Minamoto No Yorimasa

Minamoto No Yorimasa (源頼政) (1106 - 1180), also known under the name of Gensammi Yorimasa , was a Samurai of the clan Minamoto, and the chief of the armies of the clan at the beginning of the Guerre of Gempei. Its suicide by Seppuku remained celebrates, and is regarded as that which opened the way with this practice.

Biography

More Poète that warrior, Yorimasa endeavoured during its life to keep away of the fights having opposed during decades the clans Minamoto and Taira, and avoided choosing a camp, being even friendly of Taira No Kiyomori from one time. During the Rebellion of Heiji of 1160, having taken party for the emperor withdrawn Go-Shirakawa as it had already done in 1156 during the Rébellion of Hōgen, it makes just enough lean the balance in favor them Taira to enable them to reverse Minamoto.

However, when it withdraws officially its service within the army of Kiyomori in 1179, it starts to change opinion on the fact of being opposed to its own clan, the more so as the relations between Go-Shirakawa and Kiyomori became very tended and that this one made stop the former emperor, causing a strong opposition in addition anti-Will conceal.

The March 21st 1180, Taira No Kiyomori puts on the imperial throne its Antoku grandson, then only two years old, after the abdication of the Takakura emperor. The prince Mochihito, wire of Go-Shirakawa, estimates himself injured his place on the throne and Yorimasa pushes it with launching the May 5th a call to the weapons with the various families of samurais, as with the Buddhist monasteries that Kiyomori had offended.

The Guerre of Gempei officially begins with the first battle from Uji, the June 23rd. Yorimasa leads Minamoto troops, accompanied by Sōhei (monk-warriors) of the Mii-dera, to defend the Byōdō-in where the prince is taken refuge. In spite of the fact that the monks had removed the boards of the bridge leading to the temple, them Taira manage to pass defenses.

Yorimasa tries to help the prince to flee, but is wounded by an arrow. To avoid being captured by the enemy, it is made then Seppuku in the room of the Phoenix: he initially wrote a poem with the back of his standard, before taking his dagger and opening the abdomen. It is one of the known first seppuku, and that which codified the procedure for the following. Prince Mochihito manages to flee in direction of Nara, but is killed a few days afterwards by the Taira warriors.

Poems

The poems of Minamoto No Yorimasa were gathered in the anthology Yorimasa Kashū , like in the imperial anthologies Shin Kokin-shū and Senzai wakashū .

Anecdote

A legend drawn from the Heike Monogatari affirms that in 1153, Yorimasa would have killed with blow of arrows a Nue which would have been posed on the roof of the imperial palace.

References

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