Yoshinaka
Mortal-floor son of Yoshikata; cousin of Yoritomo and Yoshitsune. Raised in the Kiso valley after his father's 1155 killing. Following Prince Mochihito's 1180 anti-Taira edict, raised the Minamoto banner in the Kiso-Hokurikudō region; canonical military victories at the Battle of Kurikara (1183, the "blazing-bull" night-attack) and the entry into Kyoto 1183. Briefly de facto ruler of Kyoto with the self-assumed cognomen Asahi Shogun; his rough Kiso-warriors alienated the court; Emperor Go-Shirakawa secretly appealed to Yoritomo for relief. Killed at the Battle of Awazu (1184) by the armies of his cousins Yoshitsune and Noriyori — the canonical "death of Lord Kiso" episode in the Heike Monogatari book 9 is one of the foundational tragic-warrior-death scenes of the Japanese literary tradition.
Parentage
- parent: Minamoto no Yoshikata
Powers
- The fire-ox night attack at Kurikara
Epithets
- 旭将軍 The Rising-Sun (Morning) GeneralHeike Monogatari, Kiso Yoshinaka episodes (secondary)
- 木曾義仲 Yoshinaka of Kiso (from the valley where he was raised)Heike Monogatari (secondary)
Relations
- ally: Nakahara no Kaneto
- father: Minamoto no Yoshikata (Yoshitomo's younger brother, killed 1155) · JapaneseSonpi Bunmyaku (primary)
- lover: Tomoe GozenFemale-warrior companion-and-lover; present at his last stand at Awazu.Heike Monogatari book 9 (primary)
- killed by: forces of Yoshitsune and Noriyori (sent by Yoritomo) · JapaneseHeike Monogatari book 9 (primary)
Sources
- existence: Heike Monogatari book 6-9 (the canonical-primary literary source for his rise and death) (primary); Sonpi Bunmyaku (primary); Azuma Kagami (primary); Gukanshō (primary)