Minamoto Yoshitsune

Minamoto Yoshitsune

"Japanese military leader and tragic hero, brother of Minamoto Yoritomo. Yoshitsune was placed in a monastery after his father's death in an unsuccessful rising against the dictatorship of Taira Kiyomori, but he escaped and in 1180 joined a rebellion against the Taira clan launched by Yoritomo. His first, spectacularly successful campaign (1184) was against his unruly cousin Yoshinaka; later that year he led a surprise assault on the Taira forces camped at Ichinotani, demoralizing and dispersing them. In 1185 he finally annihilated the Taira in the naval battle of Dannoura, but Yoritomo's suspicions, already aroused, were exacerbated by the retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa's attempts to use Yoshitsune against him. Yoshitsune was forced into rebellion against Yoritomo late in 1185, but most of his few followers died at sea as he fled north. Betrayed and attacked by his allies, he finally committed suicide after killing his wife and daughter. His story has been retold in many chronicles and plays, establishing him as the archetype of doomed valour."