Minamoto no Yorimasa

A military commander in the late Heian period. His posthumous name was Shinren (also known as Ichini Yorien). He was a priest of the Third Rank of the Minamoto clan. His father was Nakamasa (Nakamasa) and his mother was the daughter of Fujiwara Tomozane. Since the reign of Emperor Shirakawa, he served the Imperial Court and reached the rank of Hyogo no Kami. He led the Watanabe Party of the Settsu Genji clan, and was a distinguished member of the Imperial side during the Hogen Rebellion, and in the Heiji Rebellion, he joined the Taira side. Under the Taira government, he was in charge of guarding the Imperial Court and Kyoto, and was granted the rank of Third Rank and was allowed to enter the palace. However, he was angry at the Taira clan's tyranny and the decline of the Minamoto clan, and in 1180 (Jisho 4), he supported Emperor Goshirakawa's son Mochihito and raised an army to overthrow the Taira clan, but was defeated by the Taira clan and died in battle at Byodo-in Temple in Uji on May 26th. The imperial edicts of Emperor Mochihito, which were distributed to the Genji clan in various provinces at this time, became the driving force behind the revival of the Genji clan. Yorimasa was famous as a master of archery, and belonged to the foremost school of waka poetry of his time. In addition to the Minamoto no Sanmi Yorimasa Collection, which has been passed down to the present day, he left behind many other waka poems.

[Muneharu Taga]

"Minamoto no Yorimasa" by Taga Sojun (1973, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

平安後期の武将。法名真蓮（一に頼円とも）。源三位(げんざんみ)入道。父は仲政（仲正）、母は藤原友実(ともざね)の女(むすめ)。白河院(しらかわいん)以来、朝廷に仕え兵庫頭(ひょうごのかみ)に至る。摂津源氏渡辺党を率いて、保元(ほうげん)の乱には天皇方に属して功あり、平治(へいじ)の乱では平氏方に属した。平氏政権下で宮廷、京都の警衛に任じ、三位に至り内昇殿を許された。しかし平氏の専制、源氏の衰勢を憤って、1180年（治承4）後白河上皇の皇子以仁(もちひと)王を奉じて平氏打倒の兵をあげたが、平氏に討たれて5月26日宇治平等院(うじびょうどういん)で戦死した。このときに諸国の源氏に配布された以仁王の令旨(りょうじ)は、源氏再興の原動力となっている。頼政は射芸の達人として名があり、また和歌において当時の第一流に属し、今日に『源三位頼政集』を伝えるほか、多数の和歌を残している。

［多賀宗隼］

『多賀宗隼著『源頼政』（1973・吉川弘文館）』

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