Minamoto no Yoshiie

A military commander in the late Heian period. He was the eldest son of Yoriyoshi, the direct descendant of the Kawachi Genji clan. His mother was Kozukenosuke, the daughter of Taira Nogata. In the spring of his seventh year, he celebrated his coming of age at the treasure house of Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine, and took the name "Hachiman Taro." During the Former Nine Years' War, he accompanied his father Yoriyoshi to battle the father and son Abe no Yoritoki and Sadato, and in 1062 (Kōhei 5), he defeated Sadato at Koromogawa Seki (Iwate Prefecture), then killed him at Kuriyagawa Saki, and was appointed Dewa no Kami (Junior Fifth Rank) for his achievements.

His bravery in the Battle of Former Nine Years made him famous throughout the country, and the battle was described in the Mutsu Waki ​​and other books. He was active in suppressing the monk-soldiers' complaints as a kebiishi and a Saemon-no-jo, and served as provincial governor in Shimotsuke, Sagami, Musashi, Kawachi, and other areas. In 83 (Eiho 3), he became Mutsu no Kami and Chinjufu Shogun. At that time, an internal conflict broke out within the Kiyohara clan, a powerful clan in Oshu, and Kiyohara Sanehira, Iehira, and Fujiwara Kiyohira were fighting each other. Yoshiie assisted Masahira and intervened in this internal conflict, and after Masahira's death, when Iehira and Kiyohira came into conflict, he assisted Kiyohira and personally led several thousand troops to attack Iehira in 86 (Otoku 3). Yoshiie struggled due to Iehira's fierce resistance and cold and hunger, but finally, in 87 (Kanji 1), he captured Kanazawa Castle (Akita Prefecture) and defeated Iehira. This was the Gosannen War.

In this battle, Yoshiie asked the Imperial Court for an official command to pursue and kill the Kiyohara clan, but the Imperial Court considered it a private war by Yoshiie to conquer Oshu and refused to grant him an official command or a reward. Therefore, Yoshiie rewarded his soldiers for their service with his own money, according to the Oshu Gosannenki.

Yoshiie's actions and his bravery in battle earned him the trust of the samurai, and the power of the Minamoto clan in the eastern provinces grew significantly. Eventually, many samurai and peasants from various provinces began to donate manors to Yoshiie, and Yoshiie was known as "the bravest warrior in the world." He played a central role in the military force supporting the Shirakawa cloistered government, and in 1698 (Shotoku 2), he was even allowed to enter the palace of the cloistered emperor. However, at the same time, the cloistered emperors and aristocrats began to grow wary of Yoshiie's sudden growth in power, and in 1691 (Kanji 5), when a dispute over territory between Yoshiie's retainers and those of his younger brother Yoshitsuna threatened to provoke a battle between Yoshiie and Yoshitsuna, the Imperial Court prevented Yoshiie from entering Kyoto and issued an imperial decree prohibiting peasants from donating manors to Yoshiie. After that, the Imperial Court tried to prevent Yoshiie's power from expanding as much as possible, and instead favored his younger brother Yoshitsuna and Taira Masamori. As a result, when Yoshiie died in July 1106 (Kasho 1), a serious struggle for succession arose within the clan, and the power of the Minamoto clan began to decline, and in their place, the Taira clan, led by Taira Masamori and Tadamori, rose to prominence.

[Tanaka Fumihide]

"Minamoto no Yoshiie" by Yasuda Motohisa (1966, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

平安後期の武将。河内(かわち)源氏の嫡流で頼義(よりよし)の長子。母は上野介(こうずけのすけ)平直方(なおかた)の女(むすめ)。7歳の春、石清水八幡宮(いわしみずはちまんぐう)の宝前で元服し、「八幡太郎(はちまんたろう)」と号した。前九年の役に、父頼義に従って出陣し、安倍頼時(あべのよりとき)・貞任(さだとう)父子と戦い、1062年（康平5）貞任を衣川関(ころもがわのせき)（岩手県）で破り、ついで厨川柵(くりやがわのき)で滅ぼし、その功によって従(じゅ)五位下出羽守(でわのかみ)に任ぜられた。

　この前九年の役における奮戦によって、一躍、武勇の名を天下に広め、『陸奥話記(むつわき)』などにその合戦のようすが描かれるに至る。検非違使(けびいし)や左衛門尉(さえもんのじょう)として僧兵の嗷訴(ごうそ)の鎮圧などに活動するとともに、下野(しもつけ)、相模(さがみ)、武蔵(むさし)、河内などの国司を歴任し、83年（永保3）陸奥守(むつのかみ)兼鎮守府将軍になった。そのとき、奥羽の豪族清原(きよはら)氏に内紛が起こり、清原真衡(さねひら)と同家衡(いえひら)・藤原清衡(きよひら)とが抗戦状態になった。義家は真衡を援助してこの内紛に介入し、真衡の死後、家衡と清衡が対立すると、86年（応徳3）清衡を助けて自ら数千騎を率いて家衡を攻撃した。義家は、家衡の激しい抵抗と飢寒のために苦戦したが、ついに87年（寛治1）金沢柵（秋田県）を攻略して家衡を討った。これが後三年の役である。

　この戦いにあたって、義家は清原氏追討の官符を朝廷に求めたが、朝廷は義家による奥州征覇の私戦とみなして、追討の官符も恩賞も与えなかった。そのため義家は自らの私財をもって麾下(きか)の将兵の功に報いた、と『奥州後三年記』は伝えている。

　こうした義家の行為と奮戦の武勇によって武士の信望を集め、東国における源氏の勢力は著しく進展した。やがて、諸国の武士や百姓のなかで義家に荘園(しょうえん)を寄進する者も多くなり、義家は「天下第一武勇之士」などと称され、白河(しらかわ)院政を支える軍事力の中核となって活動し、98年（承徳2）には院の昇殿を許されるまでになった。しかし一方で、院や貴族は、義家の勢力が急激に増大するのに警戒心を強め始め、91年（寛治5）義家の郎党と弟義綱(よしつな)の郎党との所領争いから義家と義綱の戦闘が惹起(じゃっき)されようとすると、朝廷は義家の入京を制止し、諸国の百姓が義家に荘園を寄進するのを禁じる宣旨(せんじ)を出した。その後も、朝廷はできるだけ義家の勢力が拡大するのを抑えて、弟義綱や平正盛(まさもり)を重用する方針をとった。このため1106年（嘉承1）7月、義家が没すると一族内部に深刻な後継者争いが生じて源氏の勢力が没落し始め、かわって平正盛・忠盛(ただもり)らの平氏が台頭してくるのである。

［田中文英］

『安田元久著『源義家』（1966・吉川弘文館）』

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