Miura Yoshiaki

Miura Yoshiaki was a warrior of the late Heian period and head of the Miura, a powerful family of Sagami Province. He is said to have been born in 1092, though the Engyo-bon Heike Monogatari gives other dates such as 1102. He died on 18 September 1180. His age at death is given as 89 in the main account, 79 or 84 in the Engyo-bon, and "over eighty" in the Azuma Kagami.

He held the title Sagami-no-suke and used the hereditary title Miura-no-suke, extending his influence across the Miura Peninsula. He took part in provincial administration in the Tenji era (1124-1126) and is said to have backed Minamoto no Yoshihira from the rear at the Okura battle of 1155.

His eldest son Sugimoto Yoshimune founded the Wada line, and his second son Miura Yoshizumi succeeded as head. A daughter is said to have been a concubine of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and Hatakeyama Shigetada's mother was also his daughter.

In 1180, when Minamoto no Yoritomo rose, Yoshizumi led the clan to join him but was blocked by bad weather. Kinugasa Castle was then attacked by Hatakeyama Shigetada and others. The clan defended it on 26 August; at midnight Yoshizumi and the others left, but Yoshiaki stayed behind. On the 27th he was killed by Kawagoe Shigeyori, Edo Shigenaga and others.

The Azuma Kagami says Yoshiaki declared he would give his life for Yoritomo and parted from his kin in tears, while the Engyo-bon says his retainers carried him out in a palanquin, abandoned it on meeting the enemy, and he was cut down by Edo Shigenaga. Haragiri-matsu Park in Oyabe preserves a site tied to the tradition of his suicide. After his death Manjo-ji was founded on Yoritomo's order, and he is enshrined at Goryo Myojin Shrine in its precincts. He was held up as a model Genji warrior, and in 1868 Kakuoin Gikan invoked the name "Miura no Daisuke" when urging Tokugawa Yoshinobu to rise.