Battle of Ichi-no-Tani
| date | March 8, 1184 |
|---|---|
| place | at Ichi-no-Tani, Harima Province |
| output | Victory of the Minamoto |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 3000? | 5000? |
The battle of Ichi-no-Tani ( Japanese 一 ノ 谷 の 戦 い , Ichi-no-tani no tatakai ) took place on March 8, 1184 during the Gempei War between the Taira and the Minamoto . It ended with the victory of the Minamoto.
The battle took place at a Taira fortress called Ichi-no-Tani , west of today's Kobe . The fortress was on a narrow strip of land on the coast, between mountains to the north and the sea to the south. Its location made it difficult to attack the fortress, but it also hindered the defenders' maneuvers.
Minamoto no Yoshitsune divided his powers into three groups. The group of Minamoto no Noriyori attacked the taira at the Ikuta shrine in the forest a little further east. A second group of no more than 100 riders rode into the mountains and looked down on the fortress from the north, while the rest attacked with Minamoto no Yoshitsune from the west along the coast.
At the appointed hour, all three groups attacked, trapped and set fire to the fortress. Many of the Taira warriors fled to their ships and crossed for Yashima , but Taira no Tadanori was killed and Taira no Shigehira captured.
Ichi-no-Tani is one of the most famous battles in the Gempei War, mainly because of the one-on-one fights that took place within its framework. Musashibō Benkei , one of the most famous Sōhei (warrior monks), fought here on the side of the Minamoto. Likewise, many of the prominent Taira warriors took part in the battle. The death of the 16 year old Taira no Atsumori by Kumagai no Naozane is a very well known passage in Heike Monogatari . It has often been dramatized in Noh and Kabuki pieces . The death of Atsumori is one of the most famous individual battles in Japanese history .
The battle of Ichi-no-Tani is also the last event for which the use of the crossbow in Japanese sieges is recorded.
Web links
swell
- George Sansom: A History of Japan to 1334 . Stanford University Press, Stanford 1958.
- Stephen Turnbull: The Samurai Sourcebook . Cassell & Co., London 1998.