Mochihito

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Prince Mochihito ( Japanese 以 仁王 , Mochihito-ō ; † July 1180 ), also known as Takakura no Miya ( 高 倉 宮 ) and Minamoto Mochimitsu ( 源 以 仁 ) was a son of the emperor Go-Shirakawa . He is known for his role in starting the Genpei War .

Believing that Taira no Kiyomori had withheld the throne from him and that Kiyomori caused suffering, desecrated tombs and disregarded Buddhist law, Mochihito supported the Minamoto clan in their conflict with the Taira .

In return, Minamoto no Yorimasa caused the Minamoto clan to support Mochihito's claim to the throne.

In May 1180 , Yorimasa sent an appeal to the other Minamoto leaders and monasteries ( Enryaku-ji , Mii-dera, and others) that Kiyomori had broken the law; he asked for help against the Taira on behalf of the prince.

When Kiyomori found out about this, he sent his people to Mochihito, who retired to Mii-dera at the foot of Mount Hiei , but learned that the warrior monks of Mii-dera could not rely on the support of the other monasteries for various political reasons . So he fled with a small Minamoto force across the Uji River to the Phoenix Hall of Byōdō-in . Here they were brought by the Taira forces and the Battle of Uji began. The bridge over the Uji was a focal point of the fighting and, according to legend, the bridge decking was smashed to delay the progress of the Taira. Eventually the Minamoto were pushed back into the Phoenix Hall, where Yorimasa committed seppuku . Mochihito escaped towards Nara , but was captured on the way and killed shortly afterwards.

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  • George Sansom: A History of Japan to 1334 . Stanford University Press, Stanford 1958