Minamoto yoshiie biography books

MINAMOTO no Yoshiie was a busho (Japanese military commander) in the Heian period and the grandson of MINAMOTO no Yorinobu of the Kawachi-Genji (Minamoto clan). He was also known by his alias, Hachimantaro Yoshiie.

As the ancestor of MINAMOTO no Yoritomo, who established the Kamakurabakufu (military government) and Takauji ASHIKAGA who founded the Muromachi bakufu, he was often portrayed as a hero by later generations and there are many anecdotes about him.

He served as a guard for the Emperor Shirakawa during his imperial visits and suppressed rebelling Mount Hiei monks, but after becoming Mutsu no kuni no kami (the governor of Mutsu Province), he interfered in the internal conflict of the Kiyohara clan, triggering the Later Three Years' War which, although he sought official post-war consent, was declared 'a private feud' by the court.

For the next ten years he was under house arrest, but he was allowed to visit the imperial palace with Emperor Shir