Minamoto no Yoritomo (9 May 1147 – 9 February 1192) was the daimyo of the Kamakura Minamoto clan. He was responsible for unifying Japan under the Kamakura Shogunate, and was the first Shogun, taking power in 1192 and getting rid of most of the opposition to Minamoto rule by the time of his death in the Genpei War. He was married to Minamoto Masako.
Biography[]
Yoritomo was the third son of Minamoto Yoshitomo and after the 1156 Hogen Rebellion, he was the heir of the Kamakura Minamoto branch after the Minamoto family split into Kamakura and Kiso Minamoto. In 1160, when his father was killed after the Heiji Rebellion, Yoritomo became the daimyo of the Kamakura.
He was a resourcesful man who had only his brother Minamoto Noriyori at his side to assist him in keeping the family alive. In 1175 they went on campaign against the Edo and he captured the city of Edo, taking over from Harusada. He made an alliance with the Takeda and the Kiso Minamoto and made sure to establish trade agreements to bolster the trade income, which would in turn supply a large standing army that could extend Kamakura Minamoto rule.
He was idle for most of the years between 1178, when he crushed a rebellion in Shimosa Province, until 1185, when he declared war on the encroaching Hiraizumi Fujiwara. That was a preemptive choice; the Fujiwara were invading central Japan and he needed to take advantage of the civil war that rocked them as well as to blunt their advance. By capturing Tochigi, he took Shimotsuke Province but left Shimosa open to Fujiwara occupation. With his army, he marched south and retook Shimosa, before defeating Kunihira twice, the second time killing him and annihilating the remnants of his army. Yoritomo made Shimosa his vassals as the Yuki clan and proceeded to campaign against the feuding Fujiwara clans. He forced both of the clans to become his allies but in 1190 his allies betrayed him on the Emperor's orders and he faced almost all of Japan as enemies in the "Kenkyu War" (named for the Kenkyu Period of 1190-1199).
Downfall[]
While Minamoto Mitsunao, his greatest general, fought against the enemies of the Minamoto in central Japan, Yoritomo engaged in a series of conflicts with the rogue Fujiwara in the north, who had executed his son Minamoto Tanefusa. Yoritomo captured Miyagi and decimated Fujiwara Motofusa, but was defeated when Fujiwara Chikakage marched south and recaptured Miyagi. Yoritomo could not escape the city, and was killed in batte by the Imperial forces. Yoritomo's death did not end the war, however; his son Minamoto Chikamoto became the new daimyo and took charge of the Minamoto army.
Legacy[]
Minamoto Yoritomo had many children with his wife Masako:
- Minamoto Chikamoto, son and heir, fought in the Kenkyu War
- Minamoto Tanefusa, executed by Kubota Fujiwara in 1190
- Minamoto Naotoki
- Minamoto Mitsunao, adopted, general in Genpei War, Kenkyu War, and other small conflicts
- Minamoto Tsuneyori