The battle of Kurikara, also known as the battle of Tonamiyama (砺波山), was a crucial battle of Japan's Genpei War; in this battle the tide of the war turned in the favor of the Minamoto clan. The Genpei or Gempei War (源平合戦、寿永・治承の乱) (1180-1185) was a war of ancient Japan, fought between the Taira and Minamoto clans. ... June 2 is the 153rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (154th in leap years), with 212 days remaining. ... Events Three-year old Emperor Go-Toba ascends to the throne of Japan after the forced abdication of his brother Antoku during the Genpei War William of Tyre excommunicated by the newly appointed Heraclius of Jerusalem, firmly ending their struggle for power Andronicus I Comnenus becomes the Byzantine emperor Births... Etchu (越中国; EtchÅ«-no kuni) was an old province in central Honshu, on the Sea of Japan side. ... Minamoto (源) was an honorary surname bestowed by the Emperors of Japan of the Heian Period to their sons and grandsons after accepting them as royal subjects. ... Minamoto (源) was an honorary surname bestowed by the Emperors of Japan of the Heian Period to their sons and grandsons after accepting them as royal subjects. ... Taira (平) is a Japanese surname. ... Minamoto no Yoshinaka )(1154-1184) was a general of the late Heian Period of Japanese history. ... Minamoto no Yukiie )(d. ... Taira no Koremori ) (dates?) was one of the Taira clans commanders in the Genpei War. ... The Genpei or Gempei War (源平合戦、寿永・治承の乱) (1180-1185) was a war of ancient Japan, fought between the Taira and Minamoto clans. ... Combatants Minamoto clan Taira clan Commanders Minamoto no Yorimasa Taira no Tomomori, Taira no Shigehira Strength Casualties {{{notes}}} The first battle of Uji is famous and important for having opened the Genpei War. ... Following the 1180 Battle of the Uji, in which Minamoto no Yorimasa fought a small Taira army with the help of monks from the Miidera and other temples, the victorious Taira, angry at being opposed, decided to assault and burn the Miidera, before moving on to Nara. ... The battle of Ishibashiyama (石橋山, literally Stone Bridge Mountain) was the first in which Minamoto no Yoritomo, who was to become shogun less than a decade later, was commander of the Minamoto forces. ... Attempting to recover quickly from his exile, and to rebuild his army, Minamoto no Yoritomo sent out messengers to recruit other families onto his side. ... Minamoto no Yukiie attempted a sneak attack in the night, when he found Taira no Tomomori and his army directly opposite from his, along the Sunomata River. ... Retreating from the Battle of Sunomata, Minamoto no Yukiie attempted to make a stand by destroying the bridge over the river Yahagigawa(矢作川), and putting up a defensive shieldwall. ... Hiuchiyama(火打ち山) was one of Minamoto no Yoshinakas fortresses in Echizen Province. ... Combatants Minamoto clan Taira clan Commanders Minamoto no Yoshinaka Taira no Munemori Strength Casualties {{{notes}}} Following the Battle of Kurikara, Minamoto no Yoshinaka caught up with the retreating Taira no Munemori. ... One of the most important bases of the Taira was Yashima, a small island off the coast of Shikoku. ... Combatants Minamoto clan Taira clan Commanders Imai Kanehira Seno Kaneyasu The siege of the FukuryÅ«ji took place in 1183, and was a battle of the Genpei War, the great 12th century Japanese civil war between the Taira clan and the Minamoto clan. ... Combatants Minamoto clan Taira clan Commanders Minamoto no Yukiie Taira no Tomomori Strength Casualties {{{notes}}} Minamoto no Yukiie tried to recoup the loss of the Battle of Mizushima by attacking Taira forces at Muroyama. ... Combatants Minamoto clan warriors Taira clan sympathizers, incl. ... Minamoto no Yoshinaka tried to wrest power from his cousins Yoritomo and Yoshitsune, seeking to take command of the Clan. ... Continuing to flee from his cousins armies after attacking Kyoto, burning the Hojujiden, and kidnapping the Emperor, Minamoto no Yoshinaka made his final stand at Awazu. ... Ichi-no-Tani (一の谷) was a Taira fortress, to the west of present-day Kobe. ... Following the fleeing Taira from Ichi_no_Tani, on their way to Yashima, Minamoto no Noriyori engaged and defeated his enemies in battle at Kojima. ... Following a long string of defeats, the Taira retreated to Yashima, todays Takamatsu, just off of Shikoku. ... The Battle of Dan-no-ura, more commonly known as Dan-no-ura no Tatakai (壇ノ浦の戦い), was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Dan_no_ura, in the Shimonoseki Strait off the southern tip of Honshu. ... The Genpei or Gempei War (源平合戦、寿永・治承の乱) (1180-1185) was a war of ancient Japan, fought between the Taira and Minamoto clans. ... Seiryoji, a temple in Kyoto, was once a villa of Minamoto no Toru (d. ...

Background

Minamoto no Yoshinaka, commander of a contingent of warriors from Shinano province, raided Taira lands several years earlier, before his raids, and the war itself, were put on hold on account of two years of famine. As conditions improved in 1183, the Taira sought retribution against Yoshinaka. Taira no Koremori, son of Taira no Shigemori and grandson of the late Taira no Kiyomori, took charge of this operation, backed by Michimori, Tadanori, Tomonori, Tsunemasa and Kiyofusa. Their forces severely reduced by battle and famine, the Taira sought to recruit warriors from the surrounding lands, and did so at the risk of further famine, since many of these warriors were farmers leaving their farms. Though some chronicles list their numbers as exceeding 100,000, this is a highly unlikely number, and other, more reliable sources have estimated it as being closer to 40,000. Minamoto no Yoshinaka )(1154-1184) was a general of the late Heian Period of Japanese history. ... Shinano (信濃国; -no kuni) is an old province of Japan that is now present day Nagano prefecture. ... Taira no Koremori ) (dates?) was one of the Taira clans commanders in the Genpei War. ... Taira no Shigemori )(1138-1179) was the eldest son of the Taira clan patriarch, Taira no Kiyomori. ... Statue of Taira no Kiyomori, Miyajima, Hiroshima Prefecture Taira no Kiyomori (å¹³ 清盛 1118 - 1181) was a general of the late Heian period of Japan. ... Taira no Tadanori )(1144-1184) was the brother of clan head Taira no Kiyomori, and one of his generals in the Genpei War against the Minamoto. ...

Minamoto no Yoritomo, Yoshinaka's cousin, moved to fight him for dominance of the clan in March 1183, but was convinced to stand down and withdraw by Yoshinaka, who argued that they should be united against the Taira. To ensure his intentions, Yoshinaka also sent his son, Yoshitaka, to Kamakura as a hostage. Shortly afterwards, Yoshinaka received news of Koremori's army, and moved to engage him, along with his uncle Minamoto no Yukiie, consort Tomoe Gozen, and so-called shitennō, his four most loyal retainers: Imai Kanehira, Higuchi Kanemitsu, Tate Chikatada, Nenoi Yukichika. Portrait of Yoritomo (copy) Minamoto no Yoritomo May 9, 1147—February 9, 1199) was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan, who ruled from 1192 until 1199. ... Minamoto no Yukiie )(d. ... A woodblock print of Tomoe Gozen in battle. ...

Battle

Approaching the mountain passes which connect western Honshū to the east, Koremori split his forces in two, one part taking the Kurikara Pass up to Tonamiyama, and the other entering Etchū Province through Noto Province to the north. Minamoto no Yoshinaka, seeing the Taira forces coming up the pass, arranged a large number of white flags (white being the Minamoto clan color) on a hill a few kilometers away to trick his enemies into believing that his force was larger than it really was. This was a delaying tactic, aimed at keeping the Taira atop the pass until night fell, so that the second part of his strategy could fall into place. HonshÅ« (本州 Literally Main State) is the largest island of Japan, called the Mainland; it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait. ... EtchÅ« ) was an old province in central HonshÅ«, on the Sea of Japan side. ... The article incorporates text from OpenHistory. ... Taira (平) is a Japanese surname. ...

He divided his own forces three ways, sending one group to attack the Taira from the rear, a second beneath the Pass, as an ambush party, and the third he accompanied and held centrally. In order to conceal these movements, Yoshinaka sought to distract his enemy with a highly formal battle, beginning with archery exchanges using whistling-bulb arrows. This was followed by individual combats, to which the Taira gladly indulged, in the hopes of earning their individual places in the chronicles and epic poetry which were sure to follow such a war. In many of the chronicles, in particular the Heike monogatari, and quite possibly in historical fact, the Taira were not as accustomed to the ways of war as the Minamoto, being more effete, and more suited to the lives of courtiers. Thus, the opportunity to engage in formal, civilized, battle was an attractive one for many Taira warriors who sought to make use of their martial skills as they learned them, in the most formally proper manner. A Japanese arrow which is likely very close in appearance to a whistling-bulb arrow. ... The Tale of the Heike (Japanese 平家物語, Heike monogatari) is an epic account of the struggle between the Minamoto and Taira clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century. ...

Meanhwhile, Yoshinaka's armies moved into position, and as the sun set, the Taira turned to find behind them a Minamoto detachment, holding far more flags than a single detachment should merit, again giving the illusion of greater numbers. Yoshinaka's central force, having gathered a herd of oxen, now released them down the pass, directly into the Taira army, with lit torches tied to their horns. Many of the Taira warriors charged into the herd, while many others were simply knocked clean off the path, to their deaths in the rocky crags far below. Many more tried to retreat, but became lost in the various paths, meeting their deaths at the hands of Minamoto warriors lying in wait for them, or falling into various gorges and the like.

The surviving Taira, confused, demoralized, and having suffered heavy losses, fled. This was a major victory for the Minamoto, leading to the Taira abandonment of Kyoto. A few months after the battle of Kurikara, the Taira, along with Emperor Antoku, retreated to Shikoku. This article is about the city Kyoto. ... Emperor Antoku (安徳天皇 Antoku Tennō) (December 22, 1178 – April 25, 1185) was the 81st imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. ... Shikoku (四国, four provinces) is the smallest and least populous (4,141,955 as of 2005) of the four main islands of Japan. ...

References

• Sansom, George (1958). 'A History of Japan to 1334'. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
• Turnbull, Stephen (1987). 'Battles of the Samurai'. London: Arms and Armour Press.
• Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.