Battle of Uji (1184)

Minamoto no Yoshinaka tried to wrest power from his cousins Yoritomo and Yoshitsune, seeking to take command of the Clan. To that end, he sacked Kyoto, burning the Hojuji Palace, kidnapping the Emperor and having himself named shogun. However, his cousins caught up with him soon afterwards, following him across the Bridge over the Uji, which he tore up to impair their crossing, in an ironic reversal of the first Battle of the Uji, only four years earlier. Much as the Taira did four years ago, Minamoto no Yoshitsune led his horsemen across the river, and defeated Yoshinaka, and pursued him away from the capital.

References

• Sansom, George (1958). 'A History of Japan to 1334'. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
• Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.