Later Three Years' War

What Was the Later Three Years' War: An Epic of Warriors in the Northeast

From 1083 to 1087, the Later Three Years' War, which unfolded across Mutsu and Dewa (present-day northeast Japan), shines brilliantly in Japanese warrior history alongside the Earlier Nine Years' War (1051–1062) as one of the 'two great wars of the northeast.' The protagonist of this war, Minamoto Yoshiie (Hachiman Tarō Yoshiie), was a legendary general later revered as the 'incarnation of the war god,' and his martial exploits and character became the foundation for establishing the martial authority of the Minamoto clan.

Background of the War: The Internal Strife of the Kiyohara Clan and Yoshiie's Intervention

In the Earlier Nine Years' War (1051–1062), when Minamoto Yoriyoshi and his son Yoshiie destroyed the Abe clan in Mutsu, the Kiyohara warrior band from Dewa participated as allies and made great contributions. As a reward, the Kiyohara clan gained a hegemonic position in Mutsu and Dewa. However, within the Kiyohara clan, complex power struggles continued afterward.

The origin of the problem was a dispute over the inheritance of Kiyohara Takeizane's estate. In the Kiyohara clan's internal strife, after the death of the patriarch Sadahira, Iehira (supported by his uncle Takeada) came into conflict with the adopted son Kiyohira, and the internal dispute escalated into armed conflict. Minamoto Yoshiie, who had been appointed Governor of Mutsu, intervened in this strife and chose to support Kiyohira.

Yoshiie's Intervention and Prolonged Warfare: The Tale of the 'Geese Formation'

Yoshiie's intervention was not motivated by simple righteousness alone. In the Earlier Nine Years' War, Yoshiie's grandfather Yoriyoshi fought through a prolonged conflict without support from the central government. This time, Yoshiie too continued to fight as a private war without formal authorization from the imperial court. This character as a 'private war' was the greatest defining feature of the Later Three Years' War.

Yoshiie's military genius is symbolized in the episode of the 'Geese Formation.' In this famous scene depicted in the Tale of the Later Three Years' War in Pictures (Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba), Yoshiie, seeing geese flying wildly in the fields, reportedly discerned the enemy's hidden forces through his reading of natural phenomena. This insight of Yoshiie in reading the phenomena of nature to discern the enemy's schemes was long transmitted in the martial education of later generations. Not merely strong, but a general possessed of the power to read heaven and earth and nature—this perfected the legend of Yoshiie.

Swords and the Warrior Culture of the Northeast: What the Later Three Years' War Nurtured

During the late Heian period when the Later Three Years' War unfolded, the swords used by warriors in the northeast were a mixture of tachi made by sword craftsmen from the central region (Kinai) and works by local craftsmen. The northeast region's distinctive sword culture gradually took shape through this era.

Two legendary swords are transmitted in tradition as belonging to the Minamoto clan: Higekiriri (Whisker Cutter) and Hizamaru (Knee Round). These are legendary blades transmitted to the Minamoto in the Heian period, and connections with Yoshiie, who demonstrated martial prowess in the Earlier and Later Three Years' Wars, are also told. Higekiriri is a famous blade said to have cut off a demon's whiskers or to have severed a thief's head, and Hizamaru is named from the legend that when cutting a serpent, it was slashed down to the knee level. Such naming anecdotes reveal how warriors of the Heian period found spiritual power in the sword.

The harsh natural environment of the northeast and the lessons of prolonged warfare elevated demands for the durability and practicality of swords. The swords sought by warriors of the Kantō and northeast regions were not elegant ceremonial blades, but practical war swords capable of enduring outdoor warfare in the depths of winter. This tradition of 'eastern swords' also influenced sword perspectives in later Kamakura samurai culture.

The Defense of Kanazawa Stockade: The Climax of the Later Three Years' War

The greatest climax of the Later Three Years' War was the siege of Kanazawa Stockade (present-day Yokote City, Akita Prefecture) in autumn of 1087. Iehira and Takeada took refuge in Kanazawa Stockade and endured Yoshiie's prolonged siege. Kanazawa Stockade was a formidable mountain castle utilizing natural terrain. Yoshiie's army continued the siege from autumn through the harsh winter, cornering the enemy through starvation tactics. But the cold of the northeast winter was merciless, exacting great sacrifice on the besiegers as well. Yoshiie's forces endured while freezing, and ultimately, as provisions in the stockade ran out, Iehira and Takeada were captured and executed.

Yoshiie's Character and Command Ability: The Narrative of Postwar Settlements

After the Later Three Years' War concluded, Yoshiie bestowed rewards from his own funds upon the eastern warriors who had participated in the war. Since the imperial court did not recognize public rewards for a 'private war,' Yoshiie repaid his subordinates even at the cost of his own wealth. This act secured Yoshiie's reputation decisively. The sentiment of eastern warriors to 'stake their lives fighting for Minamoto Yoshiie' became the spiritual foundation of the master-servant relationship, which could be called the prototype of the goon (imperial favor) and hōkō (service) system of the Kamakura period.

The pride of warriors staking their lives for a single sword fuses with the spiritual culture of 'absolute loyalty to one's lord'—the Later Three Years' War was an important nexus in this fusion. The act of Yoshiie bestowing rewards to his subordinates from his private wealth was also the prototype of 'the duty of the lord' in later bushidō, and became the source stream of the thought that the world of warriors is established not merely by receiving orders and fighting, but by true reciprocal obligation between lord and vassal.

The Ōshū Fujiwara and Hiraizumi: The Cultural Sphere Created by the Later Three Years' War

Kiyohira, who was supported by Yoshiie in the Later Three Years' War and defeated Iehira and Takeada, later founded the Ōshū Fujiwara clan as its inaugural lord and established a great cultural sphere at Hiraizumi (present-day Hiraizumi Town, Iwate Prefecture). The rule of the Ōshū Fujiwara for over a century (1087–1189) brought a golden culture to the northeast region. The exquisite craftsmanship seen in the Konjikdō (Hall of Gold) at Chūsonji in Hiraizumi (completed in 1124) also suggests the high level of sword-making techniques in this land. The history of warriors in the northeast, beginning with the two great wars of the northeast—the Earlier and Later Three Years' Wars—converges at the Ōshū Campaign toward Minamoto's unification under heaven. Within the continuity of this history, the role that the Japanese sword played is incalculable.