The Strategy Genius Expelled by the first Shogun

MINAMOTO Yoshitsune

There were four major turning points in the history of Japan. Going back in history, they were World War?which occurred about 60 years ago, the Meiji restoration (the war between supporters of the Emperor and those of the Shogun) in the late 19th century, the age of provincial wars aimed at uniting the nation in the late 16th century, and the Gen-Pei war in the late 12th century. Many Japanese history novels and dramas have been created based on these events.

Every week for a year, NHK broadcasts a Japanese history drama series and in 2005, MINAMOTO Yoshitsune (1159 ~ 1190), who was a hero of the Gen-Pei war is to be featured. Yoshitsune, a strategy genius, was a half brother of MINAMOTO Yoritomo, the first Shogun who opened the Shogunate in Kamakura.

Japan in the 12th century was governed by the Emperor and court nobles, and the samurai or warrior class rose during this period. Among the samurai groups the Genji and Heike (Taira) families became super powers and had a fatal battle in which Heike gained victory. The defeated Genji soon vanished. Yoshitsune, a son of the Genji general was caught with her mother, TOKIWA-Gozen and his two brothers. It was a custom at that time that all children who could possibly become a trigger of a future conflict between two powers were killed. The beautiful mother desperately begged TAIRA-NO Kiyomori, the general of Heike, for her children's lives and they were saved upon their mother becoming his mistress. Yoshitsune was confined in a temple, while Yoritomo was exiled to an island in Izu.

Afterwards, Kiyomori exercised strong control over Japan's political scene by such actions as forcing his daughter to marry a son of the Emperor. The Heike family sang of their happy lot, with the words "You are not a human unless you are a member of the Heike family." However, as time went by, many samurai rose in revolt against the tyranny of the Heike family and Yoritomo, now an adult, declared he would beat Heike. Yoshitsune came up to help Yoritomo, who was very pleased and appointed Yoshitsune as the general of the Geniji for the war against Heike. Kiyomori had already died by this time.

Now, the historical battle between the Genji and the Heike started. This is called the "Gen-Pei battle." "Gen" represents Genji and “Pei" represents Heike (H is sometimes changed to P according to the previous word for easier pronunciation). Heike used red flags while Genji used white flags in the war they fought between their two powers. This custom has carried through to the present. For instance, when two teams compete in events such as sports, their team names are often called the "red team" and the "white team."

Yoshitsune became Ghenghis KHAN?
Strategist Yoshitsune won consecutive victories by making surprise attacks and subsequently completely defeated Heike. Yoshitsune rose to became a hero and received praise from the people and was awarded a special title from the court. However, this changed his destiny. Yoritomo placed most importance on harmony which led him to care very much for his supporting powers. As Yoshitsune ignored the organizational harmony and strived for reputation alone, Yoritomo ordered subordinates to expel Yoshitsune.

Suddenly Yoshitsune became a criminal. He escaped to Hiraizumi of Oushu (at present called "Tohoku" or Northeast Japan), where his reliable Fujiwara family (who ruled the area and had taken care of Yoshitsune since he was the age of 16) lived. They welcomed Yoshitsune at first, but being afraid of the war against Yoritomo, they assaulted Yoshitsune and showed loyalty to Yoritomo. Yoshitsune killed himself and ended his short life of 31 years.

Japanese sympathize with this tragic hero. The term "Hangan-biki” is used even now. "Hangan" is the title that Yoshitsune received from the Emperor, and "Biiki" (Hiiki) means supporting. In short, this means "supporting Yoshitsune or a weaker person."

On the other hand, an almost unbelievable interpretation exists. It syas that Yoshitsune escaped Oushu to Mongolia and became Ghenghis Khan, who lived in the same period and created a huge empire. This story must have been created due to the fact that the Mongolian military attacked Japan twice to shake the Kamakura shogunate. The sympathy towards Yoshitsune has been passed on to many Japanese.

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