Former Nine Years War

Zenkunen War
Part of Clan disputes of the Heian period
Date 1051-1063 Location Mutsu province, Tohoku region, Japan Result Imperial victory
Belligerents
Japanese Imperial government	Abe clan
Commanders and leaders
Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, Minamoto no Yoshiie	Abe no Yoritoki, Abe no Sadato

The Zenkunen War (前九年の役, Zenkunen no Eki^?), also known in English as the Former Nine Years' War or the Early Nine Years' War, was fought from 1051 to 1063, in Japan's Mutsu Province, at the far north of the main island of Honshū. Like the other major conflicts of the Heian period, such as the Gosannen War and the Genpei War, the Zenkunen war was a struggle for power within the samurai clans.

While most provinces were overseen by just a Governor, Mutsu, in what is now the Tohoku region, had a military general in charge of controlling the Emishi natives, who had been subjugated when the Japanese took over the area in the ninth century. Historically, this post was always held by a member of the Abe clan, and there were many conflicts between the Abe general and the Governor over administrative control of the province.

In 1050, the general overseeing the Ainu was Abe no Yoritoki, who levied taxes and confiscated property on his own, rarely paying any heed to the wishes of the province's Governor. The Governor sent word to the capital in Kyoto asking for help, and as a result Minamoto no Yoriyoshi was appointed both Governor and commander-in-chief over controlling the natives. He was sent with his son Yoshiie, then age fifteen, to stop Abe.

The fighting lasted for twelve years, or nine if one subtracts short periods of ceasefire and peace. Skirmishes were fierce and many, but few major battles were fought until the battle of Kawasaki in 1057. Abe no Yoritoki had been killed shortly before, and the Minamoto were now fighting his son, Abe no Sadato, who defeated them at Kawasaki and pursued them through a blizzard.

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