Japan's history, social structure and socio-cultural background, compared to Europe, seen and experienced through the eyes of a Daimyo Lord family for more than 2,650+ years.
The family history; History of Daimyo Sheriff Yamana-Itotani from ca. 1160-1185
Minamoto no Yoritomo (May 9, 1147 – February 9, 1199) was 13 years old when his father Minamoto no Yoshitomo (1123 – February 11, 1160) was executed by the victorious Taira clan, along with most of the Minamoto Seiwa Genji leaders.
Minamoto no Yoshitomo was Seiwa Genji's leader and head.
A power struggle had unfolded between the Taira clan and the Minamoto Seiwa Genji clan.
The decisive battles were in 1156 and 1159 during the Hogen and Heiji civil war rebellion, where the Minamoto clan was split between two emperors.
The first he won and became the head of Seiwa Genji, but the last and decisive he lost, which resulted in the near annihilation of Minamoto Seiwa Genji, - or at best; "A thorough extermination" of the clan.
67 % of his sons were killed, but three sons who were hostages with the Taira were allowed to survive.
Their mother was forced to be the official concubine of Taira Kiyomori, - who had just executed their father and most of their brothers.
The three surviving sons were; Yoritomo, Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Minamoto no Noriyori.
Yoritomo, who was the oldest surviving son, became Japan's first absolute Shogun - warrior king in 1185, and all shoguns from 1185 to 1868 all came from Minamoto Seiwa Genji - that was the law and the prerequisite.
Yoshitsune is probably the most celebrated romantic hero in Japanese history; "Yoshitsune and the warrior monk Benkei".
They were both killed by their older brother, Yoritomo.
Yoshitsune because of his popularity, hero status and he could be a "wild bass" who did not necessarily obey his older brother, and Noriyori because he refused to arrest and execute his brother, Yoshitsune.
Minamoto no Yoritomo
It has not been an easy upbringing and childhood.
Minamoto Yamana Yoshinori (1155-1218) who was the eldest son of Minamoto Yoshishige ((1135-1202) was a great-cousin of the three gentlemen.
His name was also Jiro Yoshihira Noriyoshi Taro Saburo. But Yoshinori is the name he died with and that's why we call him Yoshinori.
It is normal in noble families for you to have several different names throughout your life, depending on milestone events, such as childhood, the Gembuku ritual (You are one man and can participate in war), at court rank promotions, etc.
It could also be that the Emperor or the Shogun honored the high nobleman with a script from his own name or quite simply named him with a completely new name that better suited external status.
It could also be the internal status if the high nobleman or sheriff "went to a monastery", that is to say, was ordained as a Buddhist priest.
Since the 14th century, it has always been Rinzai Myoshin-ji Zen Buddhists in the Yamana-Itotani family.
There are generally two schools in Japan within Zen Buddhism; Soto with 14,000 temples and Rinzai with approx. 6000 temples.
Yoshinori is mentioned in several of the most well-known, oldest and famous Japanese books about the Gempei War (1180-1185).
Heike Monogatari (Tales of the Heike), Gempei Seisuiki (Rise and fall of the Heike and Genji), which is the 48 volume version of Heike Monogatari and in many other texts and books.
His father, Minamoto Nitta Yoshishige, who was Daimyo of Kozuke Province, kept a low political profile at his castle; Nitta-jo, after the defeat in 1160 and near annihilation of Seiwa Genji by Taira Kiyomori.
He had divided his county area into several estate districts, each of which was managed by one of his sons. The districts were; Yamana, Tokugawa (Nitta), Nitta and Satomi.
The third son, Yoshikane and later his son Nitta Masayoshi (1187-1257) helped his father on the largest estate district Nitta-ji, the second son Yoshitoshi had been given the estate district Satomi-ji and the fourth son Yoshisue had been given the estate district with three villages, which later became Tokugawa, Matsudaira and Sakai.
The neighbor of Yoshishige had done the same.
It was his younger brother, Yoshiyasu, who had distributed estates and districts to his two sons; Yoshikiyo and Yoshikane.
Yoshikiyo did the same with his sons, who became Hosogawa.
Yoshikane likewise, who became Ashikaga, Hatakeyama, Imagawa, Shiba, Isshiki, etc.
Yoshishige therefore became the progenitor of 15 Tokugawa shoguns and his younger brother to 15 Ashikaga shoguns and three Kanrei Vice-Shogun families from 1336-1560; Hosogawa, Hatekeyama and Shiba.
Yoshishige's sons and descendants paved the way for Yoshiyasu's descendants to be Shoguns and Kanreis from 1336-1560.
But it was Yoshishige's descendants who took the shogun prize and created the most peaceful period in Japan's history from 1600-1868.
Throughout from 1180 to 1582 there have been two "King makers" Daimyo Count families on either side of the ancestor brothers; Hosogawa and Yamana-Itotani.
Both could, like Seiwa-Genji, have taken the main role of Shogun, but chose "The Supporting role" instead.
Therefore, both families survived as fiefdoms for 1,200 years, - the Minamoto Shogun main family and the Ashikaga shogun family did not.
Yoshinori, as the first son of Yoshishige, had been given the estate district of Yamana-ji, located in Takazaki, Gunma, which was a good size of about Falster's size. There was a castle surrounded by several estates (the shoe).
Minamoto Nitta Yoshishige
It is approx. 500 km2, converted to approx. 50,000 hectares of land corresponding to an average of 15,000 hectares of hard grain, as it is known that 3-4 hectares of average land are needed to produce 1 barrel of hard grain.
So according to the later established norms as discussed earlier, Yoshinori was a minor Daimyo fief under his father.
A curious fact is that Minowa-ji castle is located in this estate district, which has a relationship with Yakami Shinsei-ryu, as the castle was attacked in 1566 by Takeda Shingen, including Yakami's soke Saigusa Moritomo, but defended by one of Japan's greatest Bujutsu grandmasters ever ; Kamizumi no Hidetsuna.
Minamoto Yamana Yoshinori (1155-1218) was lucky to be born and grow up in this right place and time, as he was strongly instrumental in the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate (1185-1333).
Which was terminated several generations later by his great-grandson Yamana Masauji (1270-1336) and his great-great-grandson Yamana Tokiuji (1303-1371) when the Kamakura Shogunate was overthrown and the Ashikaga Shogunate was established in 1333-1560.
The first Ashikaga Shogun was, Takauji (August 18, 1305 – June 7, 1358).
Yamana Masauji, was the son of Yamana Yoshitoshi (1255-1307), whose father Yamana Shigeura (1237-1285) was the grandson of Yamana Yoshinori through his father Yamana Shigekuni (1192-1251).
Masauji was married to a daughter of Fujiwara Uesugi Shigefusa, who was the emperor's "prime minister" and a powerful kuge court noble.
Ashikaga Takauji was the grandson of Fujiwara Uesugi Shigefusa and his mother was the sister of Masauji's wife, who had a very close relationship from childhood. Some sources say they were aunt and niece.
This meant that Yamana Tokiuji and Ashikaga Takauji were cousins, and this was also a significant reason for the definitive and total break between the Nitta clan and the Nitta Yamana clan, in the last years of the Kamakura shogunate in 1333.
But back to the Gempei Civil War (1180-1185), when Seiwa Genji defeated the Taira clan and established the Kamakura Shogunate, which is named after the city where the seat of government was; Kamakura.
Things were not looking good just a few decades before for the Seiwa no Minamoto clan.
Taira Kiyomori
The fight between the two clans for power in Japan, - and the right to rule Japan officially through the emperor, but also to replace the emperor if he was wrong, had gone awry as previously mentioned.
By 1159, the Minamoto main clan and tributary clans had been nearly wiped out by the victor; Taira Kiyomori (1118 – March 20, 1181).
Just a few years earlier in 1156, the two clan heads of the Taira and Seiwa Minamoto collaborated to put down a violent coup attempt (Hogen).
But at the same time it also established the two clans as the two most powerful in Japan and it could only come to a confrontation and it was won by the Taira.
The head of the Seiwa no Minamoto clan, Yoshitomo, his eldest sons and many Bunke side clansmen were killed.
Only because Taira Kiyomori's grandmother threatened to commit suicide, with whom he had a close relationship, but also had powerful allies, did he send two younger sons of Yoshitomo to a monk monastery and the then oldest 11-year-old boy, Yoritomo, to the province Izu as a hostage under Taira Kiyomori's grand cousin; Hōjō Tokimasa (1138 – February 6, 1215)
It was a huge mistake as it meant the final fall of the Taira clan after the Gempei War.
In 1180, Taira Kiyomori placed his grandson Prince Antoku on the throne as Japan's 79th emperor.
Emperor No. 78's son, Prince Mochito was very upset about this when he was appointed as the next emperor.
So he called the hereditary enemies of the Taira clan to assemble and fight in May, 1180.
There was just the big problem that the Seiwa Minamoto clan had been lying pretty low for the last 11 years, after being almost wiped out and formally without an official and approved clan leader.
So this was also a battle for the Seiwa Minamoto clan leader cabinet and with the blessing and flag of a future emperor – what a chance! - if it went well 
.
The first attempt with Minamoto no Yorimasa (1106–1180) and the start-up army of 1,500 samurai and warrior monks went very badly.
But it was now also very well seen in Seiwa Minamoto's eyes, as he was one of the main reasons for their almost total annihilation. But the attempt unfortunately also cost Prince Mochito's life.
The second attempt was far more serious for Taira Kiyomori.
It came from the unofficial Seiwa Minamoto clan leader, Yoritomo, who had now become a grown man of 24 years.
On top of that was his wife now, the daughter of Hójo`Tokimasa, and that would prove to be a deadly combination, - that is, for the Taira clan, but actually also later for the Seiwa Minamoto clan, as Hójo Tokimasa was a ruthless politician and warrior prince who did not went out of his way to kill his own family including grandchildren!
Minamoto no Yorimasa
