Everything about Minamoto totally explained
was one of the honorary surnames bestowed by the
Emperors of Japan of the
Heian Period (
794–
1185 AD) on those of their sons and grandsons who were not considered eligible for the throne. The
Taira were another such offshoot of the imperial dynasty. The Minamoto clan was also called the, using the alternate pronunciation of the
Chinese characters for Minamoto
gen and
uji, or family (
ji).
The first emperor to start granting the name Minamoto was
Emperor Saga. Afterwards
Emperor Seiwa,
Emperor Murakami,
Emperor Uda, and
Emperor Daigo, among others, also gave their sons the name Minamoto. These specific hereditary lines coming from different emperors developed into specific clans referred to by the emperor's name followed by Genji, for example
Seiwa Genji. According to some sources, the first to be given the name Minamoto was
Minamoto no Makoto, seventh son of Emperor Saga.
The Minamoto were one of the four great clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period — the other three were
the Fujiwara,
the Taira, and
the Tachibana.
In 814 Emperor Saga (reigned
809–
823) awarded the
kabane Minamoto no Ason to his non-heir sons; thereafter, they and their descendants ceased to be members of the Imperial Family. Several subsequent emperors gave the Minamoto surname to their non-heir sons.
The most prominent of the several Minamoto families, the
Seiwa Genji, descended from
Minamoto no Tsunemoto (
917–
961), a grandson of the 56th Emperor Seiwa. Tsunemoto went to the provinces and became the founder of a major warrior dynasty.
Minamoto no Mitsunaka (
912–
997) formed an alliance with the Fujiwara. Thereafter the Fujiwara frequently called upon the Minamoto to restore order in the capital,
Heian-Kyo (or
Kyoto).
Mitsunaka's eldest son,
Minamoto no Yorimitsu (
948–
1021), became the protégé of
Fujiwara no Michinaga; another son,
Minamoto no Yorinobu (
968–
1048) suppressed the rebellion of
Taira no Tadatsune in
1032. Yorinobu's son,
Minamoto no Yoriyoshi (
998–
1075), and grandson,
Minamoto no Yoshiie (
1039–
1106), pacified most of northeastern Japan between 1051 and 1087.
The Seiwa Genji's fortunes declined in the
Hōgen Rebellion (
1156), when the Taira executed much of the line. During the Heiji Disturbance (
1160), the head of the Seiwa Genji clan,
Minamoto no Yoshitomo, died in battle.
Taira no Kiyomori seized power in Kyoto by forging an alliance with the retired emperors
Shirakawa and
Toba and infiltrating the
kuge. He sent
Minamoto no Yoritomo (
1147–
1199), the third son of Minamoto no Yoshimoto of the Seiwa Genji, into exile. In 1180 Yoritomo mounted a full-scale rebellion against the Taira rule (
Gempei or the Taira-Minamoto War), culminating in the destruction of the Taira and the subjugation of eastern Japan within five years. In
1192 he received the title
shogun and set up the first
bakufu at
Kamakura.
Thus the
Seiwa Genji line proved to be the most strong and dominant Minamoto line during the late Heian period with Minamoto no Yoritomo eventually forming the
Kamakura Shogunate and becoming
shogun in 1192. Also, it's from the Seiwa Genji line that the later
Ashikaga (founders of the
Ashikaga shogunate),
Nitta, and
Takeda clans come.
The
protagonist of the classical Japanese novel
The Tale of Genji,
Hikaru no Genji, was bestowed the name Minamoto for political reasons by his father the emperor, and was delegated to civilian life and a career as an imperial officer.
Members of the Minamoto clan
Further Information
Get more info on 'Minamoto'.
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