The Battle for the First Guard at Uji River

…Yoshinaka's side sent Shida Yoshihiro to Uji to prevent Yoshitsune's army from entering Kyoto, but failed. Seta was also defeated, and Yoshinaka was killed in battle at Awazu in Omi while fleeing from Kyoto. The story of the "Dispute over the Vanguard of the Uji River," in which Yoshitsune's men Kajiwara Kagesue and Sasaki Takatsuna competed to cross the river on horseback, is a famous passage in the Tale of the Heike and is also told in the Heike Song Uji River. The Battle of the Uji River during the Jokyu War, when Emperor Mochihito raised his army, is also famous, second only to the Genryaku Battle. …

*Some of the terminology used in reference to the "Uji River Vanguard Battle" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…義仲方では，志太義広を宇治方面に派遣して義経軍の入京を防ごうとしたが失敗，瀬田も破られ，義仲は京都から敗走の途中，近江の粟津で戦死した。このとき義経麾下（きか）の梶原景季と佐々木高綱が，乗馬のまま渡河し競ったという〈宇治川先陣争い〉の話は《平家物語》の有名な一節で，平曲《宇治川》にも語られている。なお，以仁王（もちひとおう）挙兵，承久の乱のおりの宇治川合戦も，元暦の戦についで名高い。…

※「宇治川先陣争い」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報