Biographies CVI: The Shōguns, Part I: Minamoto-no-Yoritomo

¶The office of shōgun has been held in high regard since ancient times. The shōgun commands the army and keeps it under discipline, displays the court's authority beyond the capital, and makes decisions in an instant. Since the safety or danger of the state rests upon him, how weighty a duty it is! In the punitive campaigns of antiquity, apart from those in which the sovereign went to war in person, imperial princes were dispatched to strike down the enemy, and wherever their armies went the enemy was swiftly put to death. The practice of sending generals separately to pacify distant regions began with Emperor Sujin. In the reign of Emperor Ōjin, the Uchitsumiyake was established in Mimana, and the states of the Korean lands were pacified and governed. In the reign of Empress Saimei, an administrative office was built among the Emishi, and the Shukushin were brought under control. After that, offices such as Seii and Seitō were not established on any fixed pattern: they were appointed when trouble arose and abolished once matters were settled. Only because Mutsu and Dewa were distant and remote lands, vital strongholds of the frontier, was the post of Chinjufu Shōgun, General of the Pacification Command, continually filled with men of ability, generation after generation. From the time Minamoto-no-Yoritomo was appointed Seii Taishōgun, the office passed through three generations of father and son, and the court, without establishing a separate Chinjufu, held this post in high esteem. Now Yoritomo had led troops and destroyed the Taira; but even after the Taira, the chief source of the evil, had been wiped out, robbers and wicked men still sprang up everywhere. He therefore thought to establish a strong regional command to carry out administration and defense and to tighten the bonds of government, and he asked to become Sō-Tsuibushi, Constable-General of the whole realm, which the court granted. Yoritomo made Kamakura his seat, nurtured the people, and even the strong and unruly bowed their heads and obeyed his orders. Thus all authority over soldiers and horses came to belong to the Kantō, and the situation of the realm was transformed from that time. From Fujiwara-no-Yoritsune down to Imperial Prince Morikuni, the shōguns were all men set up by the Hōjō clan. Government was not carried out by their own will; they merely occupied a nominal post, while the Hōjō, their own retainers, monopolized military power. In the Genkō and Kenmu years the world was in disorder and driven into flight, and confusion seethed as though boiling. Imperial Prince Moriyoshi and Imperial Prince Nariyoshi were appointed one after another as Seii Taishōgun; Imperial Prince Kanenaga became Seisei Shōgun, General Who Subdues the West; and Minamoto-no-Akiie became Chinjufu Taishōgun. The commanders advanced their armies in various ways, and the office of shōgun, abolished and then established again, was a matter of the institutions of the moment. At this time Ashikaga Takauji raised his banner, returned his allegiance to the court, answered Nitta Yoshisada from east and west in raising a righteous army, and swept away the Hōjō, and the Son of Heaven rewarded his merit by appointing him Chinjufu Shōgun. But Takauji's desires knew no limit, and by degrees his highhandedness grew. What are called the Seii Shōgun and the Kantō Kanrei were titles he assumed on his own, not by the court's command. In time Takauji raised troops and violated the court, caused the emperor's conveyance to be moved to the south, and, while outwardly honoring the Kōmyō-in, in practice treated him like a useless ornament. He himself held to the title of Seii Taishōgun, opened a bakufu in Kyoto and displayed his power, left his young son Motouji in Kamakura as Kanrei, took the position of marshal of the soldiers and horses, and also combined in his hands the authority of the provincial military governors. The situation of the realm, at this point, changed greatly once more. At that time the titles Seii and Seisei had already been conferred on generals by the court, but Takauji's title did not come from a court command, and yet he too is counted among the ranks of the shōguns. This is to show the changes of the age. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu inherited the work of his father and grandfather, gave free rein to his outstanding talent, rose to the highest rank open to a subject, and combined the offices of general and minister. By happening to take advantage of the opportunity of the union of the Northern and Southern Courts, he secured a foundation for his descendants to continue for long ages. The realm called him the Muromachi Shōgun, and how fortunate he was! But Takauji's scheming and artful ways were such that merit and offense could not hide one another; he could muddle his own age for a time, but he could not deceive the realm of later days. Are we to say that the Ashikaga attained their ambitions, or that the Nitta failed to attain theirs? That the decree of Heaven can also prevail over human strength: this we truly come to understand. As for their families and retainers, they too are appended each according to its kind, and the Biographies of the Shōguns are composed.

¶Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, whose childhood name was Oniwaka (Note: following the Teiō Hennenki and the Genpei Jōsuiki), was the third son of Minamoto-no-Yoshitomo, Sama-no-kami, Head of the Left Division of Horse Bureau (Note: following the Azuma Kagami, the Masukagami, the Heiji Monogatari, and the Genpei Jōsuiki). From his early years he had ability, and Yoshitomo thought him out of the ordinary and loved him far above his other children (Note: following the Heiji Monogatari). In the third year of Hōgen (1158) he was appointed Kōgōgū Gon-no-shōjō, Provisional Junior Secretary to the Empress's Household. In the first year of Heiji (1159), after serving as Ukon'e Shōgen, Lieutenant of the Right Palace Guards, and as Jōsaimon-in Kurōdo, Chamberlain to the Retired Empress Jōsaimon-in, he was appointed anew as Kurōdo (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Shōgun Shikken Shidai). When Fujiwara-no-Nobuyori rose in rebellion, Yoritomo was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower and the post of Uhyōe Gon-no-suke, Provisional Assistant Captain of the Right Gate Guards (Note: compiled with reference to the Gukanshō and the Kugyō Bunin). Together with his father Yoshitomo and his elder brothers he held out within the Great Inner Palace. He was only thirteen years old, yet he urged Yoshitomo: "The enemy will be upon us shortly. Rather than sit and wait, let us make haste to attack Rokuhara." Those present were moved by the boldness of his words. Soon Taira-no-Yorimori attacked the Ikuhō Gate, and Yoritomo shot arrows and brought down two of his men.

¶When the army was defeated and fled eastward, he grew so exhausted that he dozed on horseback and fell behind his father and brothers. At night, as he passed the Moriyama post-station in Ōmi, villagers gathered in a crowd to seize him; Yoritomo cut down two of them, and the rest did not dare approach. Yoshitomo sent Kamata Masaie back to look for Yoritomo, and they met at Yasugawa. A great snow was falling just then, and the party could not ride, so they cast off their armor and went on foot. Yoritomo suffered terribly and again lost touch with his father and brothers (Note: following the Heiji Monogatari), and his whereabouts became unknown. By chance he met Taifu-no-sakan Sadayasu, a local magnate, who helped him and hid him in a Buddhist temple, asking a monk to shelter him. Soon afterwards he took refuge in Sadayasu's house (Note: following the Azuma Kagami. The Tsurugi no Maki of the Heike Monogatari says that a man of eastern Ōmi called Kusano Shōji hid Yoritomo in the ceiling space of his own chamber. Considering the matter, Sadayasu's surname is missing and Kusano's personal name is missing, and the circumstances are very similar, so one suspects they are the same man. The Heiji Monogatari says that Yoritomo again lost his company, lost his way at night, came out at Kohirayama, and passed through Asai North District. By chance he met an old woman, and arriving at her house, the old couple entertained him with warmth and generosity. He stayed for a little over a month and set out again, and passing through Kohira, a fisherman who saw Yoritomo knew he was no ordinary person and asked what had happened. When Yoritomo told him the truth, the fisherman dressed Yoritomo in a woman's clothing, wrapped his sword in a bundle of sedge, shouldered it himself, and escorted him as far as the Aohaka post-station in Mino. Among variant texts of the Heiji Monogatari there are some that say he was sheltered in the fisherman's house; this differs from the Azuma Kagami, but it is added here for reference).

¶The following year he reached Aohaka in Mino and took refuge in the house of the station master Ōi. He meant to go on toward the eastern provinces (Note: following the Heiji Monogatari), but on the road he was seized by Taira-no-Munekiyo, a retainer of Taira-no-Yorimori (Note: following the Gukanshō and the Heiji Monogatari. The Heiji Monogatari says the following. When Yoshitomo raised his troops, he gave Yoritomo a suit of armor, named Genta-no-Ubuginu. He also gave him a precious sword, named Higekiri. These two were treasures of the Minamoto house that could be passed on only to the heir. Yoshitomo did not give them to his eldest son Yoshihira but gave them to Yoritomo. When Yoritomo left Aohaka, he left Higekiri in Ōi's keeping. Afterwards, when Yoritomo was captured, Kiyomori asked where Higekiri was, and Yoritomo told the truth, so Kiyomori sent men to find it. Ōi thought: "It would be a pity to hand a treasure of the Minamoto lightly over to the Taira. Yoshitomo had many sons, and even if Yoritomo should die, it cannot be said that another son might not raise the house and restore it. In that case I will substitute another sword and show it to Yoritomo, asking if this is Higekiri. If he says it is genuine, my scheme has succeeded; if he says it is not, I can apologize that a woman could not tell the difference." So he presented a different sword called Sensui, mounted in the same fittings as Higekiri. When Yoritomo looked at it, he answered that it was indeed the one. Kiyomori was delighted, treated it as a treasure, and in the end presented it to the Retired Emperor. After the Taira fell, the Retired Emperor gave it back to Yoritomo, but the true Higekiri had already passed from Ōi into Yoritomo's hands earlier. The Tsurugi no Maki of the Heike Monogatari says that when Yoritomo reached Aohaka, he considered that he was a lone wanderer without allies, with his life uncertain from one day to the next, and sent Higekiri through Kusano Shōji to his maternal grandfather, Fujiwara-no-Suenori, Daiguji, Chief Priest of the Atsuta Shrine, to be placed in the shrine's sacred hall. Which is correct is not known). Yoritomo was taken to Rokuhara, and Taira-no-Kiyomori held him in Munekiyo's house. Munekiyo pitied Yoritomo in his heart, and petitioned Kiyomori's stepmother, the nun Ike-no-Zenni, to spare him the death sentence. The nun did all she could to save his life, and in the end Yoritomo was released and exiled to Hirugashima in Izu (Note: following the Heiji Monogatari). The nun admonished him: "From now on devote yourself entirely to reading the sutras, and do not indulge in mounted archery or hunting and fishing and so arouse people's suspicion." When the old retainers of Yoshitomo heard that Yoritomo had escaped death, they all urged him to shave his head and become a monk so as to set the Taira at ease. Only Kōketsu-no-Moriyasu whispered to him: "That the young lord was spared was due to the protection of the gods. You must keep yourself whole and prepare for the future." Yoritomo nodded. When he set out on his journey into exile, gentlemen and commoners gathered to look on, saying: "This man's appearance is out of the ordinary. To exile him to a distant place is like loosing a tiger into the fields and hills." When he reached Izu, Kiyomori ordered Itō Sukechika and Hōjō Tokimasa to keep watch over him (Note: following a variant text of the Heiji Monogatari).

¶Yoritomo lived under Sukechika's roof, but he had relations with Sukechika's daughter and had a son by her, whom he named Chizuru. Sukechika, enraged, drowned the child in a river, married his daughter to Ema Kojirō, and sought to kill Yoritomo as well. Sukechika's son Sukekiyo secretly told Yoritomo of this, and Yoritomo escaped and took refuge with Tokimasa, where this time he had relations with Tokimasa's daughter Masako. Tokimasa feigned complete ignorance and tried to marry his daughter to the mokudai, the deputy governor, Taira-no-Kanetaka, but Masako ran away by night and fled to Yoritomo (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki; that Kanetaka was mokudai follows the Heike Monogatari).

¶In the fourth year of Jishō (1180), Prince Mochihito plotted the destruction of the Taira and sent down ryōji, princely edicts, to the provinces, summoning the Minamoto (Note: following the Azuma Kagami, the Genpei Jōsuiki, and the Heike Monogatari. Considering the matter, the Genpei Jōsuiki records that Prince Mochihito specially bestowed both a princely edict and a transmittal notice to spread it through the provinces, but this is not found in other books, so it is not adopted here). When the edict arrived Yoritomo was overjoyed, secretly showed it to Tokimasa, and plotted with him to raise troops together. Soon Prince Mochihito was defeated and killed, and Miyoshi-no-Yasunobu sent word from the capital: "I hear that the Taira, because of the affair of Prince Mochihito, are plotting to eliminate the Minamoto. You are the main line of the Minamoto, and you should flee secretly to the northern country." Hearing this, Yoritomo hurried all the more to plan the overthrow of the Taira (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). The monk Mongaku also urged it (Note: following the Gukanshō and the Genpei Jōsuiki). Yoritomo at last made up his mind and began, and sent Adachi Morinaga to gather troops in the eastern provinces. The warriors of the east had formerly followed Minamoto-no-Yoriyoshi and Yoshiie and had revered the Minamoto as their lords for generations, so among the stalwarts of Izu and Sagami there were many who sided with Yoritomo.

¶Yoritomo consulted his close followers and decided to strike Kanetaka first. Kanetaka held the stronghold of Yamaki, so Yoritomo secretly sent Fujiwara-no-Kunimichi, a man of the capital, to consort with Kanetaka, to grow close with him over many days, and to survey the terrain in every detail. He then chose brave warriors and called each of them into a private room, telling them: "I am consulting only you on this matter, and no one else knows. I beg you to lend me your strength." The men were glad, and all were roused. But on matters of secrecy Yoritomo decided only with Tokimasa alone (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). In the eighth month he had Tokimasa lead more than eighty men on a night attack and cut Kanetaka down (Note: compiled with reference to the Azuma Kagami and the Genpei Jōsuiki). Kanetaka's kinsman Tomochika was an official of the Kabaya Mikuriya and foolishly harmed the common people. Yoritomo, falsely citing Prince Mochihito's edict, had Tomochika dismissed and declared that "the affairs of the eastern provinces, regardless of the lords of the estates, shall all be handled by Yoritomo." That Yoritomo came to hold the Kantō in his own control began here.

¶The next day, since Miura Yoshizumi and the others had not yet arrived, Yoritomo went to Doi in Sagami. He had only three hundred soldiers, but he tied Prince Mochihito's edict to a banner and took up position on Ishibashiyama. Ōba Kagechika attacked with three thousand troops, and Sukechika separately struck Yoritomo's rear with three hundred men. Kagechika engaged at nightfall, and Yoritomo's followers all fought prepared to die. A great wind and violent rain came just then, and Yoritomo's small force could not stand against the many; at dawn they were at last routed. Kagechika, pressing his victory, pursued the fleeing army, and arrows and blades were about to reach Yoritomo. Iida Ieyoshi, who had been Kagechika's man, led six horsemen, turned his spearpoints about, and held Kagechika off. Taking that chance, Yoritomo fled into Sugiyama. As Kagechika bore down, Katō Kagekazu, Mitsukazu, and Kagekado, Ōmi Masamitsu and Sanemasa, Sasaki Takatsuna, Amano Tōkage, and others wielded their swords and fought to block him. Yoritomo himself shot arrows, and men and horses fell struck by them. When the arrows were gone, Yoritomo crossed a steep path with Doi Sanehira and slipped away in secret. Six men including Kagekazu and Sanemasa also followed. Before long Yoritomo adopted Sanehira's counsel, had everyone scatter in all directions, and hid with Sanehira alone. Kagechika led troops in a search, but Kajiwara Kagetoki misled him by deceit toward another place, and Yoritomo was at last able to escape (Note: considering the matter, the Genpei Jōsuiki says that those who followed Yoritomo at this time were six men: Doi Sanehira, Tōhira, Shinkai Tadauji, Tsuchiya Munetō, Okazaki Yoshizane, and Adachi Morinaga. Morinaga said: "Long ago, when my ancestor the Governor of Iyo [Minamoto-no-Yoriyoshi] subdued the barbarian lands of Ōshū, his troops were defeated and only seven followed him, yet in the end he achieved great merit. Today's affair is just the same," and Yoritomo was pleased. Tashiro Nobutsuna also arrived soon afterwards, but enemy troops pressed in and there was nowhere to flee. By chance there was a great fallen tree, rotted and hollow, and they all hid within it. Kagekiyo led troops in pursuit and grew suspicious of that tree hollow alone. Kagetoki looked in first and his eyes met Yoritomo's. Yoritomo thought he could not escape and tried to kill himself, but Kagetoki hurriedly held him back. A spider happened to be spinning a web there, so he took it and tangled it over the bows and armor, went out, and reported: "There is nothing inside, only bats." Kagechika did not believe him and probed the hollow with a bow, touching Yoritomo's armor and helmet without noticing. Two doves flew out, and Kagechika still wanted to split the tree open and look inside, but suddenly a thunderstorm came on and made it dark at midday, so at last he withdrew his troops and left. This account is not adopted here).

¶Yukizane, the Hakone Bettō, administrator of Hakone, had been an old acquaintance of Yoritomo's grandfather Tameyoshi and father Yoshitomo, so he sent his younger brother, the monk Eijitsu, to bring provisions, and received Yoritomo and hid him in Eijitsu's dwelling. The monk Ryōsen was also a younger brother of Yukizane, but since he was on friendly terms with Taira-no-Kanetaka, he plotted to attack Yoritomo and avenge Kanetaka. Eijitsu told Yoritomo of this, so Yoritomo went to Doi, boarded a small boat from Manazuru Point, and reached Ryōjima in Awa (Note: considering the matter, the Genpei Jōsuiki says that after Yoritomo came out of the tree hollow, he ran into a Jizō hall, and the monk Kaishi hid him in a cellar beneath the hall's floor. Kagechika pursued and searched, but the monk in the end said nothing, and so Yoritomo escaped. He went toward Awa from Manazuru Point and met the Miura band at sea; Yukizane and Ryōsen are not mentioned. The Genpei Jōsuiki also says that when Yoritomo went toward Doi, the whole company had lost their helmets and their hair was disheveled and unkempt, and they feared arousing people's suspicion. Seeking to obtain eboshi, court caps, they met on the road a cap-maker, Ōtarō, and when they asked him for them, Ōtarō hurriedly made eight caps, of which one was mistakenly made folded to the left. Yoritomo happened to receive that one and was greatly delighted, saying: "The caps of my followers are all folded to the right, yet I alone have received one folded to the left. Ever since our ancestor Hachimandono [Minamoto-no-Yoshiie], the shōguns of every generation have all worn left-folded caps. That I should obtain one now, a fugitive, is surely the arrangement of Heaven." It seems that, because in the Genpei Jōsuiki Yoritomo is made to hide in the tree hollow together with seven men including Sanehira and Tadauji, this tale was shaped to match, and the account of the eight caps arose. According to the present text, Yoritomo hid in the mountains with Sanehira alone, as was seen earlier, so it is not adopted here).

¶He met up with Tokimasa, Miura Yoshizumi, and the others, and his strength revived somewhat. In the ninth month he circulated a call to arms to gather troops, summoned Oyama Tomomasa and Shimokōbe Yukihira, and ordered the others, who were hemmed in by enemy territory, to come to join him by sea. Yoritomo set out for Kazusa, intending to take refuge with Taira-no-Hirotsune. After a day's march he lodged at a farmhouse, and Nagasa Tsunetomo plotted to catch him by surprise, but Yoshizumi struck back and defeated him. Anzai Kagemasu told Yoritomo: "The road ahead holds many dangers, and moreover there may be an unexpected incident," so Yoritomo turned back midway, sent envoys to urge Hirotsune and Chiba Tsunetane, sent Tokimasa to Kai, and, together with the troops of the various Minamoto, had him travel around Shinano, with orders to strike down at his discretion any who would not submit. Just at that time his cousin Yoshinaka had raised troops in Shinano and was attacking the Taira. Yoritomo stayed several days and obtained over three hundred picked soldiers. But Hirotsune had still not arrived, so Yoritomo went straight on to Shimōsa. Tsunetane led more than three hundred horsemen to meet him at the provincial headquarters. When Yoritomo reached the Sumida River, Hirotsune joined him with twenty thousand troops.

¶Yoritomo sent Tsuchiya Munetō to Kai to tell the various Minamoto: "The forces of Bōsō have all gathered under my banner. I intend further to lead the troops of Musashi, Kōzuke, and Shimotsuke and meet the enemy in Suruga. I ask that you, with Tokimasa as your guide, join me at the Kise River." He also sent an envoy to Musashi to instruct Edo Shigenaga: "As for the affair of Ishibashiyama, my grudge is already dissolved. Promptly obey the princely edict and come with your troops to join me." In the tenth month the soldiers who had been defeated and scattered at Ishibashiyama gradually gathered, and Yoritomo led over thirty thousand troops toward Musashi. Hirotsune, Tsunetane, and the others readied boats at Ōi and Sumida and ferried Yoritomo across. Kasai Kiyoshige, Adachi Tōmoto, and others came out to meet him, and Yoritomo ordered Tsunetane to send troops to Kazusa, where they attacked and beheaded Ihoku Tsunenaka. Hatakeyama Shigetada, Kawagoe Shigeyori, and Shigenaga came out to meet him and surrendered, and the stalwarts who joined his side increased day by day. Then, with Shigetada as vanguard and Tsunetane as rear guard, he at last advanced into Sagami. Before long Tokimasa, Takeda Nobuyoshi, and others fought and defeated Tachibana-no-Tōmochi, the mokudai of Suruga, and Osada Nyūdō, took Tōmochi prisoner, and cut down Osada and his son and displayed their heads (Note: the Heiji Monogatari says that when Yoritomo raised troops, Osada Tadamune and his son came to surrender, and Yoritomo forgave their crime and had them accompany Noriyori and Yoshitsune to go west and attack the Taira. In the first year of Kenkyū (1190), when Yoritomo went up to the capital, he stopped at the Noma post-station in Owari, held a memorial for Yoshitomo's grave, and put Tadamune and his son to death before the grave. But this affair is not seen in the Azuma Kagami. Considering the matter, Tadamune was the enemy of Yoritomo's father, having killed Yoshitomo, so it is unnatural to postpone dealing with him for so long, and the account is perhaps not credible. One suspects that the Osada Nyūdō spoken of here is Tadamune himself, but the present text lacks his name, so there is nothing on which to judge).

¶Yoritomo at last fixed his seat at Kamakura, moved the Tsurugaoka Hachimangū shrine to Kobayashi District, and from then on prayed there whenever an event arose. In this month Kiyomori sent his grandson Koremori, his younger brother Tadanori, and others to attack with over twenty thousand horsemen, and they took position on the Fuji River. Yoritomo led two hundred thousand troops to meet them. He reached the Kise River and fixed a day for battle. Nobuyoshi and others joined him leading more than fifty thousand men, and they advanced to Kajima. Nobuyoshi secretly sent his troops by night behind the enemy, and Koremori's army, startled and thrown into confusion, fled in rout. Yoritomo meant to pursue the fleeing enemy westward, but Hirotsune, Yoshizumi, and the others said: "Satake Yoshimasa (Note: considering the matter, the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Satake genealogy write Yoshimasa as Tadayoshi. The present text is followed here. For details see the biography of Hideyoshi) and his nephew hold a great host in Hitachi, and besides them there are still many strong men who have not submitted. Let us first pacify the eastern provinces and then deliberate anew on advancing west." Yoritomo followed this, had Nobuyoshi guard Suruga and Yasuda Yoshisada guard Tōtōmi, turned the army back to the Sagami provincial headquarters, and gave rewards in proportion to the merit of some twenty men including Tokimasa and Nobuyoshi. Ōba Kagechika came to surrender, but he was beheaded. As for the others who had sided with Kagechika, they were for the most part pardoned and left unquestioned.

¶In the eleventh month he led troops toward Hitachi, lured Satake Yoshimasa out, and killed him. Yoshimasa's nephew Hideyoshi held Kanasayama, so Yoritomo sent troops to attack him. Hideyoshi fled, and Yoritomo divided his lands among his officers and men; on returning to Kamakura he appointed Wada Yoshimori Bettō of the Samurai-dokoro. In this month Yamamoto Yoshitsune and Kashiwagi Yoshikane rose in Ōmi in answer to Yoritomo. In the twelfth month Yoshitsune and the others were defeated by Taira-no-Tomomori and returned alone to submit to Yoritomo. Earlier he had ordered a new residence built in Ōkura District; around this time the residence was completed and Yoritomo moved into it. Originally the land of Kamakura was remote and cramped, with only fishermen and farmhouses, but after this the officers and men vied to build mansions, streets opened through, and districts were given names. Shops lined the markets and the people grew more prosperous day by day, so that the people of the east at last called Yoritomo Kamakura-dono, the Lord of Kamakura.

¶In the second month of the first year of Yōwa (1181), Kikuchi Takanao and Ogata Koreyoshi rose in Chinzei (Kyūshū), resisted the Taira, and cut off communication by land and sea. Besides them, those who submitted to Yoritomo grew in number day by day. In the intercalary second month Kiyomori died. On his deathbed he admonished his descendants to steel their resolve and carry out the campaign against the east. His son Shigehira came attacking with the troops of the Tōkaidō, so Yoritomo sent Wada Yoshimori and others to Tōtōmi to assist Yasuda Yoshisada, and had them hold firmly to the terrain. Yoritomo's uncle Yoshihiro sought to strike Kamakura and reached Shimotsuke with thirty thousand troops, but Oyama Tomomasa drove him back. In the third month Yoritomo's younger brother the monk Gien, together with their uncle Yukiie, met Shigehira at the Sunomata River, but they were badly beaten and Gien was killed in battle. In the seventh month the Tsurugaoka Wakamiya was newly built. In the eighth month Taira-no-Munemori asked Fujiwara-no-Hidehira to issue an order from the Retired Emperor, hoping to send out troops to hold Yoritomo in check (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). But Hidehira took an ambiguous stand and did not dare to send out troops (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki).

¶In the third month of the second year of Juei (1183), Yukiie fell out with Yoritomo and went to Shinano to rely on Yoshinaka. Yoritomo considered that if the two united they would be hard to control, and led more than a hundred thousand horsemen himself to attack Yoshinaka. Yoshinaka avoided him and withdrew to Echigo, and when Yoritomo reached Usuizaka (Note: the Heike Monogatari gives Zenkōji) and heard that Yoshinaka had pulled back his troops, Yoritomo also withdrew and remained in Musashi, and demanded that Yoshinaka hand over Yukiie. Yoshinaka asked for peace and sent his son Yoshitaka as a hostage; Yoritomo consented, took Yoshitaka back to Kamakura (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari), and married his own daughter to him (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). In the seventh month Yoshinaka fought the Taira and won one victory after another, and at last drew near the capital. Munemori, escorting the emperor (Emperor Antoku), fled west with his whole clan. The Retired Emperor (Go-Shirakawa) took refuge at the Enryakuji, and soon returned to the capital. In the eighth month Emperor Go-Toba ascended the throne, and the Retired Emperor came to decide all affairs on his own authority (Note: following the Gyokukai, the Genpei Jōsuiki, and the Heike Monogatari).

¶Earlier, the Retired Emperor had sent Nakahara-no-Yasusada to summon Yoritomo to court (Note: following the Hyakurenshō and the Teiō Hennenki; the name Nakahara follows the Azuma Kagami). At this time the Retired Emperor wished to reward Yoshinaka's merit, but because Yoritomo's merit was greater he feared that Yoritomo would harbor resentment, and if he waited for Yoritomo to come to court and rewarded them at the same time, he feared Yoshinaka would grow still more indignant. The court nobles deliberated and agreed: "Yoritomo has not yet come to court, but let us first grant rewards at the same time as Yoshinaka. If Yoritomo should show dissatisfaction, we can wait until he comes to court and revise matters in response to his request" (Note: following the Gyokukai). Soon Yoshinaka received office first and remained in the capital (Note: following the Hyakurenshō; compiled also with reference to the Genpei Jōsuiki). In the ninth month, when Yasusada returned to the capital, Yoritomo entrusted to him a memorial on three matters. The first was: "In recent years the Taira took the government in their hands and seized shinden, shrine lands, and jiko, temple households, so that the gods and Buddhas brought down their wrath and the clan has fled and perished. This was by no means due to my strength. The shrine lands and temple households should be returned to their original state, to repay their merit." The second was: "The estates of princes, dukes, ministers, and officials that were taken by the Taira should be confirmed to their former holders. To ward off misfortune and invite blessing, nothing surpasses quieting people's grief and resentment. If now I too were to profit from those lands, I would be following in the same rut as the Taira. I beg that the court deliberate and choose an appropriate measure." The third was: "As for the followers of the Taira who cast off their rebellious hearts and submit, even if their crimes deserve death, their punishment should be lightened as far as possible. I too once fell into the net of punishment, but because by good fortune I received a pardon, I was able to face the enemies of the court and accomplish today's merit. If now their penalty is eased and their death sentence forgiven, how can we know that afterwards we will not come to rely on the strength of those very men? The judgment of the lightness or weight of punishment rests with the court's decision." The court's deliberation followed this, and an edict was sent down to the two circuits of the Tōkaidō and Tōsandō, having all their fields, households, and estates returned to their original owners, and ordering Yoritomo to inspect this.

¶At this time Yoshinaka, hearing that the Retired Emperor had summoned Yoritomo, was displeased and sought to send out troops to obstruct him. In the tenth month Yoritomo sent an envoy to report: "If I come with my army to answer the summons, Fujiwara-no-Hidehira and Satake Takayoshi will surely watch for a chance and attack where I am empty. Moreover, if tens of thousands of troops come to court at once, it will disturb the capital," and so excused himself, and in the end did not come to court (Note: following the Gyokukai). In this month, by edict, Yoritomo was restored to his original rank (Note: following the Gyokukai, the Kugyō Bunin, and the Hyakurenshō). In the eleventh month Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka rebelled in the capital (Note: following the Gyokukai and the Hyakurenshō). That winter Yoritomo killed Kazusa-no-suke Hirotsune (Note: following the Gukanshō. Considering the matter, the present text gives no year or month. The Azuma Kagami lacks entries for the second year of Juei, but in the entry for the first month of the following year there is a sentence saying "last winter, because of the affair of Hirotsune, defilement arose in the camp." Taking these two books together, it is placed here).

¶In the third month of the third year of Juei (1184) he sent his younger brothers Noriyori and Yoshitsune to strike Yoshinaka, and had him put to death. In the second month Noriyori and Yoshitsune attacked and defeated the Taira at Ichinotani in Settsu, killed Taira-no-Michimori, Tadanori, and others, and captured Taira-no-Shigehira. Taira-no-Munemori, escorting Emperor Yōwa (Emperor Antoku), fled and took position at Yashima in Sanuki (Note: following the Azuma Kagami, the Genpei Jōsuiki, and the Heike Monogatari). At this time war had continued for years, the residents had scattered, and taxes were in arrears. The provinces of the northeast were gradually moving toward pacification, but in the central Kinai and in Shikoku disorder did not cease (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki).

¶Yoritomo submitted a memorial, saying: "In all affairs of government, one should honor precedent and strive to bestow virtue and kindness. The zuryō, provincial governors, in particular should be carefully selected. In the two northeastern circuits, because of war and bad harvests the people could not live in peace, but this spring the wandering people are gradually returning to their fields and villages. By the time of the autumn harvest, capable officials should be appointed as provincial governors. Furthermore, I beg that an edict be granted ordering all warriors of the Kinai and the nearby provinces who excel in martial arts to follow Yoshitsune and go west to attack the Taira. As for rewards to those with merit, I will memorialize on each occasion. I also beg that the shrine lands and temple households be wholly returned to their former state, that the rites not be allowed to lapse, and that the recitations not be neglected. If there are halls or shrines that have fallen into disrepair, please have the provincial governors repair them. In recent years it has been seen in various places that monks neglect their studies and play with weapons. They should be strictly forbidden. If there are any who store up arms, I ask that I be ordered to confiscate them and issue them to the imperial army. Further, I beg that those who act wilfully and arbitrarily not be permitted to petition the court" (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Genpei Jōsuiki; the Genpei Jōsuiki puts this in the eleventh month). When the memorial was presented, the Retired Emperor accepted it as just (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki).

¶In the third month Yoritomo sent a letter to the western provinces: "When the Taira rebelled, I sent the Governor of Tōtōmi and the Sama-no-kami to lead the troops of the Tōkai and the Hokuriku into the capital. But an unforeseen change occurred, and Yoshinaka rebelled and allied himself with the Taira, so I received an order from the Retired Emperor and immediately had him put to death. Yet the Taira appear and disappear on the southern seas and will not cease their plundering, so I mean to send the imperial army forward by land and sea together and swiftly bring down Heaven's punishment. Now I convey this by order of the Retired Emperor. You of the provinces should submit and keep your holdings, or else join the army and win merit in battle." He also ordered Hōjō Tokimasa to send letters to the distinguished families of Tosa, Kuninobu and Kunimoto (Note: these two men lack surnames), so that they would join forces and attack the Taira (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). In this month, for his merit in putting Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka to death, Yoritomo was granted Senior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin, the Azuma Kagami, and the Genpei Jōsuiki). Yoritomo made a pact with his officers and men: "All who serve the military houses are to be dealt with according to the intentions of the Retired Emperor. Whether the matter is right or wrong, honor and obey it entirely. If any are treated unjustly, I will afterwards memorialize the court, explain the circumstances, and make the right clear."

¶In the fourth month Minamoto-no-Yoshitaka, who had been a hostage, escaped, and was pursued and killed. In the fifth month his uncle Yoshihiro was killed in Ise. In the sixth month Ichijō Tadayori was called to the camp and killed (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). In the seventh month Seki Nobukane and Hirata Ietsugu gathered troops and held Hirata in Iga (Note: compiled with reference to the Azuma Kagami, the Sankaiki, and the Genpei Jōsuiki). Ōuchi Koreyoshi crushed them and killed Ietsugu. In the eighth month he ordered Noriyori to command military affairs in Kyūshū and attack the Taira (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). In this month Yōkane again gathered troops and held Takino in Ise, but Yoshitsune annihilated him (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki). In the tenth month, after consulting precedent, he established the Kumonjo, with Ōe-no-Hiromoto as bettō and Nakahara-no-Chikayoshi and others as yoriudo, to manage its business. He also established the Monchūjo, with Miyoshi-no-Yasunobu as shitsuji, to decide lawsuits (Note: the present text says Yasunobu was made to decide cases but does not say he was appointed shitsuji. The entry for the second year of Kenkyū (1191) writes Yasunobu as shitsuji but does not record when he was appointed, so the details cannot be verified. For now it is recorded here).

¶In the second month, Sasaki Moritsuna defeated Taira-no-Yukimori at Kojima in Bizen (Note: following the Azuma Kagami).