history. Early life Born in 1120, Yorinaga had a turbulent youth. He later wrote that he did not ...

. Yoshitomo, defeating his father and the forces of Sutoku and Yorinaga, became head of the Minamoto and established himself as a political power in the capital of

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 ...

. However, despite his attempts to have his father pardoned, Tameyoshi was executed. Also, the outcome of the Hōgen rebellion established the Minamoto and Taira as the two strongest political rivals in the country.

Heiji Rebellion

Three years later in 1159, Yoshitomo and

Fujiwara no Nobuyori was one of the chief allies of Minamoto no Yoshitomo in the Heiji Rebellion of 1159. As a member of the Fujiwara clan, Nobuyori might have been in line to become regent, and he desired power, which he obtained for a short while following the Rebe ...

placed Go-Shirakawa under house arrest and killed his retainer, the scholar

Fujiwara no Michinori , also known as , was an aristocratic Confucian scholar and Buddhist monk in late Heian period Japan. He was one of the chief advisors to Emperor Nijō, and one of the chief allies of Taira no Kiyomori, particularly during the Heiji Rebellion ...

, in what is called the Heiji Rebellion. Eventually,

, in support of

Go-Shirakawa was the 77th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His de jure reign spanned the years from 1155 through 1158, though arguably he effectively maintained imperial power for almost thirty-seven years through the ''ins ...

, defeated Yoshitomo. While escaping from Kyoto, Yoshitomo was forced to kill his son Tomonaga. Later, Yoshitomo was betrayed and killed in his bath. Three of his sons,

Minamoto no Yoshitsune was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo conso ...

and

Minamoto no Noriyori was a late Heian period general, who fought alongside his brothers Minamoto no Yoritomo and Minamoto no Yoshitsune at a number of battles of the Genpei War. He was the sixth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo. Early life As children, he and his brot ...

, were later spared and exiled by Kiyomori. However, Yoshihira and Nobuyori were executed. His grave in

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

is surrounded on all sides by wooden swords (''

bokuto A ''bokken'' (, , "wood", and ''ken'', "sword") (or a ''bokutō'' ) is a Japanese wooden sword used for training in kenjutsu. It is usually the size and shape of a ''katana'', but is sometimes shaped like other swords, such as the ''wakizashi'' ...

''), as by legend his last words were "If only I had even a ''

''..."

Family

Yoshitomo fathered five sons in total. His two sons, Yoshihira and

Tomonaga Tomonaga is both a masculine Japanese given name and a Japanese surname. Possible writings Tomonaga can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *友永, "friend, eternity" *友長, "friend, long/lead ...

, lost their lives following the Minamoto Clan's defeat in the Heiji Rebellion in 1160. At the time of the outbreak 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 1180,

was his eldest surviving son. His other two surviving sons were

and

. * Father:

(源為義, 1096–1156) * Mother: Daughter of Fujiwara no Tadakiyo (藤原忠清の娘) ** Wife: Yura Gozen (由良御前, ?–1159), "Urahime" (由良姫), daughter of

Fujiwara no Suenori Fujiwara no Suenori (藤原季範, 1090 – December 27, 1155) was a Japanese nobleman and high priest, High Priest of Atsuta Shrine during the late Heian period, belonging to the Nanke (Fujiwara), Nanke House of the powerful Fujiwara clan. He w ...

(藤原季範). ** Concubine: Tokiwa Gozen (常盤御前, 1138–c.1180) *** 1st son: Minamoto no Yoshihira (源義平, 1140–1160) *** 2nd son:

Minamoto no Tomonaga Minamoto no Tomonaga (源朝長) (1144–1160) was a Minamoto clan samurai of the late Heian period. His father was Minamoto no Yoshitomo and his mother was sister of Hatano Yoshimichi. Tomonaga accompanied his father and two brothers, Minamoto ...

(源朝長, 1144–1160) *** 3rd son:

(源頼朝, 1147–1199) *** 4th son: Minamoto no Yoshikado (源義門, ?–?) *** 5th son: Minamoto no Mareyoshi (源希義, 1152–1180 or 1182) *** 6th son:

(源範頼, 1150–1193) *** 7th son: Ano Zenjō (阿野全成, 1153–1203) *** 8th son: Gien (義円, 1155–1181) *** 9th son:

(源義経, 1159–1189)

References

Bibliography

*Turnbull, Stephen (1998). ''The Samurai Sourcebook''. London: Cassell & Co. page 60. {{DEFAULTSORT:Minamoto no, Yoshitomo

Minamoto no Yoshitomo (1123 – 11 February 1160) was the head of the Minamoto clan and a general of the late Heian period of Japanese history. His son Minamoto no Yoritomo became ''shōgun'' and founded the Kamakura shogunate, the first shogunate in the history of ...

Minamoto clan People of Heian-period Japan Heian period Buddhists