Minamoto clan: Difference between revisions

|surname nihongo = 源氏

|cadet branches = {{PlainlistPlain list|

{{nihongoNihongo|'''Minamoto'''|源}} was a [[Aristocracy (class)|noble]] surname bestowed by the [[Emperors of Japan]] upon members of the [[Imperial House of Japan|imperial family]] who were excluded from the [[List of emperors of Japan|line of succession]] and demoted into the ranks of [[Nobility|the nobility]] since 814.<ref name=":3">"...the Minamoto (1192-1333)". ''Warrior Rule in Japan'', page 11. Cambridge University Press.</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=September 2024}}<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=井上 |first=辰雄 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_panuAAACAAJ |title=嵯峨天皇と文人官僚 |publisher=塙書房 |year=2011 |isbn=9784827312409 |location=Japan |pages=305–306 |language=ja}}</ref> TheSeveral practicenoble waslines mostwere prevalent duringbestowed the Heiansurname, periodthe (794–1185most AD),notable althoughof its last occurrencewhich was during the [[SengokuSeiwa periodGenji]]., Thewhose descendants established the [[TairaKamakura clanshogunate|TairaKamakura]] were another such offshoot of theand [[ImperialAshikaga House of Japanshogunate|imperial dynastyAshikaga]], making both clans distant relatives.<ref>{{Cite book [[Shogun|last=Kuehnshogunates]] |first=John T. |title=A military history of Japan: fromfollowing the ageHeian of the Samurai to the 21st century |date=2014 |publisher=Praeger |isbn=978-1-4408-0394-9 |location=Santa Barbara, Califera. |pages=36}}</ref> The Minamoto was the most powerful and most important clanone of allthe four great [[Japanese clans|clans]] that dominated Japanese politics during the [[Heian period|Heian]] period in [[History of Japan|Japanese history]]—the other three were the [[Fujiwara clan|Fujiwara]], the [[Taira clan|Taira]], and the [[Tachibana clan (kuge)|Tachibana]].<ref>{{Cite bookencyclopedia |last=Gibney |first=Frank |year=1984 |title=Shisei: 'Genji' |encyclopedia=Britannica International Encyclopedia |publisher=TBS-Britannica |year=1984 |at=Shisei: "Genji" |oclc=47462068}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Frédéric |first=Louis |year=2002 |title=Japan Encyclopedia |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2002 |isbn=9780674017535 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |pages=439–452 |language=en}}</ref>

TheIn the late Heian period, Minamoto defeatedrivalry with the Taira culminated in the [[Genpei War]] (1180-11851180–1185 AD),. resultingThe inMinamoto theemerged establishmentvictorious ofand theestablished Japan's first [[Kamakura shogunate|shogunate]] in [[Kamakura]] under [[Minamoto no Yoritomo]], who appointed himself as ''[[Shōgunshōgun]]'' in 1192, ushering in the [[Kamakura period]] (1192–1333 AD) of Japanese history. The name "Genpei" comes from [[On'yomi|alternate readings]] of the ''[[kanji]]'' "Minamoto" (源 ''Gen'') and "Taira" (平 ''Hei'').

InThe May[[Emperors of Japan]] bestowed noble surnames upon members of the [[814Imperial House of Japan|imperial family]] who were excluded from the [[List of emperors of Japan|line of succession]] and demoted into the ranks of [[Nobility|the nobility]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> In May 814, the first [[Emperor of Japan|emperor]] to grant the surname "Minamoto" was [[Emperor Saga]], to his seventh son—[[Minamoto no Makoto]], in [[Heian-Kyo|Heian-Kyō]] (modern [[Kyoto|Kyōto]]).<ref>Frederic, Louis (2002). ''Japan Encyclopedia.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=倉本 |first=一宏 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3FClzAEACAAJ |title=公家源氏: 王権を支えた名族 |publisher=中央公論新社 |date=2019-12-18 |isbn=9784121025739 |location=Japan |pages=18 |language=ja}}</ref>{{rp|18}}<ref name=":2" /> The practice was most prevalent during the Heian period (794–1185 AD), although its last occurrence was during the [[Sengoku period]]. The [[Taira clan|Taira]] were another such offshoot of the [[Imperial House of Japan|imperial dynasty]], making both clans distant relatives.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kuehn |first=John T. |title=A military history of Japan: from the age of the Samurai to the 21st century |date=2014 |publisher=Praeger |isbn=978-1-4408-0394-9 |location=Santa Barbara, Calif. |pages=36}}</ref> [[File:Seiryoji0332.jpg|thumb|[[Seiryō-ji]], a temple in [[Kyoto]], was once a villa of [[Minamoto no Tōru]] (d. 895), a prominent member of the Saga Genji|left]]The most prominent of the several Minamoto families, the [[Seiwa Genji]], descended from [[Minamoto no Tsunemoto]] (897–961), a grandson of [[Emperor Seiwa]]. Tsunemoto went to the provinces and became the founder of a major warrior dynasty. [[Minamoto no Mitsunaka]] (912–997) formed an alliance with the Fujiwara. Thereafter the Fujiwara frequently called upon the Minamoto to restore order in the capital, [[Heian-Kyo|Heian-Kyō]] (modern [[Kyoto|Kyōto]]).<ref name="Sansom" />{{rp|240–241}}Mitsunaka's eldest son, [[Minamoto no Yorimitsu]] (948–1021), became the protégé of [[Fujiwara no Michinaga]]; another son, [[Minamoto no Yorinobu]] (968–1048) suppressed the rebellion of [[Taira no Tadatsune]] in 1032. Yorinobu's son, [[Minamoto no Yoriyoshi]] (988–1075), and grandson, [[Minamoto no Yoshiie]] (1039–1106), pacified most of northeastern Japan between 1051 and 1087.<ref name=Sansom>{{Cite book |last=Sansom |first=George |title=A History of Japan to 1334 |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1958 |isbn=0804705232 |pages=241–242, 247–252}}</ref>

[[Category:Japanese nobilitynoble families]]