Minamoto no Yorimasa ( 源 頼政 , 1106 – 20 June 1180) was a Japanese poet, aristocrat and samurai lord. His poetry appeared in various anthologies . He served eight different emperors in his long career, holding posts such as hyōgo no kami (head of the arsenal). As a general, he led the Minamoto armies at the beginning of the Genpei War . Even in later generations, the common name Genzanmi (げんざんみ) was passed down (Yorimasa was not the only person who was called “Genzanmi”, in the same period). Also, like his father, he used the surname “Baba” and was also called “Baba no Yorimasa”
23-612: In the clashes between the Minamoto and Taira 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 1156. For a time, he was even friends with Taira no Kiyomori . 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
46-497: A decisive Taira defeat in the naval Battle of Dan-no-Ura , which resulted in the deaths of Antoku and Taira leaders. Following the war, the victorious Minamoto established Japan's first shogunate in Kamakura . The name "Genpei" comes from alternate readings of the kanji "Minamoto" (源 Gen ) and "Taira" (平 Hei ). The clan is commonly referred to as Heishi ( 平氏 , "Taira clan") or Heike ( 平家 , "House of Taira") , using
69-775: A fossil tree From which we gather no flowers Sad has been my life Fated no fruit to produce The Heike Monogatari and the Settsu Meisho Zue from the Settsu Province , tell the following tale of the killing of the Nue: In the closing years of the Heian period , at the place where the emperor ( Emperor Konoe ) lived, the Seiryō-den , there appeared a cloud of black smoke along with an eerie resounding crying voice, making Emperor Nijō quite afraid. Subsequently,
92-563: 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 so it could not be found. Yorimasa had several children including a daughter, poet Nijōin no Sanuki , and a son, samurai lord Minamoto no Nakatsuna . In a famous episode in the Taiheiki : Samidare ni sawabe no makomo mizu koete/izure ayame to hikizo wazurau The fifth-month rains swamp
115-575: The Byōdō-in temple. Despite the monks' having torn up the planks of the bridge leading to the temple, the Taira managed to break through their defenses, and take the temple. After suffering this defeat at Uji, he committed ritual suicide at Byōdō-in. Minamoto no Yorimasa's suicide by seppuku may be the earliest recorded instance of a samurai's suicide in the face of defeat, although Minamoto no Tametomo , who died in 1170, ten years before Yorimasa, may hold this distinction. According to legend, after his death
138-497: The 50th Emperor Kanmu , who reigned from 781 to 806 ) proved to be the strongest and most dominant line during the Heian period . A great-grandson of Takamochi, Taira no Korehira , moved to Ise Province (currently part of Mie Prefecture ) and established an important Daimyo dynasty. Masamori , his grandson; and Tadamori , his great-grandson, became loyal supporters of Emperor Shirakawa and Emperor Toba , respectively. Later, Tadamori's son, Taira no Kiyomori , created what
161-506: The Heian period, the samurai warrior clans gradually increased in importance and power until they came to dominate the country after the founding of the first shogunate . There are ancient-era clan names called Uji-na ( 氏名 ) or Honsei ( 本姓 ) . Gempeitōkitsu ( 源平藤橘 ) , 4 noble clans of Japan: From the late ancient era onward, the family name (Myōji/苗字 or 名字) had been commonly used by samurai to denote their family line instead of
184-724: The Kanmu Heishi bloodline, was eventually destroyed by Minamoto no Yoritomo 's armies at the Battle of Dan-no-ura , the last battle of the Genpei War. This story is told in the Heike Monogatari . This branch of the Kanmu Heishi had many collateral branches, including Hōjō , Chiba , Miura and Hatakeyama . The other major branch of Kanmu Heishi was founded by Takamune-ō (804–867), the eldest son of Prince Imperial Kazurahara and grandson of Emperor Kanmu, who received
207-467: The Taira clan. The mon (crest, emblem) of the Taira clan is an Agehanochō (揚羽蝶, Swallowtail butterfly ) with raised wings. Japanese clans This is a list of Japanese clans . The old clans ( gōzoku ) mentioned in the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki lost their political power before the Heian period , during which new aristocracies and families, kuge , emerged in their place. After
230-544: The character's On'yomi hei ( 平 ) for Taira , while shi ( 氏 ) means " clan ", and ke ( 家 ) is used as a suffix for " extended family ". The clan is the namesake of The Tale of the Heike , an epic account of the Genpei War. Along with the Minamoto , Taira was one of the honorary surnames given by the emperors of the Heian period (794–1185) to their children and grandchildren who were not considered eligible for
253-498: The emperor fell into illness, and neither medicine nor prayers had any effect. A close associate remembered Minamoto no Yoshiie using an arrow to put a stop to the mystery case of some bird's cry, and he gave the order to a master of arrows, Minamoto no Yorimasa , to slay the monster. One night, Yorimasa went out to slay the monster with his servant Ino Hayata (written as 猪早太 or 井早太), and an arrow made from an arrowhead he had inherited from his ancestor Minamoto no Yorimitsu and
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#1732764919230276-607: The emperor's health instantly recovered, and Yorimasa was given the sword Shishiō as a reward. Taira The Taira ( 平 ) was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period of Japanese history – the others being the Minamoto , the Fujiwara , and the Tachibana . The clan is divided into four major groups, named after the emperors they descended from: Kanmu Heishi, Ninmyō Heishi, Montoku Heishi, and Kōkō Heishi,
299-420: The first to bear the name of Taira, after 825 . Later, descendants of Emperor Nimmyo , Emperor Montoku and Emperor Koko also received the surname. The specific hereditary lines of these emperors are referred to by the posthumous name of the emperor followed by Heishi, for example Kanmu Heishi . The Kanmu Heishi line has two major branches. One was founded in 889 by Taira no Takamochi (great-grandson of
322-661: The industrial and financial vertically integrated business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan , whose influence and size allowed control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period until the end of World War II . Ryukyuan people are not Yamato people , but the Ryukyu Islands have been part of Japan since 1879. Ryukyuan dynasties: Toraijin is used to describe migrants in many contexts, from
345-606: The most influential of which was the Kanmu Heishi line. In the twilight of the Heian period, the Taira controlled the boy emperor Antoku (himself the grandson of the powerful Kugyō Taira no Kiyomori ) and had effectively dominated the Imperial capital of Heian . However, they were opposed by their rivals the Minamoto clan (the Genji), which culminated in the Genpei War (1180–1185 AD). The five-year-long war concluded with
368-503: The name of the ancient clan that the family line belongs to (uji-na/氏名 or honsei/本姓), which was used only in the official records in the Imperial court. Kuge families also had used their family name (Kamei/家名) for the same purpose. Each of samurai families is called "[family name] clan (氏)" as follows and they must not be confused with ancient clan names. The list below is a list of various aristocratic families whose families served as Shugo , Shugodai , Jitō , and Daimyo Zaibatsu were
391-470: The tailfeathers of a mountain bird. An uncanny black smoke started to cover the Seiryō-den. Yorimasa shot his arrow into it, there was a shriek, and a nue fell down around the northern parts of Nijō Castle . Instantly Ino Hayata seized it and finished it off. In the skies above the imperial court, two or three cries of the common cuckoo could be heard, and it is thus said that peace had returned. After this,
414-497: The third son of Yoshitomo, into exile. In 1180 , Yoritomo organized a large-scale rebellion against the rule of the Taira (the Genpei War or Taira-Minamoto ), culminated with the destruction of the Taira by the Minamoto clan and the subjugation of eastern Japan in five years. In 1192 , Minamoto no Yoritomo received the title shogun and created the first bakufu based in Kamakura (Kanagawa Prefecture). The Taira clan had four main branches: These were important members of
437-506: The throne. The clan was founded when the Imperial Court grew too large, and the emperor ordered that the descendants of previous emperors from several generations ago would no longer be princes but would instead be given noble surnames and ranks. The decision became applicable during the reign of Emperor Kanmu (782–805) and thus, together with the Minamoto clan, the Taira clan was born. Some grandchildren of Emperor Kanmu were
460-623: 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 and in May 1180, he sent out an appeal to other Minamoto leaders, and to temples and monasteries that Kiyomori had offended. In the following Genpei War, which began with the Battle of Uji in 1180, Yorimasa led Minamoto forces, along with warrior monks from Miidera , in defending
483-813: The title of Taira no Ason in the year 825. Members of this branch served as middle-class kuge in the Imperial Court of Kyoto. The Oda clan at the time of Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) also claimed Taira descent, they were descendants of Taira no Chikazane , grandson of Taira no Shigemori (1138–1179). During the Heiji Rebellion (1160), the Seiwa Genji leader, Minamoto no Yoshitomo , died in battle. Taira no Kiyomori gained power in Kyoto forging alliances with retired emperors Shirakawa and Toba . Kiyomori sent Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199),
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#1732764919230506-477: 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 was: 埋もれ木の/花咲くことも/なかりしに/身のなる果てぞ/悲しかりける umoregi no/hana saku koto mo/nakarishi ni/mi no naru hate zo/kanashikarikeru Like
529-497: Was considered the first samurai government in the history of Japan. Taira no Kiyomori, son and heir of Tadamori, rose to the position of Daijō Daijin (great Minister of State), after his victories in the Hōgen Rebellion (1156) and the Heiji Rebellion (1160). Kiyomori succeeded in enthroning his youngest grandson as Emperor Antoku in 1180, an act that led to the Genpei War (Genpei no Sōran, 1180–1185). The last leader of
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