Genpei War (Gempei War) | ||||||||
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Part of Minamoto–Taira clan disputes of late Heian period | ||||||||
Scene of the Genpei war |
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Belligerents | ||||||||
Minamoto clan (Yoritomo) | Taira clan | Minamoto clan (Yoshinaka) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
Minamoto no Yoritomo, Minamoto no Yoshitsune | Taira no Munemori , Taira no Shigehira , Taira no Tomomori † | Minamoto no Yoshinaka †, Imai Kanehira † | ||||||
Casualties and losses | ||||||||
20000 | 30000 |
The Genpei War (源平合戦 Genpei kassen, Genpei gassen?) (1180–1185) was a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late-Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the fall of the Taira clan and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1192.
The name "Genpei" (sometimes romanised as Gempei) comes from alternate readings of the kanji "Minamoto" (源) and "Taira" (平). The conflict is also known in Japanese as the Jishō-Juei War (治承寿永の乱 Jishō-Juei no ran?), after the two eras between which it took place.
It followed a coup d'état by the Taira in 1179 and call to arms against them led by the Minamoto in 1180. The ensuing Battle of Uji took place just outside Kyoto, starting a five-year-long war, concluding with a decisive Minamoto victory in the naval Battle of Dan-no-ura.
The Genpei War was the culmination of a decades-long conflict between the two aforementioned clans over dominance of the Imperial court, and by extension, control of Japan. In the Hōgen Rebellion and in the Heiji Rebellion of earlier decades, the Minamoto attempted to regain control from the Taira and failed.