Kiso Yoshinaka Enters Kyoto in 1183: The Entry of Yoshinaka and Minamoto no Yukiie after the Taira Flight

Kiso Yoshinaka's entry into Kyoto took place on the 28th day of the 7th month of Juei 2 (1183), three days after the Taira left the capital with Emperor Antoku, when Yoshinaka entered the city together with Minamoto no Yukiie. Having raised troops in northern Shinano, Yoshinaka advanced along the Hokuriku road, defeated a large Taira army, and at last reached the capital. The entry was the peak of his glory, but it was also the start of a road that ended in his destruction within half a year.

From the uprising to Kurikara Pass

In Jishō 4 (1180), Yoshinaka raised troops on receiving Prince Mochihito's edict. In the 9th month of that year he went to the aid of Minamoto allies in northern Shinano, and he is said to have later risen at Yoda Castle in Chiisagata District. In the 6th month of Jishō 5 (1181) he defeated Jō Sukemoto, who had come from Echigo, at the Battle of Yokotagawara, and advanced along the Hokuriku road. In Juei 1 (1182) he sheltered Prince Hokuriku, a child of Prince Mochihito who had fled to Hokuriku, showing that he regarded himself as continuing Mochihito's uprising.

In the 2nd month of Juei 2 (1183), Shida Yoshihiro, defeated by Yoritomo, and Minamoto no Yukiie, driven out by Yoritomo, took refuge with Yoshinaka, and relations with Yoritomo worsened. In the 4th month a Taira army under Taira no Koremori marched to Hokuriku. An advance party under Imai Kanehira struck by surprise at Hannyano, and Yoshinaka defeated Koremori's army at the Battle of Kurikara Pass on the 11th day of the 5th month. He also won the Battle of Shinohara that followed.

In the 6th month he advanced from Echizen into Ōmi and negotiated with Enryaku-ji. On the 22nd day of the 7th month he is said to have set up a fortification at Sōji-in on the Eastern Pagoda precinct. Three days later, on the 25th, the Taira left the capital.

The entry of the 28th day of the 7th month

On the 27th, after the Taira had gone, Go-Shirakawa returned to the capital under the escort of a son of Yamamoto Yoshitsune. On the 28th, Yoshinaka entered Kyoto with Yukiie and, at Renge-ō-in, they were ordered to destroy the Taira. The two are recorded as having ridden side by side, neither willing to fall behind, contending over precedence. Kujō Kanezane's diary Gyokuyō says their appearance astonished the nobles.

In the three days between the Taira departure on the 25th and Yoshinaka's entry, the retired emperor returned on the 27th and the two commanders entered on the 28th, in a hurried sequence. Renge-ō-in is a temple built by Go-Shirakawa, known as Sanjūsangen-dō. That Yoshinaka and Yukiie received the order to destroy the Taira there shows that the entry was placed as a military action recognized by the court.

The entry was thus not Yoshinaka's triumph alone but a joint entry with Yukiie. The city he entered had been devastated by the famine of the preceding years.

Ranking of merit and Yukiie's treatment

At the council of the high nobles on the 30th day of the 7th month, merit was ranked in the order Yoritomo, Yoshinaka, Yukiie. The guarding of the capital was divided among commanders, and Yoshinaka took charge of the Kokonoe, the left half of the city. Yoritomo, who was not in the capital, was placed first, and Yoshinaka, who had actually entered it, second.

On the 10th day of the 8th month Yoshinaka was appointed Sama no kami (head of the office managing the court's horses) and Echigo no kami, and later transferred to Iyo no kami. The title "General Asahi" appears in the Tale of the Heike.

Yukiie was treated below Yoshinaka. On the 10th day of the 8th month he was granted the Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade, and appointed governor of Bingo, and he complained of being ranked lower than Yoshinaka. He was then transferred to governor of Bizen and granted more than ninety Taira confiscated estates. Earlier, on the 12th day of the 5th month, he had joined Yoshinaka's army at the Battle of Shihoyama in Noto, and in the advance on the capital he came through the Iga direction and fought Taira no Ietsugu. Yoshinaka and Yukiie contended over precedence from the moment of the entry, and the seeds of their later break were already visible.

Conditions in the capital

Kyoto was in ruins from the effects of the Yōwa famine and short of food. Plundering by allied troops was also rife. Yoshinaka was only one of twelve commanders assigned to guard the city and could not control the army as a whole.

Then, on the 20th day of the 8th month, the court had Prince Takahira, a son of Retired Emperor Takakura, accede to the throne as Emperor Go-Toba rather than Prince Hokuriku, whom Yoshinaka had backed. Yoshinaka had strongly urged the enthronement of Prince Hokuriku, whom he had sheltered, but this aroused resentment in the retired emperor and the nobles and came to nothing. Prince Hokuriku, a child of Prince Mochihito who had fled to Hokuriku, embodied for Yoshinaka the cause of his uprising. His reputation fell, and calls grew for Yoritomo to come to the capital. Because Antoku also remained on the throne, two emperors existed at the same time, an unusual situation.

Conflict with Go-Shirakawa and the end

Go-Shirakawa blamed Yoshinaka for the delay in restoring order. In the 9th month Yoshinaka set out to attack the Taira in the western provinces. The retired emperor's trouble with the violence of the troops who had come with Yoshinaka is also said to have been part of the background.

In the 10th month the retired emperor accepted Yoritomo's petition and granted him authority over the east in the decree of the 10th month of Juei 2. A senji is an official document issued by the court, and through it Yoritomo's rule in the east was recognized at court. Yoshinaka protested fiercely, calling it a lifelong grievance. After a defeat at the Battle of Mizushima in the intercalary 10th month, news came of the approach of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, and Yoshinaka returned to Kyoto.

On the 19th day of the 11th month he attacked Hōjūji-dono and confined the retired emperor, and he joined with Matsudono Motofusa to set up a puppet government. In the 1st month of Juei 3 (1184), with the armies of Noriyori and Yoshitsune closing in, he was defeated at the Battle of the Uji River and died fighting at Awazu together with Imai Kanehira and others, at the age of 31.

Timeline

To summarize the above in date order (old-calendar dates; Juei 2, 1183, unless noted):

- 2nd month: Shida Yoshihiro and Minamoto no Yukiie take refuge with Yoshinaka. - 5th month, 11th day: Koremori's army is defeated at Kurikara Pass, followed by victory at Shinohara. - 7th month, 22nd day: Yoshinaka sets up a fortification at Sōji-in on the Eastern Pagoda precinct. - 7th month, 25th day: the Taira leave the capital with Emperor Antoku. - 7th month, 27th day: Go-Shirakawa returns to the capital. - 7th month, 28th day: Yoshinaka and Yukiie enter Kyoto and are ordered to destroy the Taira at Renge-ō-in. - 7th month, 30th day: the council ranks merit as Yoritomo, Yoshinaka, Yukiie. - 8th month, 10th day: Yoshinaka is appointed Sama no kami and Echigo no kami; Yukiie, governor of Bingo. - 8th month, 20th day: Prince Takahira accedes as Emperor Go-Toba. - 9th month: Yoshinaka sets out against the Taira in the west. - 10th month: the decree of Juei 2 recognizes Yoritomo's authority over the east. - Intercalary 10th month: Yoshinaka is defeated at Mizushima. - 11th month, 8th day: Yukiie leaves the capital to attack the Taira (and is defeated at Muroyama on the 29th). - 11th month, 19th day: Yoshinaka attacks Hōjūji-dono and confines the retired emperor. - Juei 3 (1184), 1st month: defeated at the Uji River, Yoshinaka dies fighting at Awazu.

Laid out this way, Yoshinaka's position changed abruptly within a short span: about three and a half months from the entry on the 28th of the 7th month to the attack on Hōjūji-dono on the 19th of the 11th month, and about half a year to the Uji River. He was ordered to destroy the Taira, ranked second in merit and received court office. But he could not keep order in a capital stricken by famine, clashed with the nobles over the imperial succession, and fell out with the retired emperor. The Tale of the Heike and other works portray him as a tragic hero.