Minamoto no Ichiman

The tomb of Ichiman at Myōhon-ji, Kamakura
In this Japanese name, the family name is Minamoto.

Minamoto no Ichiman (源 一幡, 1198 – October 8, 1203) was the eldest son of second Kamakura shogun Minamoto no Yoriie.[1] His mother Wakasa no Tsubone was Hiki Yoshikazu's daughter, and the child was brought up by the Hiki clan.[1] The child died at six, victim of the struggle for power that ensued after Minamoto no Yoritomo's sudden death.[1]

When in 1203 Yoriie became seriously ill, the Hōjō clan supported his brother Senman (future third shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo) as a future successor, while the Hiki supported son Ichiman.[1][2] To avoid power falling into the hands of the Hiki, the Hōjō decided to get rid of the Hiki and their protégé.[1]

On a pretext, Hōjō Tokimasa invited Hiki Yoshikazu to his home and assassinated him.[1] A battle between the clans ensued, the Hiki were defeated by a coalition of the Hōjō, Wada, Miura and Hatakeyama clans and exterminated.[1] Six-year-old Ichiman also died during the fight.[1] The Hiki residence was destroyed by fire and in its place in the Hikigayatsu valley now lies the Buddhist temple of Myōhon-ji. In its cemetery still stands Ichiman's grave, next to the Hiki clan's cenotaph.

Ichiman's younger brother Kugyō was forced to become a Buddhist priest and in 1219 at age 20 assassinated his uncle Sanetomo. Kugyō was himself immediately executed for his crime, thus bringing the Seiwa Genji dynasty to a sudden end.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kamakura Citizen's Net
  2. ↑ According to Japanese Wikipedia's "源一幡" (Minamoto no Ichiman) article (see interwiki link below), the Gukanshō and the Azuma Kagami disagree on the reasons for the clash between clans. This article describes the Gukanshō's version of events. According to the Azuma Kagami, Yoriie wanted to split the shogunate between his brother and his son, then Hiki proposed him the murder of Sanetomo, but the conversation was overheard by Hōjō Masako. This is also the version of events described in the article Hiki Yoshikazu.
    According to the same Japanese Wikipedia article, the Azuma Kagami claims Ichiman was killed by the Hiki, and not by the Hōjō.

References

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