Imai Kanehira (1153-21 February 1184) was the Commissioner for Warfare of the Kiso Minamoto clan during the Genpei War. Raised with Minamoto Yoshinaka, he became his right-hand man. He committed seppuku in the original fashion by jumping off his horse head-first with a sword in his mouth.
Biography[]
Kanehira was raised alongside Minamoto Yoshinaka, and the two were childhood friends. During the Genpei War of 1180-1185 he served as the Commissioner for Warfare and a general of the Kiso Minamoto, ruled by Yoshinaka, and was loyal to him during the Minamoto civil war of 1184. At the Battle of Awazu in February 1184, Kanehira fought as his second-in-command, despite lamenting on the side that he chose, and fought even as all of the soldiers around him died in battle. When he learned that Yoshinaka was slain, he committed seppuku by jumping headfirst off of his horse with a sword in his mouth.
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