The Former Nine Years’ War
As a title, The Former Nine Years’ War is pretty compelling, wouldn’t you agree? Not only does it imply that you have nine years worth of battles to look forward to, but it also hints at a sequel. While there is in fact a sequel(the Later Three Years’ War), the Former Nine Years’ War took place between the years 1051 and 1062—a twelve-year period! So why the discrepancy? No one’s really sure, but there are several theories that attempt to explain it.
One states that the war was originally known as the Twelve Years’ War, but historians hundreds of years later became confused and mistakenly interpreted the twelve-year period as the total number of years over which the Former and Later Wars took place. What they lacked in comprehension skills, however, they more than made up for with their math skills, as if you subtract the three year period over which the Later War took place, you are indeed left with nine years.
Other theories are more pragmatic, simply suggesting that nine years refers to the period of the Former Nine Years’ War in which the protagonist, Minamaoto no Yoriyoshi, was involved, or the period of the war in which actual fighting took place. Whatever the case, I’m sure you didn’t come here to see a perfectly good introduction wasted on a discussion about semantics. Let’s move on to the war itself.
The Abe clan
In the latter half of the 11th century, the north of Japan was occupied by a group of indigenous people known as the Emishi. The court had spent hundreds of years trying to get the Emishi under their control, but they hadn’t had much success. Slowly but steadily though, more and more clans were beginning to acknowledge the court and pay taxes in return for the undisputed right to live in their territories. These court-affiliated emishi were known as ‘fushū’(俘囚).
The region of the north known as Mutsu was unofficially ruled by the Abe clan. The Abe may have been fushū or they may have been a group of court officials stationed in the north who decided to stay after their term of service ended; no one knows for sure. The clan’s members built a number of primitive forts to defend themselves should the court ever attempt to drive them out, but for decades the two sides’ relationship had remained amicable.
That all changed in 1051, however, when the clan’s leader, Abe no Yoriyoshi, decided he didn’t want to pay taxes anymore. The court sent Mutsu’s governor, Fujiwara no Naritō, to discuss the matter with Yoriyoshi, but the situation deteriorated, a battle broke out, and Naritō led his defeated men back home with his tail between his legs.
Minamoto no Yoriyoshi – A New Hope
After firing Naritō, the court decided to appoint a samurai as the next governor of Mutsu. Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, head of the Kawachi branch of the Minamoto clan, had good ties with the court as his father, Yorinobu, had put down a small rebellion some twenty years earlier. However, before he could make his way north, Abe no Yoriyoshi received an imperial pardon.
As luck would have it for the Abe clan, the emperor’s grandmother had taken ill. Whenever a member of the Imperial Family became sick, highly-acclaimed priests from all corners of the country would be called to the capital to pray for their recovery. And in order to appeal to the gods the extent to which they wished for their loved one to recover, the emperor would pardon a number of prisoners and criminals. In 1053, in addition to governor of the north, Yoriyoshi was appointed chinju-fu shōgun—commander and chief of the north. He made his way up to Mutsu to tell Abe no Yoriyoshi the good news.
Needless to say, Abe was delighted. He threw the new commander an exquisite banquet and, as way of apology, changed his name to Yoritoki, explaining that a former criminal such as himself shouldn’t be allowed to bear the same name as someone as esteemed as the commander of the north(which is just as well. If he hadn’t changed his name, the majority of this article would have been extremely difficult to write!)
Yoritoki’s Rebellion
Having made peace with the Abe, Yoriyoshi’s four-year term was, for the most part, uneventful. Then one night towards the end of his term, as he was making his way to Taga castle, he received news that a number of his soldiers had been attacked. A man by the name of Fujiwara no Mitsusada claimed that Yoritoki’s son, Sadatō, had asked to marry his daughter, but Mitsusada had refused on the grounds that Sadatō’s family wasn’t of high enough status. He believed the attack was Sadatō’s attempt at revenge. Furious, Yoriyoshi sent a messenger to Yoritoki demanding that he and Sadatō come to see him immediately, but the two refused. This minor act of defiance marked the beginning of the Former Nine Years’ War.
One problem historians face when deciphering the Former Nine Years’ War is the fact that only one text from the time details the events of the war. To make matters worse, many of the details listed in this text are inconsistent, leading historians to believe that it may be heavily embellished. Considering the fact that Abe no Yoritoki had escaped court prosecution by the skin of his teeth and had miraculously succeeded in building a good relationship with Yoriyoshi, it’s unlikely he would have suddenly started a war over something as petty as a marriage proposal rejection. For this reason, the accepted theory is that Yoriyoshi made the story up as an excuse to start the Former Nine Years’ War and take control of the north in a bid to expand the Minamoto clan’s territory.
Suspicions and betrayals
Yoriyoshi prepared for battle. Two of his men were married to Yoritoki’s daughters, which put them in an awkward position. That situation was quickly resolved, however, when Yoriyoshi killed one of them for owning an unusually stylish silver kabuto helmet, suspecting that he was trying to stand out on the battlefield in order to give signals to the enemy. Believing that he was next for the chopping block, the second man, Fujiwara no Tsunekiyo, swiftly switched sides and escaped to Yoritoki’s base.
With the suspicious element of his troops removed, Yoriyoshi set to work convincing Yoritoki’s men to switch to his side. After succeeding in gathering a few generals, it was Yoritoki’s turn to panic. He rushed to his departing men to try to persuade them to switch back, but on the way he encountered an ambush and was fatally struck by an arrow.
The Abe strike back
One year later, in 1057, Sadatō, who had assumed command of the Abe army, was ready to resume the war. His forces stood 4,000 strong. Yoriyoshi, despite his best efforts, had only been able to amass a mere 2,500 men. The two armies met in an area of Mutsu known as Kinomi, and the battle commenced.
Not only did Sadatō heavily outnumber his enemy; he also had the home field advantage and his men were used to the harsh, cold winters of the north. Yoriyoshi didn’t stand a chance. He barely escaped the battlefield with just his son, Yoshiie, and five of his men in tow.
By 1059, the balance of power had shifted in the north. Sadatō’s army had grown vastly, and Tsunekiyo—his brother-in-law—had set up a new tax system whereby the local farmers paid their taxes directly to him rather than to the court. Yoriyoshi, on the other hand, had lost everything. Having failed to fell the Abe, the court replaced him with a new commander. Yoriyoshi insisted on seeing through his vendetta with Sadatō, but the court refused to send him food, supplies or men. Left with no other choice, he took it upon himself to travel across the entire eastern side of the country promoting his cause and rallying a new army.
Meanwhile, his successor in Mutsu was having no luck getting any of the men supposedly under his command to follow him; despite Yoriyoshi’s defeat, he had gained a fair amount of fame and popularity—enough to ensure that not one of his former soldiers was willing to swear his loyalty to any other commander. Eventually, in 1062, the court was forced to reinstate Yoriyoshi.
The return of the Minamoto
With his new army and renewed authority, Yoriyoshi marched to the north ready for a second round with his old enemy. On the way, he took a detour to Dewa—the region west of Mutsu—and appealed to the Kiyohara clan to join his cause. Just as the Abe were the leading power in Mutsu, Kiyohara dominated Dewa. There had never been bad blood between the clans though. It took a herculean effort on Yoriyoshi’s part to convince their chief, Mitsuyori, to join the battle. After months of flattery, gift giving and making himself known in the region, Mitsuyori finally gave in to Yoriyoshi, appointing his brother, Takenori, as general, and sending an army of close to 7,000 men. Combined with Yoriyoshi’s 3,000 men, the two armies had more than enough power to take on Yoritoki.
A number of battles were fought, the details of which have unfortunately been lost to time as the sole text depicting the war is surprisingly vague when it comes to the actual fighting parts. In short, Yoriyoshi’s side won! Sadatō’s limp body was carried to the victorious commander on a shield. Defeated, he shot his nemesis one last glance before going lifeless. He was fortunate to have died when he did, though, because there’s no telling what Yoriyoshi would have done if he’d survived just a few minutes longer.
Tsunekiyo wasn’t so lucky; although the standard at the time was to decapitate your enemy with one swift strike of a sharpened sword, Yoriyoshi slowly and deliberately sawed off Tsunekiyo’s head with a rusty blade. Very little in the documented text gives any account as to how Yoriyoshi felt about Tsunekiyo, but this one act says it all! With Sadatō’s death and Tsunekiyo’s brutal murder, the Former Nine Years’ War was finally brought to an end.
The aftermath
After defeating Sadatō, Yoriyoshi continued his tour of the east, using his renewed fame to amass an even greater army. The following year, the court awarded him Iyo, one of the four most profitable provinces of the time. His son, Yoshiie, was granted control of Dewa. Yoriyoshi didn’t immediately move into his new home, though; he spent two years in the capital negotiating with the court to ensure that every one of his men was appropriately rewarded.
Although Yoshiie officially controlled Dewa, the Kiyohara clan remained the leading force in the region. Takenori was named chinju-fu shōgun. Tsunekiyo’s wife(Abe no Yoritoki’s daughter) remarried with Takenori’s son, Takesada, who adopted her son from her marriage with Tsunekiyo. This nicely sets up the sequel, in which Tsunekiyo’s son sets off a chain of events that influences Japan for the following 90 years. For the sake of those of you who want to enjoy the Later Three Years’ War spoiler-free, I won’t say any more. Click on this link if you want to find out what happens in the epic sequel!
