[Yokote City, Akita Prefecture] A battle for flesh and bones that took place in the Yokote Basin: “Go Sannen Gassen”

The Yokote Basin, where Yokote City is located, is located in the southeastern part of Akita Prefecture, and borders Iwate Prefecture on the east. During the Heian period, it was under the control of the Kiyohara clan and is known as the site of the ``Go Sannen Battle.'' During the Edo period, Yokote Castle was the territory of the Kubota clan (Akita clan) and was the intersection of roads such as the Ushu highway, which branches off from the Oshu highway and connects Akita and Aomori. It flourished as the political and economic center of the region. Asamai and Masuda, geographically located in the center of the Yokote Basin, also flourished as distribution centers.

The Kiyohara clan defeated the Abe clan, which ruled Okurokugo, and rose to become the general of Mutsu Province.

The Kiyohara clan, which is said to have originally been a local government official during the Heian period, built Otorii-no-saku (a nationally designated historical site), Kanazawa-no-saku, and Numa-no-saku. They built several castle fences (facilities that had both fort and administrative functions) to govern the area, and also formed marriages with the Abe clan of neighboring Mutsu.

The Abe clan was a powerful clan that ruled over the area called Okurokugun on the Iwate Prefecture side, from present-day Oshu City to Morioka City. This will cause friction between the two. As conflicts between the two sides arose over tax collection, the Imperial Court sent Minamoto no Yoriyoshi to Mutsu Province (Iwate Prefecture, Aomori Prefecture, etc.) to begin subjugating the Abe clan. However, Mr. Abe's power to fight in his own territory was strong, and things did not go well.

Therefore, Yoriyoshi asked for help from the Kiyohara clan, an influential clan in Dewa Province (an area on the Sea of ​​Japan side of the Tohoku region), and managed to successfully subjugate the Abe clan. This was the ``Zenkunenkassen'' that broke out from 1051 to 1062, and as a result, the Kiyohara clan gained control of the Abe clan's six districts, and the military-controlled Mutsu Province. He gained the position of general of the military base.

Intense internal conflict breaks out due to complicated blood relations.

The Kiyohara clan had grown in power, but in addition to their complicated blood relations, they were also involved with Minamoto no Yoshiie, the provincial governor of Mutsu Province at the time and the son of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, leading to a complicated struggle for supremacy. to start.

First, Takesada, the son of Takenori Kiyohara, who was very active in the Battle of Nine Years, takes in the widow of Tsunekiyo Fujiwara, who died on Abe's side, as his wife. Her wife had a son, Kiyohira, who was also welcomed into the Kiyohara clan.

When Kiyohira was taken in by the Kiyohara clan, Takesada already had his eldest son, Sanehira, and later, Iehira was born to Kiyohira's mother. There were three brothers with complicated blood relations between his parents.

Takesada was succeeded by his eldest brother, Masahira, and at first the rule was peaceful, but Kiyohira and Iehira began to rebel against the succession that Masahira had decided. In 1083, while Masahira was on an expedition to Dewa, Kiyohira and Iehira attacked his mansion. This was the beginning of the ``Later Sannen Gassen.''

At this time, Minamoto no Yoshiie joined Masahira and the situation seemed to be settled, but Masahira suddenly died during another expedition. According to Yoshiie's ruling, the Kiyohara clan's fertile land in the south was given to Kiyohira, and the poor land in the north was given to Iehira.

Internal conflict in the Kiyohara clan and the birth of the Oshu Fujiwara clan

Iehira, dissatisfied with the ruling of his territory, tries to kill Kiyohira. Kiyohira, whose wife and children were killed, fled to Yoshiie, and Takehira, the younger brother of his father Takesada, joined Iehira's side, creating a system of Kiyohira and Yoshiie versus Iehira and Takehira. .

In 1087, after the battle at Numakase (Omonogawa, Yokote City), Iehira and Takehira's army took up camp at the well-defended Kanazawa Stockade (Kanazawa, Yokote City), but Kiyohira and Yoshiie's army Iehira and Takehira's forces were defeated by the food raid, and the ``Lato Sannen Battle'' came to an end.

There is a sequel to this story. Minamoto no Yoshiie intervened in the internal conflict of the Kiyohara family without receiving instructions from the imperial court, and was dismissed as Mutsu no kami by the imperial court. However, Minamoto no Yoshiie, who rewarded his followers for risking their lives by giving them their own money, rose to great fame and is thought to have been a factor in the later establishment of samurai society.

In addition, Kiyohira, who was descended from both the Kiyohara and Abe clans, was the only one to survive, but for a while he was marked as dangerous by the imperial court. Afterwards, Kiyohira changed his surname from Kiyohara to his father's surname, Fujiwara, and through strenuous efforts to restore power, became the Oshu Fujiwara clan, which controlled the entire Tohoku region, preserving the legacy of Hiraizumi's golden culture for about 100 years. We built it.

Otoriyama Ruins, which was the home base of the Kiyohara clan

Otorii no Saku is the home base of the head of the Kiyohara clan, Kiyohara Mitsuyori (Takenori's older brother) and his son Yorito (Otoriyama Taro Yorito). It is located on the eastern edge of the central part of the Yokote Basin, approximately 2 km northeast of the current Yokote City Hall, on three hills called Mt. Otorii, Mt. Kokichi, and Daidokorodate. It is being built. The old Ushu Highway runs through the foothills, making it convenient for transportation, and surrounded by rivers on three sides, making it an excellent location for defense.

While it is difficult to determine the location of the Kiyohara clan's castle fence, the ``Otorii fence'' appears in the late Heian period military chronicle ``Mutsuwaki,'' and excavations have revealed that it dates back to the battle of the previous nine years. Many remains of residences and artifacts that are thought to date from the same period as the Battle of 2017 have been unearthed. In addition, with the results of subsequent research, this location was confirmed as the site of the ``Otorii fence''.

Otoriyama ruins <INFORMATON>

• Otoriyama Ruins (Otori Park)
• Location: Otori-cho, Arasaka-cho, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture
• Phone number: 0182-32-2403 (Yokote City Board of Education, Education and General Affairs Department, Cultural Properties Protection Division, Buried Cultural Properties Section)
• Freedom to stroll
• access:
• Railway: Take a route bus from Yokote Station on the JR Ou Main Line and get off at Arasaka bus stop, then walk for about 7 minutes. From Yokote Station, walk for about 35 minutes.
• Car: Approximately 10 minutes from Akita Expressway/Tohoku Chuo Expressway Yokote IC

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Numafence, a strong fence castle that Kiyohira and Yoshiie's combined forces could not break through

``Numa-zaku'' is a castle fence located in Numadate, a place along the Omonogawa River that flows along the western edge of the Yokote Basin, where Iehira temporarily barricaded himself during the Battle of the Second Year. Numafence was an extremely strong fort that withstood the persistent attacks of Kiyohira and Yoshiie's allied forces, but the allied forces were forced to retreat due to cold and hunger.

In Numadate, there are ruins of a castle called Numadate Castle, which was the base of the Onodera clan in the Middle Ages, and there is a strong theory that this is where the ``Numafence'' was located, but it has not been confirmed yet.

Swamp fence remains <INFORMATON>

• Facility name: Swamp fence ruins
• Location: Around Zokoin, 429 Numadate, Omonogawa-cho, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture
• Phone number: 0182-32-2403 (Yokote City Board of Education, Education and General Affairs Department, Cultural Properties Protection Division)
• *This is the temple grounds, and only the outer edge can be visited.
• access:
• Railway: Approximately 30 minutes by taxi from Yokote Station on the JR Ou Main Line
• Car: Approximately 20 minutes from Akita Expressway/Tohoku Chuo Expressway Yokote IC

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Kanazawa Stockade, the fiercest battleground of the Battle of the Third Year

``Kanazawa fence'' was the site of the fiercest battle of the ``Go Sannen Gassen.'' Iehira and Takehira's forces moved from the ``Numafence'' and barricaded themselves here, and eventually fell to the area, unable to withstand the attack on supplies by Kiyohira and Yoshiie's forces. Later, in the picture scroll ``Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba'' (National Important Cultural Property) depicting the ``Go Sannen Battle,'' Yoshiie captures the women and children who escaped from the ``Kanazawa fence.'' It also depicts a cruel story in which they were all killed.

Kanazawa Castle is located on a small hill in the Kanazawa district north of the center of Yokote City, and is a medieval castle that appeared at the end of the Ashikaga period, about 370 years after the Battle of Gosannen. The Kitanomaru ruins and moat have been excavated. Its location is similar to the Kanazawa fence described in ``Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba,'' and it has long been thought to be the site of the Kanazawa fence. Excavations carried out by the Yokote City Board of Education over many years have uncovered relics from the period before and after the Second War, but these have not yet been identified as Kanazawa fences. The excavation is still ongoing, so we look forward to future results.

On the hill on the opposite side of the Old Ushu Kaido from the Kanazawa Castle Ruins, there is the Jindate Ruins, which is a clue to the Kanazawa Railroad Ruins. The Jinkan ruins are located in the same location as the Otoriiyama ruins, and the ruins of buildings and artifacts dating from the same period as the Battle of the Third Year have been excavated, but no concrete evidence has been obtained for this either. However, there is no doubt that it is a site related to the Kiyohara clan, and it has been designated as a national historic site as a related site to the Otoriyama Ruins.

Kanazawa Fence Ruins/Jinkan Ruins <INFORMATON>

• Facility name: Kanazawa fence ruins/Jinkan ruins
• Location: Kanazawa area, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture
• Phone number: 0182-32-2403 (Yokote City Board of Education, Education and General Affairs Department, Cultural Properties Protection Division)
• You are free to walk around Kanazawa Park, but the Jinkan ruins are private property and cannot be entered.
• access:
• Railway: Approximately 20 minutes by bus bound for Omagari from Yokote Station on the JR Ou Main Line, then approximately 5 minutes' walk from Kanazawa Honmachi bus stop (Go Sannen Gassen Kanazawa Museum)
• Car: Approximately 20 minutes from Akita Expressway/Tohoku Chuo Expressway Yokote IC

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Later Sannen Battle Kanazawa Museum

The ``Go Sannen Gassen Kanazawa Museum'' has a variety of items, including manuscripts of the ``Go Sannen Battle Pictures'' related to the ``Go Sannen Battle,'' sutra scrolls designated as cultural properties by Akita Prefecture, artifacts excavated during ruins surveys, and treasures from Kanazawa Hachiman Shrine. This is a facility where materials are displayed. Nearby is the Kanazawa Castle ruins, which is one of the estimated locations for the Kanazawa fence.

Otoriyama ruins <INFORMATON>

• Facility name: Post-Sanen Battle Kanazawa Museum
• Address: 102-4 Negoya, Nakano, Kanazawa, Yokote City
• Phone number: 0182-37-3510
• Opening hours: 9:00-17:00
• Closed: Every Monday (the next day if Monday is a holiday), December 29th to January 3rd
• Admission fee: 100 yen for high school students and above, free for junior high school students and below (Go Sannen Gassen Kanazawa Museum, Kamakura Museum,
• (Common to all 4 buildings: Yojiro Ishizaka Literary Memorial Museum and Yokote Park Observation Deck)
• access:
• Railway: Approximately 20 minutes by bus bound for Omagari from Yokote Station on the JR Ou Main Line, then approximately 5 minutes' walk from Kanazawa Honmachi bus stop (Go Sannen Gassen Kanazawa Museum)
• Car: Approximately 20 minutes from Akita Expressway/Tohoku Chuo Expressway Yokote IC
• URL: Kanazawa Museum of the Third Year Battle

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“Heian no Kaze Wataru Park” was developed in the area of ​​“disturbed wild goose flight”

The famous ``Gankou no Ranji'' in the ``Go Sannen Gassen'' is a battle in which the outcome of the battle was determined by the way the geese flew.

Iehira had about 30 troops hidden in Nishinuma (Kanazawa Nakano, Yokote City), which was a swampy area perfect for intercepting Minamoto no Yoshiie's army as it approached the Kanazawa stockade from the west. When the soldiers were about to make a surprise attack on Yoshiie's army, which was advancing without them knowing, a flock of geese in the sky disrupted their formation. Yoshiie saw this and realized that someone was there, and the surprise attack failed.

The ``Heian no Kazewata Park'' has been established in Nishinuma, which is said to be an ancient battlefield, and you can remember the past.

Otoriyama ruins <INFORMATON>

• Facility name: Heian no Kazewata Park
• Location: Yokote City Kanazawa Nakano Aza Sankan Weir
• Phone number: 0182-32-2725 (Yokote City Yokote Regional Bureau Yokote Regional Division)
• Free stroll/closed in winter
• access:
• Railway: Approximately 30 minutes by bus bound for Omagari from Yokote Station on the JR Ou Main Line, and get off at Sankanseki bus stop.
• Car: Approximately 10 minutes from Yokote Kita Smart IC on the Akita Expressway
• URL: Heian no Kazewata Park

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A military picture scroll that conveyed the Battle of the Third Years to future generations: ``Pictures from the Battle of the Third Years''

``Gosannen Gassen Ekoji'' was produced in 1347 with a preamble and an introductory note to each volume. All the pictures were drawn by Hida no kami Korehisa, and the lyrics are different for each volume. It is known that the author wrote it. Through this picture scroll, the outline of the Battle of Gosannen was passed on to future generations. It seems that there were originally six volumes, but the last three volumes currently exist, and they consist mostly of scenes from the Battle of Kanazawa Stockade.

``Go Sannen Gassen Picture Words'' is designated as an important cultural property of the country and is housed in the Tokyo National Museum. The entire collection is open to the public on the Digital Archive Tokyo National Museum ColBase (Integrated Search System for Collections of the National Institutes for Cultural Properties), and can be freely viewed on computers and smartphones.

There are also many manuscripts of "Oshu Go Sannen Ekoji", which are exhibited at places such as the "Go Sannen Gassen Kanazawa Museum" and the "Tokyo Fuji Art Museum."

• Go Sannen Gassen Picture Lyric Volume Volume 1 URL: Go Sannen Gassen Picture Lyric Volume Volume 1
• Go Sannen Gassen Picture Lyrics Volume Volume URL: Go Sannen Gassen Picture Lyrics Volume Volume
• Go Sannen Gassen Picture Lyrics Volume Volume 2 URL: Go Sannen Gassen Picture Lyrics Volume Volume 2