Siege of Shirakawa-den
| Siege of Shirakawa-den | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Hōgen Rebellion | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Minamoto clan in support of Emperor Sutoku | Taira clan in support of Emperor Go-Shirakawa | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Minamoto no Tameyoshi, Taira no Tadamasa | Taira no Kiyomori, Minamoto no Yoshitomo | ||||||
The siege of the Shirakawa-den was the central event of the Hōgen Rebellion, a succession dispute which broke out after the death of the cloistered Emperor Toba. The conflict grew to involve the Fujiwara, Minamoto, and Taira clans, all major powers of the period.
The palace was attacked by Taira no Kiyomori and Minamoto no Yoshitomo and defended by Yoshitomo's father, Minamoto no Tameyoshi, along with Minamoto no Tametomo and Taira no Tadamasa. Though a rivalry was beginning to grow between the Minamoto and Taira clans, loyalties were still far more mixed than they would be in the Genpei War of the 1180s, several decades later.
The samurai on both sides exchanged arrows in a number of archery duels before the palace was set aflame and the defenders were defeated.
References
- Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.