Minamoto no Yoritomo

Minamoto no Yoritomo (May 9, 1147 - February 9, 1199) was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura dynasty of Japan, who ruled from 1192 until 1199.

Call to Arms and the Gempei War (1180-1185)

In 1180, Prince Mochihito, a son of Cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa, humiliated by the Taira because of the Taira-backed accession of the throne of his nephew, Emperor Antoku (who was half Taira himself) made a national call to arms of the Minamoto clan all over Japan to rebel against the Taira. Yoritomo decided to take part in this, especially after things escalated between the Taira and Minamoto after the death of Minamoto no Yorimasa and Prince Mochihito himself. Yoritomo set himself up as the rightful heir of the Minamoto clan, and, with financial backing of the Hojo, his wife's family, he set up a capital at Kamakura in the east. Not all Minamoto thought of Yoritomo as rightful heir. His uncle, Minamoto no Yukiie, and his cousin Minamoto no Yoshinaka conspired against him.

Related Topics:
1180 - Prince Mochihito - Emperor Go-Shirakawa - Emperor Antoku - Minamoto no Yorimasa - Kamakura - Minamoto no Yukiie - Minamoto no Yoshinaka

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In 1181, Taira no Kiyomori died, and the Taira clan was now led by Taira no Munemori. Munemori took a much more agressive policy against the Minamoto, and attacked Minamoto bases from Kyoto. Nonetheless, Yoritomo was well protected in Kamakura. His half-brothers, Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Minamoto no Noriyori defeated the Taira in several key battles, but they could not stop Minamoto no Yoshinaka, Yoritomo's rival, from entering Kyoto in 1183 and chasing the Taira south. They took Emperor Antoku with them, so when the Minamoto entered the capital, they enthroned the half-brother of Antoku, Emperor Go-Toba, as the new emperor.

Related Topics:
1181 - Taira no Munemori - Minamoto no Yoshitsune - Minamoto no Noriyori - Kyoto - 1183 - Emperor Go-Toba

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Yoritomo was defeated at Ishibashiyama in his first major battle, but in the end he triumphed over his rival cousins, who sought to steal from him control of the clan, and over the Taira, who suffered a terrible defeat at the Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185. Yoritomo thus established the supremacy of the warrior samurai caste and the first bakufu (shogunate) at Kamakura, beginning the feudal age in Japan which lasted until the mid 19th century.

Related Topics:
Ishibashiyama - Battle of Dan-no-ura - 1185 - Samurai - Caste - Bakufu - 19th century

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Yoritomo was granted the title of shogun (Sei-I-Tai-Shogun, i.e., "Barbarian-quelling Great General") in 1192, which was eventually passed to his oldest son Yoriie in 1202.

Related Topics:
1192 - Yoriie - 1202

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