The Later Three Years’ War
Welcome to the Later Three Years’ War. For those of you who came here from the Former Nine Years’ War, you can enjoy this story as the successful sequel that made the franchise that would become known as ‘Samurai’. For those of you who haven’t yet read the Former Nine Years’ War, it would be a good idea to go back and read it first. While the events in the Later Three Years’ War can be understood as a standalone story with very little background knowledge, it makes for a better read when you understand the motives of the people involved.
Personally, I like to think of this war as the Former Nine Years’ War – the Next Generation, as it centres around the children and grandchildren of the people involved in the previous war. Similar to its predecessor, the Later Three Years’s War’s name is a little misleading as it took place between the years 1083 and 1087. What happened to the other years? Like the Former War, historians aren’t sure what caused the mix-up, but they theorise that ‘three years’ refers to the actual period of fighting that occurred during the war. Now that we’ve once again cleared up semantics, let’s take a look at the Later Three Years’ War.
The Next Generation
In 1075, Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, the protagonist of the Former War, died at the remarkable(for the time) age of 88. The Kiyohara, without whose assistance he wouldn’t have emerged victorious, had taken over Mutsu and named Takesada—son of Takenori, who led the Kiyohara army in the final battle—their leader.
For those of you who read the Former War, you may remember that Takesada married the wife of Fujiwara no Tsunekiyo, one of the two antagonists, and took in her young son. Shortly after, he adopted the boy and renamed him Kiyohira. Takesada also had a biological son, Sanehira, who was slightly older than Kiyohira. A few years after adopting Kiyohira, he and his new wife had a third son, Iehira(you can smell the succession dispute a mile away!). To sum up, Sanehira and Iehira were related through their father, and Kiyohira and Iehira were related through their mother. If it gets a little confusing, refer to the family tree below at any time while reading this article.
After Takesada’s death, Sanehira succeeded his father as chief of the clan. Since he didn’t have a son of his own, he adopted a boy from the Taira family, securing a successor and strengthening his ties with the court all at once. He named the boy Narihira and arranged to have him marry Minamoto no Yoriyoshi’s illegitimate daughter in the hope of having the two produce Taira/Minamoto hybrid offspring who would give him access to the largest samurai network in the country.
The Red Wedding
A grand wedding was arranged for the two. Sanehira’s uncle, a man by the name of Kimiko no Hidetaka, made his way over from Dewa and gifted the couple a large bag of gold dust. When he approached Sanehira to congratulate him on his son’s nuptials, however, Sanehira was too absorbed in a game of Go to acknowledge him. And so as anyone in that situation would have done, Hidetaka opened the bag, scattered its contents over the ground, stormed off in a huff and declared war on Sanehira.
Suspecting that Kiyohira and Iehira might want a piece of the action, Hidetaka approached the two and convinced them to attack their older brother. The three joined forces and led their armies to Sanehira’s land, burning down numerous villages as their declaration of war. Sanehira launched a counterattack, but before his men could arrive, the three fled back to their respective territories, not wishing to chance their luck.
Minamoto no Yoshiie
While all this was going on, Minamoto no Yoshiie(pronounced Yoh-Shee-ee-eh for those who were wondering) was granted the title of governor of Mutsu. He made his way up north and took residence in Taga castle, which, in the past, had been under the command of his father. Shortly after arriving, Sanehira came to greet him. Taking advantage of their enemy’s absence, the allied trio launched a second assault on his land. Sanehira wasn’t stupid though; he had advised his men of this likely scenario before leaving and more than prepared them to fend off his angry relatives.
Sanehira spent several days attending to Yoshiie and throwing him large banquets until the new governor agreed to join his cause. Upon hearing word of this development, Hidetaka, Kiyohira and Iehira, reluctant to be branded enemies of the state, immediately surrendered. However, just as it appeared as if the Later Three Years’ War would be over, Sanehira suddenly died! The one historical text written close to the time of the war is annoyingly vague about the circumstances surrounding Sanehira’s death, stating only that he died of an unspecified illness. Given the timing, some historians theorise that he was poisoned, but as of yet, no new information has been discovered to back up this theory.
A New Dispute
Tensions frayed among the Kiyohara as they wondered who their new leader would be. Yoshiie mediated the impending succession dispute and divided Mutsu equally between Kiyohira and Iehira, awarding them each three regions of the massive province. Both parties agreed to this decision and the matter was closed… Or so it might have seemed. Iehira wasn’t as happy about the decision as he had let on. As Takesada’s biological son, he felt he was due all six territories. This anger festered away at him for three years until in 1086, he invaded Kiyohira’s land and killed his wife and children. Kiyohira escaped the massacre and took refuge with Yoshiie.
Having received word of the situation, the court considered sending Yoshiie’s younger brother, Yoshitsuna, to aid him in battle, but for reasons unstated in history, this plan didn’t come to fruition. With no time to sit around and wait for reinforcements, Yoshiie gathered the several thousand soldiers he had on hand and led them to Iehira’s stronghold in Dewa. However, his men weren’t used to the region’s cold climate, and Iehira had the home-field advantage. It was inevitable that Yoshiie would be driven back to Taga Castle(similar to the defeat his father suffered in the Former War).
Kanazawa-saku
Word of Iehira’s victory spread. The following year, a number of men joined his army, including an uncle by the name of Takehira, who suggested they move to Kanazawa-saku—the largest and most impenetrable fortress in Dewa. The court sent a messenger demanding they stop the war, but the enemy was already on its way; it was too late to turn back. Another of Yoshiie’s brothers, Yoshimitsu, rushed up to Dewa to join the battle, leading to his being stripped of all official titles and court positions. Hidetaka too decided he wanted in on the action and led his men to Taga Castle. The three merged their armies with Kiyohira’s and advanced on Kanazawa-saku.
On their way, Yoshiie noticed a flock of wild geese flying erratically in the sky above him. As geese normally fly in perfect formation, he became suspicious. He had read about this kind of situation in Chinese texts. Sun Tzu, master military general, philosopher and strategist, taught that a disturbance in the flight pattern of geese was a possible sign of an ambush. Yoshiie’s instincts were on the mark. Enemy soldiers leapt from their hiding spots and began their assault. Yoshiie had already prepared his men though. They quickly cleared up the ambush and continued on their way.
The first siege in Japanese history
Kanazwa-saku proved to be a more considerable challenge. With nowhere near enough men to attack the fortress head-on, Hidetaka suggested they take a different approach: a siege—the first recorded siege in Japanese history and the template for all sieges to come. Being the first meant there was no rulebook to consult though. Unsure of the approach he should take, Yoshiie decided to simply to wait until supplies within the fortress began to become scarce. When starvation kicked in and people began to flee, he considerately allowed them to leave.
It was Hidetaka who pointed out the flaw in this plan: the fewer people left inside the fortress, the larger the food supplies for the people who remained. With an army as large as theirs and nowhere close by to replenish supplies, the longer they waited, the greater the risk their rations would run out first. Hidetaka suggested they kill anyone who tried to leave, dissuading the starving masses held up inside the fortress from surrendering and maximising the number of people left within its walls.
This plan proved to be vastly more efficient. Before long, Iehira and Takehira set fire to the fortress and escaped amidst the panic. Takehira was found hiding out in a nearby village and beheaded. Iehira disguised himself as a farmer, but was quickly discovered and shot dead by an arrow. The Later Three Years’ War was finally over.
The aftermath
With all his enemies defeated, Kiyohira took control of both Mutsu and Dewa and changed his kabane back to Fujiwara, giving rise to the Northern Fujiwara clan and their 90-year rule over the north.
The rise of the Minamoto
Yoshiie wasn’t so fortunate. Technically, the court had never sanctioned the war; in fact, they had actively opposed it! As a result, not only did Yoshiie not receive any form of compensation, but he was severely berated for not having collected any taxes during the period he was away and for spending a great deal of the court’s resources on defeating Iehira. In short, the court stripped him of his position of governor of Mutsu and refused to offer him any new positions until he collected all outstanding taxes.
It took him ten years. Not only was he able to clear his debt, but he also rewarded every last one of his men out of his own pocket! This gargantuan feat earned Yoshiie the respect of samurai all across the east and secured the prosperity of the Minamoto clan for years to come. In 1098, when his debt had finally been paid in full, he became the first samurai in history to be permitted entry to the Imperial Palace.
The fall of the Minamoto
Thanks to Yoshiie’s efforts, the Minamoto had a bright future ahead. He himself would eventually become a legendary figure revered by samurai everywhere for hundreds of years to come. However, he would never be allowed a glimpse of that future; his son, Yoshichika, rebelled against the court in 1101. Yoshiie died five years later, before the rebellion could be resolved, uncertain of his family’s future.
Two years after his father’s death, Yoshichika was killed by Taira no Masamori, putting an end to the Minamoto’s ambitions and ushering in the age of the Taira. All of Yoshiie’s hard work had been undone, and the Minamoto name had been dragged through the mud. Yoshichika’s son, Tameyoshi, limped on, doing all he could to restore the clan’s name, but the Taira continued to rise in power. Hope wasn’t lost though; the following 90 years would prove to be very interesting for the Minamoto, the Taira and the Northern Fujiwara.
