Minamoto no Ichiman (源 一幡, 1198 – October 8, 1203) was the eldest son of the 2nd Kamakura shōgun Minamoto no Yoriie.[1] His mother, Wakasa no Tsubone, was Hiki Yoshikazu's daughter, and the child was brought up by the Hiki clan. A year after he was born, his grandfather, Minamoto no Yoritomo, died.[1] The child was murdered at the age of 6. His father would later be murdered a year later.
Life
editWhen in 1203 Yoriie became seriously ill, the Hōjō clan supported his younger brother Senman (future third shōgun Minamoto no Sanetomo) as a future successor, while the Hiki clan supported son Ichiman.[1][2] To avoid power falling into the hands of the Hiki clan, the Hōjō decided to get rid of the Hiki clan and their protégé.[1]
On a pretext, regent Hōjō Tokimasa invited Hiki Yoshikazu to his home and assassinated him.[1] A battle between the clans ensued; the Hiki were defeated by a coalition of the Hōjō, Wada, Miura and Hatakeyama clans and exterminated.[1] Six-year-old Ichiman also died during the fight.[1] The Hiki residence was destroyed by fire and in its place in the Hikigayatsu valley now lies the Buddhist temple of Myōhon-ji. In its cemetery still stands Ichiman's grave, next to the Hiki clan's cenotaph.
Ichiman's younger brother Kugyō was forced to become a Buddhist priest, and in 1219, he assassinated his uncle, Minamoto no Sanetomo. Kugyō was himself immediately executed for his crime, thus bringing the Minamoto clan to a sudden end.
Notes
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Kamakura Citizen's Net
- ^ According to Japanese Wikipedia's "源一幡" (Minamoto no Ichiman) article (see interwiki link below), the Gukanshō and the Azuma Kagami disagree on the reasons for the clash between clans. This article describes the Gukanshō's version of events. According to the Azuma Kagami, Yoriie wanted to split the shogunate between his brother and his son, then Hiki proposed him the murder of Sanetomo, but the conversation was overheard by Hōjō Masako. This is also the version of events described in the article Hiki Yoshikazu.
According to the same Japanese Wikipedia article, the Azuma Kagami claims Ichiman was killed by the Hiki, and not by the Hōjō.
References
edit- Ōmachi, by the Kamakura Citizen's Net, accessed on September 30, 2008