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[Series 3: The Battle of Zenkunen and the Battle of Gosannen] The unrivaled strength of the Abe army, and Minamoto no Yoriyoshi being driven into a corner
[Series 3: The Battle of Zenkunen and the Battle of Gosannen] The unrivaled strength of the Abe army, and Minamoto no Yoriyoshi being driven into a corner
After the Akutogawa incident in February 1056 (the 4th year of Tenki), Minamoto no Yoriyoshi and Abe no Yoritoki were once again at war, and the battle continued to go back and forth
So Yoriyoshi tried to win over Abe Tomitada, an Emishi from the north of Mutsu Okurokugun (Iwate Prefecture), now Aomori Prefecture, to his side and attack the Abe army from both sides
While trying to persuade Tomitada, Yoritoki was attacked and killed in the process, but the Abe army led by his successor, Sadato, grew even stronger, and Yoriyoshi was gradually cornered
What are the Former Nine Years' War and the Later Three Years' War?
The Former Nine Years' War Picture Scroll Source: ColBase
These were two wars fought in the Tohoku region (Iwate and Akita prefectures) at the end of the Heian period, from 1051 (Eisho 6) to 1062 (Kohei 5) and from 1083 (Eiho 3) to 1087 (Kanji 1)
The Battle of Zenkunen was a war in which the Minamoto clan, sent by the Imperial Court, suppressed a rebellion by the Abe clan, who were expanding their power in Mutsu (Iwate Prefecture), with the help of the Kiyohara clan
Then, an internal conflict arose within the Kiyohara clan, which had been strengthening its control from Mutsu to Dewa (Akita Prefecture), and the resulting struggle for succession escalated into the Gosannen War, in which the Minamoto clan was deeply involved
These two wars led to the rise of the Oshu Fujiwara clan in Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture, and the ties between the Minamoto clan and the eastern samurai deepened, leading to the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo.
Abe Tomitada sided with Yoritoki, and he was killed in battle
Yoriyoshi planned to bribe Tomitada, a prisoner of war (an Emishi who supported the provincial government) from a powerful force in the northern part of the Oku Rokugun region, to become his ally and attack Yoritoki from both the north and south, and he succeeded in winning Tomitada over to his side
When Yoritoki learned of this, he headed north to persuade Tomitada, but on the way he was attacked by Tomitada and seriously injured, and he died at Tonomi no Saku (Kanegasaki Town, Iwate Prefecture) in July 1057
However, the death of Yoritoki strengthened the unity of the Abe clan and its retainers, who supported the successors Sadato and Muneto in the fight, and the Battle of Zenkunen became a protracted battle
Chokai-no-Saku Remains <Information>
Facility name: Chokai-no-Saku remains
Location: Chokai, Daito-cho, Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture
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Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, who was ordered to pursue Abe Sadato, suffered a major defeat
Site of the Yellow Sea Battlefield (near Nakata, Yellow Sea, Fujisawa-cho, Ichinoseki City) Source: Ryoiwa District Wide Area Municipal Council Official Website
In September 1057, the Imperial Court issued an order to pursue Abe Sadato, and in November, Yoriyoshi advanced into the Okuroku District with 2,500 (or 2,000) soldiers from the provincial government, and fought against Abe's army of 4,000 at the Yellow Sea (Fujisawa-cho, Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture)
The Kokufu army was said to have lacked sufficient food supplies and its soldiers were exhausted from the cold, so they were defeated by the Abe army, which was taking advantage of the terrain to fight back
It is thought that Yoriyoshi went out with a smaller force than Abe's because he was counting on Tomitada's forces in the north, but later generations have pointed out that he may have misjudged the timing of Tomitada's arrival, or that he may have been impatient to achieve success
Yoriyoshi was defeated, losing hundreds of soldiers and many of his veteran retainers, and was driven to the brink of death, but he managed to return alive thanks to the efforts of his eldest son, Minamoto no Yoshiie
This battle greatly reduced Yoriyoshi's military strength, and the Abe clan came to effectively control the area south of the Okurokugun region
Yoriyoshi's eldest son, Yoshiie, was also known as "Hachiman Taro" because he had his coming-of-age ceremony at Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine in Yamashiro (Kyoto), and it has been passed down to later generations that his bravery was "the strongest among the Genji."
Incidentally , Yoriyoshi enshrined Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine in Kawachi and founded Tsuboi Hachimangu Shrine, and then enshrined it in Kamakura as a base in the eastern provinces and founded Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, which later became the foundation of the Kamakura shogunate.
During the Battle of Yellow Sea, in which the Kuomintang army collapsed, he is said to have fought with the utmost courage to protect his father, Yoriyoshi, and his bow was said to be so accurate and powerful that it was said that "when he shoots from horseback, there is no arrow that cannot be hit."
The "Mutsu Waki" records that his prodigious deeds were "like those of a god."
Tsuboi Hachiman Shrine <Information>
Facility name: Tsuboi Hachiman Shrine (the guardian deity of the Kawachi Genji clan)
Address: 605-2 Tsuboi, Habikino City, Osaka Prefecture
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The Prosperous Abe Clan and the Worried Genji Clan
From a manuscript of the "Nine Years' War Picture Scroll" by Abe Sadato. Source: Wikipedia
The Yoriyoshi army, which had suffered a major defeat and had lost a large number of troops, took a long time to recover, while the Abe clan, which had gained momentum, even dispatched Fujiwara no Tsunekiyo to areas that had previously been paying taxes to the provincial government to collect taxes
Yoriyoshi was unable to gather enough troops around the provincial capital, and was forced into such a dire situation that he had to call on the Kanto and Tokai regions to increase his military strength
Eventually, Yoriyoshi's term as Governor of Mutsu expired, and Takashina Tsuneshige came from the capital to take his place, but no one followed the nobleman from the capital, so Tsuneshige was dismissed and Yoriyoshi became Governor of Mutsu again
Address: 023-1101, Esashi Iwayado Shimonaeyozawa, Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture
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Kiyohara's participation changes the course of the Zenkunen War
About 30 years earlier, Yoriyoshi feared the loss of the authority of the Minamoto clan in the eastern provinces, which his father, Minamoto no Yorinobu, had gained by putting down the Taira no Tadatsune Rebellion, so he tried to win over the captives who were waiting to see what would happen to his side
The person Yoriyoshi chose was the Kiyohara clan of Dewa, whose power was expanding to be no less than that of the Abe clan
Yoriyoshi successfully persuaded Kiyohara Mitsuyori to join the war by giving him gifts and even showing him gratitude as if he were his vassal
summary
Minamoto no Yoriyoshi was driven to the brink of death by the strength of the Abe clan, but his eldest son, Yoshiie, made a spectacular debut as a warrior, and after his term of office expired he was reappointed as the governor of Mutsu Province, allowing him to attempt to revive his own forces and the provincial government army
Then, together with 10,000 Kiyohara troops who had been recruited as allies, he challenged the Abe clan to a decisive battle (continued in the Battle of Zenkunen and the Battle of Gosannen ④)
Series: The Battle of Zenkunen and the Battle of Gosannen
I'm a former Edokko man who loves Morioka and the six Tohoku prefectures, and I also love history, food, travel, sports, alcohol, and singing. I'll be introducing you to the interesting, delicious, and great things about Tohoku!
