was a military commander of the Minamoto clan 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 n ...

in the late

Heian The Japanese word Heian (平安, lit. "peace") may refer to: * Heian period, an era of Japanese history * Heian-kyō, the Heian-period capital of Japan that has become the present-day city of Kyoto * Heian series, a group of karate kata (forms) * ...

and early

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

periods. During 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 himse ...

, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of 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 divide ...

, helping his half-brother

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 ...

consolidate power. He is considered one of the greatest and the most popular warriors of his era, and one of the most famous

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 ...

in the history of Japan. Yoshitsune perished after being betrayed by the son of a trusted ally.

Early life

The fight between Ushiwaka Maru and Kumasaka Chohan

Yoshitsune aangevallen door Taira geesten-Rijksmuseum RP-P-1979-177

Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with

Tokiwa Gozen Tokiwa Gozen (常盤御前) (1138 – c. 1180), or Lady Tokiwa, was a Japanese noblewoman of the late Heian period and mother of the great samurai general Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Sources disagree as to whether she was a concubine or wife to M ...

. Yoshitsune's older half-brother Minamoto no Yoritomo (the third son of Yoshitomo) would go on to establish 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 ...

. Yoshitsune's name in childhood was Ushiwakamaru or ''young bull'' (). He was born just before the Heiji Rebellion in 1160 in which his father and two oldest brothers were killed. He survived this incident by fleeing the capital with his mother, while his half-brother Yoritomo was banished to Izu Province. When he was 10, Yoshitsune was placed in the care of the monks of Kurama temple (), nestled in the Hiei Mountains near 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 c ...

. There he was taught swordsmanship and strategy, according to some legends by Sōjōbō, to others by Kiichi Hōgen (whose book, '' Six Secret Teachings'', Ushiwakamaru stole). Not wanting to become a monk, Yoshitsune eventually left and followed a gold merchant who knew his father well, and in 1174 relocated to Hiraizumi,

Mutsu Province was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori Prefectures and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture. Mutsu Province is also known as or . The term is often used to refer to the co ...

, where he was put under the protection of Fujiwara no Hidehira, head of the powerful regional

Northern Fujiwara The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese kuge, noble Japanese clans, family that ruled the Tōhoku region (the northeast of Honshū) of Japan during the 12th century as their own realm. A skillful swordsman, Yoshitsune defeated the legendary warrior monk Benkei in a duel. From then on, Benkei became Yoshitsune's retainer, eventually dying with him at the Siege of Koromogawa. In 1180, Yoshitsune heard that Yoritomo, now head of the Minamoto clan, had raised an army at the request of

Prince Mochihito (died June 1180), also known as the Takakura Prince, and as Minamoto no Mochimitsu (源以光), was a son of Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan. He is noted for his role in starting the Genpei War. Believing that Taira no Kiyomori was causing suffe ...

to fight against the

(also known as the Heike) which had usurped the power of the emperor. In the ensuing war between the rival Minamoto and Taira

clans, known as the

, Yoshitsune joined Yoritomo, along with Minamoto no Noriyori, all brothers who had not previously met. Yoshitsune, together with his brother Noriyori, defeated the Taira in several key battles. He also attacked and killed his cousin Minamoto no Yoshinaka, a rival for control of the Minamoto clan, at the Battle of Awazu in Ōmi Province in early 1184 on the orders of Yoritomo. Yoshitsune, who had by then been given the rank of general, went on to defeat the Taira at the

Battle of Ichi-no-Tani was a Taira defensive position at Suma, to the west of present-day Kobe, Japan. It sat on a very narrow strip of shore, between mountains on the north, and the sea to the south. This made it quite defensible, but also made it difficult to m ...

in present-day

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whi ...

in March 1184, and again at the Battle of Yashima in Shikoku in March 1185. He finally destroyed them one month later at the

Battle of Dan-no-ura The was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Dan-no-ura, in the Shimonoseki Strait off the southern tip of Honshū. On April 25, 1185 (or March 24, 1185 by the official page of Shimonoseki City), the fleet of the Minamoto clan ...

in present-day

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 km2 (2,359 sq mi). Yamaguchi Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture t ...

Final years

Following the Genpei War, Yoshitsune was appointed as Governor of Iyo and awarded other titles by cloistered emperor Go-Shirakawa. His suspicious brother Yoritomo, however, opposed the presentation of these titles, and nullified them. Vase with the Warrior Yoshitsune by Ishikawa Komei

Vase with the Warrior Yoshitsune by Ishikawa Komei

Yoshitsune then secured imperial authorization to ally with his uncle Minamoto no Yukiie in opposing Yoritomo. Incurring Yoritomo's wrath, Yoshitsune fled Kyoto in 1185. His faithful mistress,

Shizuka Gozen Shizuka GozenNote: ''Gozen'' is not a name, but rather an honorific title, usually translated as "Lady", though the title was bestowed upon men on rare occasions as well. (静御前) (1165–1211), or Lady Shizuka, one of the most famous women in ...

, carrying his unborn child, fled with him at first, but then was left behind, and soon taken into custody by forces loyal to Yoritomo. Yoshitsune eventually made his way to Hiraizumi, Mutsu, once again to the protection of Fujiwara no Hidehira, and lived undisturbed for a time. Hidehira's son Fujiwara no Yasuhira had promised upon Hidehira's death to honor his father's wishes and continue to shelter Yoshitsune, but, giving in to pressure from Yoritomo, betrayed Yoshitsune, surrounding his Koromogawa-no-tachi residence with his troops, defeating Yoshitsune's retainers, including Benkei (in a famous "standing death"), and forcing Yoshitsune to commit

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 ...

. Yasuhira then had Yoshitsune's head preserved in sake, placed in a black-lacquered chest, and sent to Yoritomo as proof of his death. Historical sources differ as to the fate of Yoshitsune's mistress Shizuka and their son. Yoshitsune is enshrined in the Shirahata Jinja, a

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shint ...

shrine in the city of Fujisawa.

Rumors and legend

The death of Yoshitsune has been very elusive. According to

Ainu Ainu or Aynu may refer to: *Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far East *Ainu languages, a family of languages **Ainu language of Hokkaido **Kuril Ainu language, extinct language of the Kuril Islands **Sakhalin Ainu la ...

historical accounts, he did not commit seppuku, but instead escaped the siege at Koromogawa, fleeing to

Hokkaido is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...

and assuming the name Okikurumi/Oinakamui. An alternative legend states that after evading death, Yoshitsune made his way past Hokkaido and sailed to the mainland of Asia, re-surfacing as

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...

. This story was invented by Suematsu Kenchō (1855-1920) while he was studying at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1879, with the aim of improving Japanese prestige in the wake of the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

. There's a temple Henshoji in

Mooka, Tochigi 270px, Moka Station is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,720 in 30203 households, and a population density of 476 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Moka is known for the Mo ...

. According to an old temple magazine and tradition, Hitachibō Kaison entrusted a monk Hitachi Nyūdō Nensai with a child of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Keiwaka, as demanded by Hidehira Fujiwara. Furthermore, according to the tradition of Enmyō-ji temple in

Hirosaki is a city located in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. On 1 April 2020, the city had an estimated population of 168,739 in 71,716 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Hirosaki developed as a castle town fo ...

Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total are ...

, Chitose Maru, also known as Keiwakamaru was a child of Yoshitsune, entrusted to

Date Tomomune Date Tomomune (伊達朝宗, 1129 - October 23, 1199) was a samurai during the closing years of the Heian period through to the beginning of the Kamakura period. He is known as the founder of the Date Clan. Biography In 1189, Nakamura Hitachi-n ...

by Kaison. After the adoption Kaison disappeared.

Koshigoe Letter

The " Koshigoe Letter" was written by Yoshitsune on the 24th day of the 5th month of the second year of Genryaku (June 23, 1185) as he waited in

Koshigoe is a part of the municipality of Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, located at the western end of the beach of Shichirigahama, near Fujisawa.Kamakura Shōkō Kaigijo (2008:60-61) The name seems to stem from the fact it was founded by people who ...

for approval from Yoritomo to enter Kamakura. The letter was Yoshitsune's "final appeal" to Yoritomo of his loyalty. The letter is a "mixture of bravado and an almost masochistic indulgence in misfortune." An excerpt:

In literature

Yoshitsune has long been a popular figure in Japanese literature and culture due to his appearance as the main character in the third section of the Japanese literary classic '' Heike Monogatari (Tale of the Heike)''. The Japanese term for "sympathy for a tragic hero", , comes from Yoshitsune's title ''Kurō Hōgan'' (), which he received from the Imperial Court. Many of the literary pieces that Yoshitsune appears in are legend rather than historical fact. Legends pertaining to Yoshitsune first began to appear in the fourteenth century. In early works at that time, Yoshitsune was described as a sharp-witted military leader.McCullough, Helen. ''Yoshitsune: A Fifteenth-Century Japanese Chronicle''. California: Stanford University Press, 1966. Then, romantic stories about his early childhood and last years of his life appeared as people began to know more about him. The legends that deal with his public career show Yoshitsune as a great, virtuous warrior. He was often shown as kind to those around him and honorable, but was also shown to be naive. Legends dealing with Yoshitsune’s childhood show young Yoshitsune (or Ushiwakamaru) with heroic qualities. He is portrayed as a brave and skilled swordsman, despite being a young boy. He was also skilled in music and his studies, and was also said to be able to easily sway the hearts of young women. These legends delve into fantasy more so than the legends about his later life. Legends which pertain to the time when his half-brother, Yoritomo, turned against him take away some of Yoshitsune’s heroic qualities. He is no longer portrayed as a great warrior, but he retains his knowledge and skills that are valuable in the emperor’s court. Yoshitsune's escape through the Ataka barrier is the subject of Noh play '' Ataka'' and the

Kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought ...

play ''

Kanjinchō ''Kanjinchō'' (勧進帳, ''The Subscription List'') is a kabuki dance-drama by Namiki Gohei III, based on the Noh play '' Ataka''. It is one of the most popular plays in the modern kabuki repertory. Belonging to the repertories of the Narita ...

''. ''Kanjinchō'' was later dramatized by Akira Kurosawa in the 1945 movie ''

The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail is a 1945 Japanese period drama film written and directed by Akira Kurosawa, based on the kabuki play ''Kanjinchō'', which is in turn based on the Noh play '' Ataka''. It depicts a famous 12th century incident in which Yoshitsune and a small ...

''. The ''

Gikeiki The , "The Chronicle of Yoshitsune", is a Japanese gunki monogatari ("war-tale") that focuses on the legends of Minamoto no Yoshitsune and his followers. Thought to have been written during the Nanboku-chō period, it has provided inspiration to ...

'', or "''Chronicle of Yoshitsune''" relates events of Yoshitsune's life after the defeat of the Heike.

Family

* Father: Minamoto no Yoshitomo * Mother:

* Wife: Sato Gozen (1168–1189) * Concubine:

Traditional arts

In addition to The Tale of the Heike and ''Gikeiki'', a great many other works of literature and drama feature him, and together form the '' sekai'' ("world") of Yoshitsune, a concept akin to the notion of the

literary cycle A literary cycle is a group of stories focused on common figures, often (though not necessarily) based on mythical figures or loosely on historical ones. Cycles which deal with an entire country are sometimes referred to as matters. A fictional c ...

. These include: * '' Yoshitsune Shin Takadachi'' ('' jōruri'') * ''

Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura ''Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura'' (義経千本桜), or ''Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees'', is a Japanese play, one of the three most popular and famous in the Kabuki repertoire. Originally written in 1747 for the jōruri puppet theater by ...

'' ('' jōruri'' and

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought ...

) * ''

'' (

) In the visual arts, Yoshitsune is commonly depicted as a ''

bishōnen (; also transliterated ) is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth (boy)" and describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man of androgynous beauty. This word originated from the Tang dyna ...

'', though this is at odds with contemporary descriptions of his appearance.

References

External links

Biographical Summary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Minamoto no, Yoshitsune 1150s births 1159 births 1189 deaths Minamoto clan People of Heian-period Japan People of the Genpei War People of Kamakura-period Japan Suicides by seppuku Deified Japanese people Japanese legends Japanese folklore