July 25, 1183.
The Taira clan departed from Kyoto.
They took with them the six-year-old Emperor Antoku.
The three sacred treasures—the Imperial Regalia of Japan, consisting of the mirror, the sword, and the jewel—also left Kyoto with them.
Two years had passed since the death of Taira no Kiyomori. The Taira, as relatives of Emperor Antoku, still held a central position in the court.
It was Minamoto no Yoshinaka who would drive the Taira from Kyoto, having been engaged in battles across the Hokuriku region just two months prior.
On May 11, after defeating the Taira forces at the Battle of Kurikara Pass, Yoshinaka continued his pursuit in Kaga Province and advanced from Echizen to Omi.
Yoshinaka’s forces were closing in on Kyoto, a long-standing stronghold of the Taira.
From Kurikara and Shinohara to Omi
On May 11, 1183, the Taira army was defeated by Minamoto no Yoshinaka at the Battle of Kurikara Pass.
After suffering further attacks from Yoshinaka’s forces in Shinohara, Kaga Province, the Taira retreated to Kyoto from the Hokuriku region.
The “Gyokuyo” entry for June 5 notes that the Taira army heading to the Hokuriku region numbered “40,000 riders.”
More than half of them were killed or wounded, and the survivors fled, abandoning their armor and weapons.
Yoshinaka advanced from Kaga to Echizen, entering the provincial capital in early June.
On July 8, he moved from the Hokuriku Road into Omi.
Yoshinaka was not the only one closing in on Kyoto.
Minamoto no Yukie was also advancing north from the Yamato region.
The “Gyokuyo” entry for July 22 reports that Tada Yukitsuna had turned against the Taira and was active in Settsu and Kawachi.
It was also said that Yukitsuna had seized control of the ships at Kawajiri.
From the Hokuriku came Yoshinaka, from Yamato came Yukie, and in Settsu and Kawachi, Tada Yukitsuna was on the move.
By late July, the military situation around Kyoto was rapidly evolving.
The Taira and Yoshinaka at Mount Hiei
Northeast of Kyoto lies Mount Hiei and the Enryaku-ji Temple.
According to the “Heike Monogatari,” on July 5, the Taira sent a petition to Enryaku-ji, seeking their cooperation.
Yoshinaka’s side also reached out to the temple.
On July 10, Yoshinaka sent a letter appealing to the circumstances under which he had raised an army in support of Prince Mochihito‘s decree, urging others to reconsider their cooperation with the Taira clan.
By July 22, the “Gikki” records that Yoshinaka’s forces had advanced towards the areas of Higashisakamoto and the general vicinity of the East Pagoda of Sōjiji Temple.
Yoshinaka’s troops were closing in on the eastern foothills of Mount Hiei.
July 24: Emperor Go-Shirakawa Sends an Envoy to Yoshinaka
July 24, Juei 2.
Emperor Go-Shirakawa took action.
According to Kujō Kanezane’s “Gyokuyō,” the Emperor dispatched an envoy to Ōmi and issued an official document to Minamoto no Yoshinaka in an attempt to negotiate peace.
As Yoshinaka advanced from the Hokuriku region towards Kyoto, contact between him and Emperor Go-Shirakawa progressed.
During the night and into the early hours of the 25th, the Emperor fled Kyoto.
His destination was Mount Hiei.
Emperor Go-Shirakawa Heads to Mount Hiei
The “Gukanshō” reports that Emperor Go-Shirakawa took refuge in the Enyūbō of the East Pagoda on Mount Hiei.
Early morning of July 25.
News reached Kujō Kanezane in Kyoto that the Emperor had disappeared.
The “Gyokuyō” entry for July 25 notes that at the hour of the tiger, word was received of the Emperor’s “disappearance.”
Emperor Go-Shirakawa had moved to Mount Hiei.
In Kyoto, the Taira clan was also preparing to leave the capital.
The Six-Year-Old Emperor Antoku
Emperor Antoku, whom the Taira clan supported, was born on November 12, 1178, in the second year of Jishō.
His father was Emperor Takakura.
His mother was Taira no Kiyomori’s daughter, Tokuko.
He ascended the throne at the age of three in the second month of Jishō 4 (1180).
By July of Juei 2, he was six years old.
His mother, Kenreimon-in Tokuko, also left Kyoto with Emperor Antoku.
Furthermore, the Taira clan took with them the Imperial Regalia: the Sacred Mirror, the Sword, and the Jewel.
The Imperial Regalia Leave Kyoto
The Imperial Regalia, consisting of the Sacred Mirror, the Sword, and the Jewel, are essential for the succession of the throne.
July 25, Juei 2.
The Taira clan, escorting Emperor Antoku and the Imperial Regalia, departed from Kyoto.
Emperor Go-Shirakawa remained at Mount Hiei.
Emperor Antoku and the Regalia traveled westward with the Taira clan.
The Emperor and the Three Sacred Treasures vanished from Kyoto.
This situation posed a significant problem when a new emperor was to be enthroned in the following August.
July 25: The Taira Clan Departs Kyoto
The entry for July 25 in the “Gyokuyou” records the influx of information in Kyoto on that day.
Early in the morning, news arrived that the Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa had fled.
Subsequently, it was reported that the Taira clan, escorting Emperor Antoku, was heading towards the Yodo area.
Former Minister of the Interior Taira no Munemori and the rest of the Taira clan also left Kyoto.
The clan headed west.
Meanwhile, fires broke out at the Taira residences in Kyoto.
Rokuhara and Nishihachijo Ablaze
Rokuhara, located on the eastern bank of the Kamo River, had been home to the Taira clan residences since the time of Taira no Tadamori and Kiyomori.
There was also a large residence associated with Kiyomori in Nishihachijo.
On July 25.
The “Gyokuyou” notes that Rokuhara, Nishihachijo, and other areas were consumed by flames and reduced to ashes.
As the Taira strongholds in Kyoto burned, the clan, escorting Emperor Antoku, moved westward from the Yodo area.
The “Tale of the Heike” depicts this departure from the capital as a moment of farewell for each member of the clan.
Taira no Tadanori Returns to the Capital
In “The Tale of the Heike,” Volume Seven, “Tadanori Leaves the Capital,” there is an anecdote about Taira no Tadanori.
Tadanori, the half-brother of Taira no Kiyomori, was known as both a warrior and a poet.
Tadanori left Kyoto with the clan but turned his horse back midway.
He headed to the residence of his poetry mentor, Fujiwara no Shunzei.
Shunzei had been commissioned by the Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa to compile an imperial anthology of waka poetry.
According to the “Tale of the Heike,” Tadanori entrusted Shunzei with a scroll containing over a hundred of his poems, hoping that at least one might be included in the imperial anthology.
After handing over the scroll, Tadanori mounted his horse again and headed west.
Later, in the “Senzai Wakashu,”
the poem “Sazanami ya Shiga no Miyako wa Are ni shi o Mukashi nagara no Yama-zakura kana”
was included as “author unknown.”
The “Tale of the Heike” recounts that although Shunzei selected Tadanori’s poem, he omitted Tadanori’s name because he was under imperial censure.
Tadanori was killed in battle at Ichinotani in February of the following year, Juei 3 (1184).
The Biwa “Seizan” Returned by Taira no Tsunemasa to Ninna-ji
The same Volume Seven of the “Tale of the Heike” also depicts the departure of Taira no Tsunemasa from the capital.
Tsunemasa, the eldest son of Taira no Tsunemori, was renowned as a master of the biwa, a traditional Japanese lute.
He served under Prince Shukaku of Ninna-ji from a young age.
As the Taira clan prepared to leave the capital, Tsunemasa visited Ninna-ji.
According to the “Tale of the Heike,” he returned the exquisite biwa “Seizan,” which he had once received from Prince Shukaku.
He did so because he feared losing the precious instrument during the long journey to the western provinces.
While Taira no Tadanori entrusted his poems to Shunzei, Tsunemasa returned the biwa to Ninna-ji.
Volume Seven of the “Tale of the Heike” portrays the Taira clan’s departure from the capital alongside these poignant farewells.
Tsunemasa himself fell in battle at the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani in February 1184.
The Taira Clan Heads to Fukuhara
Leaving Kyoto, the Taira clan headed west from the Yodo area.
The “Tale of the Heike” describes how the clan entered Fukuhara.
Fukuhara is in the present-day Hyogo Ward of Kobe City.
In 1180, Taira no Kiyomori temporarily moved the capital to this location.
The clan spent a night in Fukuhara, a place with deep connections to Kiyomori.
The next morning, they continued their journey westward.
The “Tale of the Heike” recounts that they set fire to their residence in Fukuhara and took to the sea in ships.
Departing Kyoto, the Taira clan advanced through the Seto Inland Sea towards the western provinces, where they planned to regroup their forces.
Meanwhile, chaos continued in Kyoto immediately after the Taira clan’s departure.
July 26: Kyoto as Recorded in the “Kikki”
The day after the Taira clan’s departure from the capital, on July 26.
Yoshida Tsunefusa, who was in Kyoto, documented the state of the capital in his “Kikki.”
Mountain monks descended into Kyoto, causing disturbances in the streets.
Some claimed to be relatives of those connected to the Taira clan and set fires, while others broke into homes under the pretense of pursuing fugitives to steal goods.
Tsunefusa described the scene as,
“witnessing the downfall of the world before my eyes.”
It would be another two days before Minamoto no Yoshinaka and Minamoto no Yukie officially entered the capital.
July 27: Emperor Go-Shirakawa Returns to Kyoto
On July 27.
At Mount Hiei, discussions were held under Emperor Go-Shirakawa with the courtiers.
The “Gyokuyou” records that they discussed allowing Yoshinaka and Yukie to enter the capital only after stopping the soldiers’ misconduct.
On the same day, Emperor Go-Shirakawa descended from Mount Hiei and returned to Kyoto.
The imperial residence was established at the Rengeo-in Temple.
The Taira clan had already headed westward.
Emperor Antoku and the Three Sacred Treasures were no longer in Kyoto.
On the following day, the 28th, Minamoto no Yoshinaka advanced along the Hokuriku Road and entered the capital.
July 28: Minamoto no Yoshinaka and Minamoto no Yukie Enter Kyoto
July 28, 1183.
Minamoto no Yoshinaka and Minamoto no Yukie entered Kyoto.
The “Gyokuyo” records that Yoshinaka entered from the north, while Yukie came from the south.
That evening, the two presented themselves before Emperor Go-Shirakawa at the Rengeo-in Temple.
They were commanded to pursue the Taira clan and were also asked to stop the soldiers’ misconduct in Kyoto.
The “Kikki” contains a record by Yoshida Tsunefusa, who saw Yoshinaka for the first time on this day.
Yoshinaka was “over thirty years old.”
He wore a brocade hitatare and donned armor with black leather lacing, carrying arrows.
About two and a half months had passed since the Battle of Kurikara Pass.
Yoshinaka advanced from Shinano to the Hokuriku region, passing through Kaga, Echizen, and Omi before reaching Kyoto.
Three days earlier, the Taira clan, bearing Emperor Antoku and the Three Sacred Treasures, had departed Kyoto.
For Those Interested in the Taira Clan’s Departure from Kyoto and Subsequent Battles
Yasuo Motoki’s “The Internal Conflicts of the Jisho and Juei Eras and the Taira Clan”
From the defeats at Kurikara Pass and Shinohara, the departure from Kyoto with Emperor Antoku and the Three Sacred Treasures, to the battles at Ichi-no-Tani, Yashima, and Dan-no-Ura.
This book is recommended for those who want to know in detail about the flow of events leading to the Taira clan’s departure from Kyoto and how the clan, having retreated to the western provinces, once again engaged in battle.
