A Chronicle of the Later Three Years War in Oshu (奥州後三年記)

Oshu Gosannen Ki (A Chronicle of the Later Three Years War in Oshu) describes the war which was called 'Gosannen no Eki' (The Later Three Years War) or 'MINAMOTO no Yoshiie war' that occurred from 1083 (latter part of the Heian period) to 1088 in the Mutsu and Dewa provinces. The word 'Three Years' refers to the period from 1086, when the battle at Numanosaku occurred, to 1088, when Yoshiie was dismissed as Mutsu no kami (the governor of Mutsu Province). There were two kinds of "Oshu Gosannen Ki," the one written in 1171 at the end of the Heian period and another written in 1347 in the period of the Northern and Southern Courts (Japan). The current one was written by extracting only Kotobagaki (captions) of Emaki (picture scroll) drawn in the period of the Northern and Southern Courts.

"Oshu Gosannen Ki" and "Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba" (picture scrolls of the Later Three Year's War) of the Jowa edition

"Oshu Gosannen Ki" was included in the 20th volume of "Gunsho Ruiju"(Collection of historical documents compiled by Hokiichi HANAWA) and its preface was described as follows.

It is said that "Oshu Gosannen Ki" was written by extracting only Kotobagaki from "Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba." The current "Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba" was written by Korehisa, Hida no kami (Provincial Governor of Hida), in 1347, 14 years after the fall of the Kamakura bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun), and its three volumes are held at Tokyo National Museum. However, some parts are missing.

Gene who wrote the preface was one of the most educated priests pursuing his studies in those days and became Hoin (the highest rank in the hierarchy of Buddhist priests) Gon Daisozu (the second highest grade that can be held by one who has reached the second highest rank in the hierarchy of Buddhist priests) after learning Tendai Esoteric Buddhism. He talked about "Rongo Analects" in the court of Jimyo-in Temple and was recognized by the Emperor Hanazono. After that, he was supported by Naoyoshi ASHIKAGA, a younger brother of Takauji ASHIKAGA. It is said that Zen priests made monodies after his death, admiring his elegant literally works. The fact that such an educated priest at that time wrote the preface shows that making this Emaki was a very important project.

In the December 6, 1506 section of "Sanetaka koki" (Sanetaka's Diary), there are descriptions that say Yasutomi NAKAHARA actually saw the pictures and that Kotobagaki was drafted by Gene Hoin and 'The writer of the first volume was Imperial Prince Sonen, the second volume was Kimitada-ko, the third volume was Rokujo Chunagon (vice-councilor of state) Arimitsu, the forth volume was Nakanao Ason (second highest of the eight hereditary titles), the fifth volume was Yasunaga (保脩) Ason, and the sixth volume was Yukitada-kyo (lord Yukitada)' ("Shiryo Taisei" [Grand collection of historical materials] edited by Zoho Shiryo Taisei Kanko-kai [publication association of Grand collection of historical materials, Enlarged] in 1965).

According to "Yasutomi-ki" (a diary by Yasutomi NAKAHARA) which is described below, what Yasutomi NAKAHARA saw was "Gosannen-e" in the Joan edition written by an order of the Cloistered Emperor Goshirakawa. Therefore, Sanetaka SANJONISHI might have not known "Gosannen-e" in the Joan edition or guessed wrongly. However, it is said that the writers of Kotobagaki of each volume coincide with the names of writers which were described in the end of each volume of the existing "Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba" at the Tokyo National Museum. For this reason, it is considered that "Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba" in the Jowa edition originally consisted of six volumes.

"Gosannen-e" in the Joan edition of the Cloistered Emperor Goshirakawa

However, before that, it was known that the Cloistered Emperor Goshirakawa ordered Joken hoin to have four volumes of Emaki drawn by the painter Akizane (明実) in 1171, about ten years after the Heiji War and after the Emperor Goshirakawa became a priest and a Cloistered Emperor after the enthronement of Emperor Takakura whose wife was a daughter of TAIRA no Kiyomori. In the April 27, 1174 section of "Kikki" (a diary by Tsunefusa YOSHIDA), there is a description that says "It is a picture of the war against people in the province such as Takehira and Iehira when Yoshiie Ason was Mutsu no kami."

Joken hoin was a child of Shinzei who was killed by MINAMOTO no Yoshitomo in the Heiji War. Gaining the trust of the Cloistered Emperor Goshirakawa, he was assigned to the regent of Rengeo-in Temple (Sanjusangen-do Hall) and engaged in various Emaki including "Gosannen-e." In order to distinguish this from the current "Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba," we will write this as "'Gosannen-e' in the Joan edition" hereafter.

There was another unexpected piece of evidence for the existence of "Gosannen-e" in the Joan edition which was established at the Rengeo-in Temple. The Yudo clan who controlled Maki, the Akuhara village of Chichibu in the Musashi Province became the head of Kodama Party which was one of the Musashi-shichito Parties (seven parties of samurai in Musashi Province). One of the branch families of the Yudo clan was the Oshiro clan who became gokenin (an immediate vassal of the shogunate in the Kamakura and Muromachi through Edo periods) of Yoritomo. Okibumi (instructions for descendants) from Koreshige OSHIRO (小代伊重) was written in the latter part of the Kamakura period. In that Okibumi, there was a description of Tomomasa HIRAGA, who was Kyoto-shugo (military governor of Kyoto), and his group were shown the Emaki which was secretly held in the hozo (treasure house) of Rengeo-in Temple in the early Kamakura period.
(Mentioned below)

This Emaki produced by the Cloistered Emperor Goshirakawa, that is, "Gosannen-e" which consisted of four volumes, was shown to Yasutomi NAKAHARA when he went to the Fushimi dono Palace of the Imperial Prince Fushiminomiya Sadatsune in 1444, and he wrote about the story of this Emaki in his diary in kanbun (Sino-Japanese).
(In the August 16, 1444 section of "Yasutomi-ki")

This 'Yasutomi-ki' shows parts which both the current "Oshu Gosannen Ki" and "Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba" are lacking, for example, the death of KIYOHARA no Sanehira and the process of the conflict between FUJIWARA no Kiyohira and his younger maternal half-brother KIYOHARA no Iehira after that.
For example, regarding the death of KIYOHARA no Sanehira, there is the line 'During this time Sanehira died of disease on the way to Dewa.'

In addition, almost whole sentences on 'Gosannen-e' in "Yasutomi-ki" were described in a book "Bushi no Tanjo" (The Origin of Samurai Warriors) written by Yukihiko SEKI (NHK Books, 1999) in Japanese instead of kanbun.

Reliability of "Oshu Gosannen Ki"

"Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba" in the Jowa edition was written in more recent years, the period of the Northern and Southern Coutts. The preface was written by Gene who was assumed to be a writer of "Taiheiki" (The Record of the Great Peace) and had a deep relationship with the Muromachi bakufu. Most of the "Taiheiki" was fiction although it described the events in almost the same period, so its value as historical material has been denied since the Meiji period. For those reasons, there is doubt that "Oshu Gosannen Ki" which extracted sentences from "Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba" in the Jowa edition was merely fiction.

On the other hand, it seems that the Kotobagaki of "Gosannen-e" in the Joan Edition which was the Emaki produced by the Cloistered Emperor Goshirakawa referred to Kokuge (an official document submitted to Dajokan by Kokushi), kanpu (official documents from Dajokan, or Great Council of State), diaries of Kugyo (the top court officials) and other records and reports in those days. Then, it might have been as credible as the "Mutsu Waki" (A Tale of Mutsu), although it was not the most important historical material.

It is a pity that this "Gosannen-e" in the Joan edition does not exist. However, judging from the descriptions of "Yasutomi-ki," it is regarded that the existing "Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba" in the Jowa edition should basically correspond to "Gosannen-e" in the Joan edition although the tales on MINAMOTO no Yoshiie might be expanded.

If any parts which praised the Minamoto clan were added after the Kamakura period, it is highly possible that it was the description on 'the disturbed ganko' (lining up shoulder to shoulder like flying geese).

OE no Masafusa was born in 1041 and two years younger than Yoshiie. A description saying 'He went to the Uji-dono (palace) and told them to attack Sadoto' should have been just after Zen Kunen no Eki (Former Nine Years' Campaign), when Masafusa was still in his early 20s.
If an early 20s man other than 40s or 50s man 'said to himself that he did not know the way a highly capable samurai fights a war,' OE no Masafusa must have been a really 'rotten egg.'

He was promoted to Sanmi (Third Rank) also called 'kyo' (minister) on January 3, 1086, when Yoshiie had already begun 'Yoshiie's war' in the Oshu Province. In addition, he was transferred to Okura-kyo (Minister of the Treasury) on September 11, 1011. It is natural to think that since it was an added episode there are some contradictions on dates. In addition, it is also natural to think that since that episode was written in later, it called OE no Masafusa, 'Go no sochi (his pseudonym) Masafusa kyo' according to the naming of the time.

As mentioned above, even if it includes some episodes or modifications of the later times, there is an original text of "Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba" in the Jowa edition in the period of the Northern and Southern Courts which was written in the end of the Heian period. In addition, there is no historical material which lets us know the detail of Gosannen no Eki in the Oshu Province. Therefore, "Oshu Gosannen Ki" is the sole historical material which transmitted the background of Gosannen no Eki in the Oshu Province by covering missing parts from "Yasutomi-ki."

Savagery of "Oshu Gosannen Ki"

Although some scholars explain this as 'A wife chased her husband's head in tears,' it is right to interpret that as 'A man was killed and his wife was taken away and made a mock.'

If this story started spreading just after the war, compared with the stories of "Konjaku Monogatari Shu" (Tales of Times Now and Then collection) which was written in almost the same period, for example, 'A story TAIRA no Koreshige punished FUJIWARA no Moroto,' its savagery was distinguished. In addition, it seems that there was a description about 'A story that MINAMOTO no Yoshie punished KIYOHARA no Takehira and so on' in the 14th section of volume 25 in "Konjaku Monogatari Shu," but its contents other than title are not left.

One of the characteristics of both "Oshu Gosannen Ki" and "Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba" in the Jowa edition is its savagery. Although in "Mutsu Waki" there was also a story where he cut the neck of FUJIWARA no Tsunekiyo with a dull sword like beating, this is far more savage. In addition, in "Mutsu Waki" there are more humane descriptions which can be regarded as sympathies against the Abe clan in spite of the praise of MINAMOTO no Yoriyoshi. In "Oshu Gosannen Ki" there is no such humane description.

Some people regard that the savagery of the Cloistered Emperor Goshirakawa reflected the savagery of the pictures which described this story in detail, for example, Chito had a tong pull out and hung on a tree, and stepped on the head of his master KIYOHARA no Takehira at the end of his physical life.

However, considering the tradition of Yoshiie's hell in Kyoto and a description of "Chuyuki" (a diary written by FUJIWARA no Munetada who lived in the same period as Yoshiie) as 'The late Yoshiie Ason had killed many innocent people as the head of warriors for a long time. His piling sins may affect on his descendants,' it is one of the aspects of Yoshiie told by a samurai in the imperial capital who joined the war with Yoshiie, so that it can be regarded as the truth.

It is described that the Kotobagaki of "Gosannen Kassen Ekotoba" in the Jowa edition was drafted by Gene hoin, and the sentences were written by Gene and the pictures were drawn by Hida no kami (governor of Hida Province) Korehisa. However, the same story should have also been described in "Gosannen-e" in the Joan edition by the Cloistered Emperor Goshirakawa. If the Cloistered Emperor Goshirakawa was sadistic, he should have shown it strongly in the process of editing of Joan edition. It seems that a description that 'Most of the birds do not live in deep mountains where eagles live. Among the Minamoto clan, Hachiman Taro is awful' in the second volume of "Ryojin Hisho" (folk song collection) edited by the Cloistered Emperor Goshirakawa, reflected such tradition.

In addition, a description by FUJIWARA no Munetada who lived in the same period as Yoshiie, saying 'He killed many innocent people. His piling sins may affect on his descendants,' corresponds to the descriptions as below. No one thinks that such descriptions were added in order to praise Yoshiie after the Kamakura period.

Such tactics can be seen in the war between different ethnic groups even today, but any samurai in the capital who usually fought individually on a horse did not adopt it. It seems to be true that this tactic was devised by Hidetake YOSHITAKE (吉武秀武) in the Dewa Province.

The members of Yoshiie's roto (retainer)

There is a description that in the end of the battle at the Kanazawa barrier the Yoshiie army which surrounded it remembered the dreadful defeat at Numanosaku in the previous year, which was written as 'Suffering from big snow, the Imperial army lost advantages for fighting and many soldiers died of coldness and hunger, or ate horse meat,' wrote a letter and sent anything which could be changed to traveling cost for their wives and children who remained at kokufu (provincial office, i.e., the Taga castle) to be able to go back to Kyoto after their death.

This description shows that they had followed Yoshiie from Kyoto. It seems that they were roto for administration staff as temporary contract employees whom Yoshiie had brought in order to govern his ningoku (place of appointment) for five or six years. According to the theory in the third quarter of the 20th century, Yoshiie was considered to have fought in Gosannen no Eki with many samurai of Kanto region. But it could be impossible that they had brought wives and children in a temporary war during an off-season for farmers. Moreover, Kyoto was not a place where their wives and children went back.

In addition, many samurai of the Kanto region followed MINAMOTO no Yoriyoshi in Zen Kunen no Eki because of the Imperial order. In this case Yoshiie mobilized many samurai of the Kanto region by his own power with no Imperial order. It seems that armed groups grew greatly and the samurai of the Minamoto clan became their head. In a book "MINAMOTO no Yoshiie," Motohisa YASUDA wrote about it like that.

Then, we will examine the characters of Yoshiie's roto in "Oshu Gosannen Ki" which was the oldest historical material that transmitted the detail of Gosannen no Eki.

Profiles of Yoshiie's roto

The individual profiles in "Oshu Gosannen Ki" are as follows.

HYODO Daibu Masatsune

He lived in the Mikawa Province. His official court rank can be guessed as Goi (Fifth Rank) because he was daibu (master). Since he was conferred to goi, it can be guessed that he showed up in Kyoto or served Sekkan-ke (the families which produced regents) or other influential families.

Hanjiro, Kenjo (a bodyguard), Sukekane

He lived in the Mikawa Province. He was the husband of the daughter of HYODO Daibu Masatsune, and he worked with him.
The word '兼' of 兼仗 (Kenjo) is correctly written by using the letters of '人' (person) and '兼' (combine), and the word '仗' refers to a weapon, so that its ballpark role can be guessed by the words of 'person, combine, and a weapon.'
His official rank was a military officer which was not so high. It roughly corresponds to a bodyguard. For example, Chinju-fu shogun (Commander in Chief of the Defense of the North) could put Kenjo as a follower who was selected and admitted by Shogun. See the section for TOMO no Sukekane.

KAMAKURA no Gongoro Kagemasa

There are many family trees for the Kamakura clan and it is not known for sure which one is correct. Motohisa YASUDA insists that FUJIWARA no Kagemichi in 'Mutsu Waki' corresponds to Kagemichi KAMAKURA and that it is reasonable to consider that his younger brother KAMAKURA Gon no kami (provisional governor) Kagenari was adopted by TAIRA no Tomonari, a son of TAIRA no Yoshimasa, as a son and his son was Gongoro Kagemasa. Although "Sonpi Bunmyaku" (a text compiled in thefourteenth century that records the lineages of the aristocracy) followed this theory, this adoption has not been confirmed.

FUJIWARA no Kagemichi was a samurai in the imperial capital who was based in the Mino Province and became Kaga no suke (Assistant governor of Kaga Province), and his descendants began to use the name Kato. At this time Gongoro Kagemasa was 16 years old. He should not have joined the army by his own political judgment. If Yasuda's assumption is true, it is highly probable that he was mobilized because of the connection between samurai in the imperial capital, that is, the fact that he was a child of roto (allied troops) in Kyoto.

However, both Minoru NOGUCHI and Yasuo MOTOKI guess that he was a grandchild of TAIRA no Sadamichi (Sadamitsu USUI), a roto of MINAMOTO no Yorimitsu, who appeared in 'A story that Yorinobu asked TAIRA no Sadamichi to kill a person' in the tenth section of volume 25 of "Konjaku Monogatari Shu." TAIRA no Sadamichi came and went between Kyoto and the Kanto region while serving MINAMOTO no Yorimitsu in Kyoto.

During the Choji era (1104-1106) which was about 20 years after Gosannen no Eki, KAMAKURA no Gongoro Kagemasa began to develop the Kugenuma-go district in the Sagami Province as an ancestral estate by many landlopers and applied to kokuga for its donation to the Ise Jingu Shrine. And he got the approval on November 25, 1107 and established 'Oba no mikuriya' (private estate of Oba ranch). The term 'mikuriya' meant shoen (manor in medieval Japan) of the Imperial family or the Ise Jingu Shrine. Kagemasa got the right of inheritance of the position of geshishiki (a local official to manage a shoen estate) to his descendants by presenting (備進) 'Rice for festivals' (供祭上分米) to the Ise Jingu Shrine. It is a typical case of Kishin kei shoen (shoen holdings of the commendation type).

Oba no mikuriya consisted of the 13 Go (villages) whose east end shared borders with Tamawa no sho (玉輪庄) in the Kamakura County, and the area was 942,115 square meters in 1145. This was clearly known because a suggestion of kansenji (a government edict) against the complaint of Guji (chief of those who serves a shrine, controls festivals and general affairs) of Ise no Okami (Great God of Ise, aka Amaterasu Omikami) (in Tenyo-ki (documents on the disturbance in the Oba no mikuriya estate)) was discovered as a haimonjo (an old document which was written on the other side of a piece of used paper) of a kuge's dairy (court noble) at the time of 'The disturbance in Oba no mikuriya estate' in which it was attacked by MINAMOTO no Yoshitomo (father of MINAMOTO no Yoritomo) who was the third generation of Yoshiie 140 years after that.

This shows that even though KAMAKURA no Gongoro Kagemasa joined this war as Yoshiie's roto, Kagemasa and his family Kamakura Party were not necessarily hereditary roto of the Kawachi-Genji (Minamoto clan). The relationship among family in those days was very flexible and it was commonly seen that each samurai of the same family submitted a name list to each different master. This had been also seen in the age of Tameyoshi who was a grandchild of Yoshiie.

MIURA no Heitaro Tametsugu

This Miura clan was Gozoku (local ruling family) in the Kanto region and a local notable who actually developed the land and followed both Yoshitomo and Yoritomo.
Therefore, he was a good example to show that 'The Minamoto clan made armed groups of Kanto region roto.'
However, he was also a grandson of TAIRA no Sadamichi who came and went between Kyoto and the Kanto region while serving MINAMOTO no Yorimitsu in Kyoto. Some people (such as Minoru NOGUCHI and Yasuo MOTOKI) guess that he was a cousin of KAMAKURA no Gongoro Kagemasa. Therefore, a recent theory of Noguchi's is 'the network of fellows in the same place' cannot be ignored.

Misaki no sho (三崎庄) was shoen of Sekkan-ke. There are three kinds of family tree for the Miura clan even in "Sonpi Bunmyaku" and it is not clear which one is true. Especially, there is a confusion about the family tree before Tametsugu who appeared in this "Oshu Gosannen Ki," and there is a description of Shoji (administrator of a manor) of the Miura manor from the generation of Yoshitsugu, a son of Tametsugu. This coincides in the two family trees on which Shoji was recorded among the three family trees.
(The other family tree can not be relied on partly because the relationship between Yoshiaki MIURA and his son Yoshizumi MIURA was shown in reverse.)
The name of MIURA Shoji Yoshitsugu who was a son of 'MIURA no Heita Tametsugu' and the father of Yoshiaki MIURA appeared as an attacking force (the side who was accused) of MINAMOTO no Yoshitomo in 'the disturbance in Oba no mikuriya estate.'
Tenyo-ki (a suggestion of kansenji) was a draft of Daijokanpu (official documents issued by Daijokan, Grand Council of State), so that it was one of the most important historical materials. For these reasons, it can be guessed that MIURA no Heita Tametsugu did not have a large amount of land in the Miura district around the time of this war or furthermore, that he might not have stayed there.

Suekata KOSHITAKIGUCHI (腰瀧口季方)

He was a samurai in the imperial capital who was brought by MINAMOTO no Yoshimitsu, a younger brother of Yoshiie, from Kyoto and worked for takiguchi (a court guard). Beyond this was not clear.

SUEWARI no Shiro Korehiro and others

The details about Kishichi (紀七), Takashichi (高七), Kudo-o (Prince Kudo) (宮藤王), Koshitakiguchi (腰瀧口) and SUEWARI no Shiro Korehiro are unclear. It is not sure whether Koshitakiguchi was an error or another person from Suekata KOSHITAKIGUCHI.
In "Kiyushoran" (an encyclopedic book on cultures) written by Nobuyo KITAMURA (his go (byname) was guessed to be Intei) in the Edo period, there is a description that 'The word Koshitakiguchi in the preface must be wrong.'
However, judging from the letters of 'o' (prince) and 'takiguchi,' Kudo-o, and Koshitakiguchi among these four people must have been roto who came from Kyoto.

FUJIWARA no Sukemichi (Sukemichi SUDO)

Motohisa YASUDA believes that he was a local lord in the Sagami Province.

The fact which can be regarded to be true is that 'Sukemichi SUDO served Yoshiie' and is not that 'The Yamanouchi-Sudo clan who was a local lord in the Sagami Province was also Yoshiie's Kenin (retainers).'
The name of Yamanouchi of the Sudo-clan appeared for the first time from Yoshimichi SUDO, a grandchild of Sukemichi SUDO, with a sidenote of Yamanouchi gyobu no jo in "Sonpi Bunmyaku."
The 'Yamanouchi-Sudo family tree' refers to the one recorded in "Zoku Gunsho Ruiju" (The Collection of Historical Sources, second series), in which there is a description that Toshimichi, a son of Yoshimichi, 'lived in the Sagami Province and used the name of Yamanouchi Takiguchi as his go (byname).'

Sukemichi SUDO's grandfather was FUJIWARA no Hidesato who was Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade) Saemon no jo (third-ranked officer of the Left Division of Outer Palace Guards) Kebiishi (officials with judicial and police powers). He was a samurai in the imperial capital and many of his descendants used the name Sato. A descendant of the main branch of the family was Suekiyo SATO (佐藤季清) who was Hokumen no bushi (the Imperial Palace Guards for the north side) and served the Emperor Toba as Jugoinoge Saemon no jo. His grandson was SATO Hyoe no jo (a lieutenant of the Middle Palace Guards) Yoshikiyo who was Hokumen no bushi and served the Cloistered Emperor Toba as Jugoinoge, that is, Saigyo later.

Sukemichi SUDO, whose other name was 'FUJIWARA no Sukemichi,' was 13 years old at this time (November 1087) and if he had followed Yoshiie since he went down to the Mutsu Province, he should have been still 9 years old (which corresponded to the present 8 years old). Therefore, it is natural to think that he did so by his father's will instead of his own will. He might have gone to the Mutsu Province with his father FUJIWARA no Sukekiyo. However, the name of FUJIWARA no Sukekiyo was not seen in "Oshu Gosannen Ki."

That FUJIWARA no Sukekiyo was also called 'Sudo dayu' (守藤太夫 or 首藤大夫). The reason why he was called 'Sudo dayu' was the following: On the family tree, when FUJIWARA no Kimikiyo went back to Kyoto with his son who was born when he had been in charge of Zuryo (the head of the provincial governors) in the Kanto region, they met the Moribe clan who was Gunji (local magistrates) of the Mushiroda County in the Mino Province. His son won the Moribe clan's favor and was adopted as a son. It is said that since the Moribe clan was roto of MINAMOTO no Yoriyoshi, he ended up serving Yoriyoshi. However, some scholars think that Sukekiyo MORIBE who was Gunji of the Mushiroda County in the Mino Province was adopted by FUJIWARA no Kimikiyo as a son. He was called 'Sudo dayu' because he became the manager of the Bureau of Imperial Mews.

Therefore, his son Sukemichi SUDO was only a samurai in the imperial capital whose home city was in the Mino Province, and had no relationship with the Sagami Province. It is said that Sukemichi SUDO actually had 'Minowa Hall' built in front of Yoshiie's residence at Rokujo in Kyoto. In other words, his main residence was next to Yoshiie's residence. Among the descendants of the Sudo clan, Chikakiyo SUDO, a son of Sukemichi SUDO, became Hokumen no Gero (low grade official), that is, Hokumen no Bushi, in 1130. And he was promoted to Saemon no jo in 1149. Above Yoshimichi SUDO who appeared with the name of Yamanouchi for the first time on the family tree was his son. And the Sudo clan began to used the name of Yamanouchi-Sudo since the Hogen War and the Heiji War. It is considered that Yoshimichi SUDO and Toshimichi lived at Yamanouchi which was northern part of the Kamakura County in the Sagami Province around the same time of the establishment of Yamanouchi no sho manor which was a large shoen whose honjo (proprietor or guarantor of manor) was Hachijoin (the Imperial Princess Shoshi). It was in the era of the Cloistered Emperor Toba and the middle of the 12th centuries, when MINAMOTO no Yoshitomo rose 'the disturbance in Oba no mikuriya estate' in the Sagami Province.

Mitsufusa OYA

The details for 'Kenjo' are mentioned above. In the sections of August 30, 1093 and September 19, 1102 in "Chuyuki," he was described as 'sumaibito (sumo wrestler) of Yoshiie's roto. In the section of September 19, 1102, there was a review that 'Although he is said to be a strong sumaibito, he has to learn more koppo (a martial art with bare hands),' which shows that he was a samurai in the imperial capital rather than a samurai in the Kanto region.

Daisan-tayu Mitsuto

In the section of August 30, 1093 in the above "Chuyuki," Mitsufusa OYA was described as 'Mitsufusa is a son of Mitsuto who was roto of Yoshiie Ason, the former Mutsu no kami.'
It might be guessed that 'Daisan-tayu Mitsuto' was 'OYA-tayu Mitsuto.'
Judging from the word of 'tayu,' he might be a samurai in the imperial capital whose official court rank was Goi. Or he might be a governmental official responsible for practical works and left the capital as mokudai (deputy kokushi, or a deputy provincial governor) of any 'branch' (所) of kokuga (provincial government offices).

MINAMOTO no Naoshi

Judging from his surname of Minamoto, his lineage might be of the Saga-Genji (Minamoto clan). The Watanabe Party included many Saga-Genji, and he seemed to be a samurai in the imperial capital who guarded the Imperial Palace such as Takiguchi no musha (samurai guards of the Imperial Residence). There was the name of MINAMOTO no Naoshi in the Matsuura Party of Saga-Genji, but it seems that he was another person because his name was recorded in 1151, which is 64 years later.

Kojiro-Tsugito AGATA

He was a member of 'the kokuga forces' (the army of the provincial government office) who killed Iehira. A person named 'Onitake' (鬼武), who was toneri (a servant) of his roto, also made a big contribution.
In addition, in "Sanchoki" (A diary of FUJIWARA no Nagakane) which was written about 100 years later, in 1198, there was the name of 'a sergeant of chinjufu (Pacification and Defense Headquarters), Kanetomo AGATA.'
He might be Zaichokanjin (the local officials in Heian and Kamakura periods) whose home was in the Mutsu Province.

Samurai in the Kanto region among Yoshiie's roto

Therefore, in "Oshu Gosannen Ki," the sole historical material which describes Gosannen no Eki, only KAMAKURA Gongoro Kagemasa and MIURA no Heitaro Tametsugu can be said to be samurai in the Kanto region.

Recently, Minoru NOGUCHI guesses that KAMAKURA Gongoro Kagemasa and MIURA no Heitaro Tametsugu cooperated with Yoshiie partly because Sagami no kami in those days (1086) was FUJIWARA no Munetsuna who was their maternal cousin with the same grandfather TAIRA no Naokata in "The Minamoto clan and Kanto Samurai" (published by Yoshikawa Kobunkan Inc. on July 2007). It is not certain whether Zuryo could dispatch 'the kokuga forces' or 'warriors of residence' to the far Mutsu Province, but it could have been possible for him to help Yoshiie.

However, in the documents of the Yugyo-ji Temple (the Head Temple of the Ji sect) in the period of the Northern and Southern Courts there is a story that when Yoshiie was born, the land of Kamakura and his residence was given to his father MINAMOTO no Yoriyoshi from his maternal grandfather TAIRA no Naokata. In addition to this, judging from the background described in "Azuma Kagami" (The Mirror of the East) (in the section of 'Kanoene' (one of Oriental Zodiac) November 1180), it is not unnatural to think that Yoshiie had another Betsugyo (villa) at Kamakura in the Sagami Province.

Therefore, it seems to be reasonable to see that Yoshiie was influential to some extent on the samurai in Kamakura and neighboring local places such as KAMAKURA Gongoro Kagemasa and MIURA no Heitaro Tametsugu and a part of armed group (which did not appear clearly in "Oshu Gosannen Ki") in the Shimotsuke Province where he had been in charge of Zuryo.

However, it is far from the image that 'Samurai in the Kanto region all gathered under Yoshiie' which has been thought commonly until today.

By the way, as mentioned above, in the Okibumi of Koreshige OSHIRO there is a description that Tomomasa HIRAGA, who was Kyoto-shugoshoku, and his group were shown the Emaki which was secretly held in the hozo of Rengeo-in Temple. Tomomasa HIRAGA was a grandson of Shinra-Saburo Yoshimitsu and a husband of the daughter of Maki no kata (Lady Maki) who was the second wife of Tokimasa HOJO, and he was killed in Kyoto at the same time when Tokimasa HOJO was overthrown. Therefore, it can be seen that it happened during the period from 1203 when he became Kyoto-shugoshoku to 1205 when he was killed.

Koreshige OSHIRO wrote that a member of his family surely saw the picture in which Yudaifu (有大夫) Hiroyuki, who was the patriarch of the Oshiro clan and the head of Kodama Party, was 'seated while putting on eboshi (formal head wear for court nobles) of red leather' in front of Yoshiie as vice-shogun. However, someone rewrote the name later on. Such things have often happened, for example, there is a trace in the existing "Moko Shurai Ekotoba" (picture scrolls of Mongol invasion attempts against Japan) written by Suenaga TAKEZAKI.

Hiroyuki KODAMA (YUDO Enpo-daifu Hiroyuki) was the second of the head family of the Kodama Party which was one of the Musashi-shichito Parties. His home city was Maki, the Akuhara village of Chichibu in the Musashi Province and the word 'Maki' refers to a pasture of horses. And in many cases, the owner was the Imperial Court (See the article of Koreyuki KODAMA, the patriarch of Kodama Party). Therefore, considering the relationship with Meryo (the section taking care of imperial horses) which was one of the military officers in Kyoto, the fact that 'Maki' had been a base of samurai groups since the age of TAIRA no Masakado who lived before Yoshiie, and the fact that Oshu was a production area of good horses, it can be guessed naturally that he had a relationship with the Mutsu Province and it is reasonable enough to think that he approached Yoshiie who was Mutsuno kami and a military aristocracy.

If the descriptions in Okibumi of Koreshige OSHIRO were true, the Kodama Party of Musashi should have joined the war as a powerful military commander of Yoshiie's force. However, since "Gosannen-e" in the Joan edition itself does not exist, it is impossible to verify it.

[Original Japanese]