Today in Japan ~ Aug 21, Yoritomo Becomes Shogun
Today, in 1192, Minamoto no Yoritomo became the de facto ruler of Japan, founding the Kamakura shogunate.
Yoritomo is one of those big names in Japanese history. He first rose to prominance as the head of the Minamoto family after his father was killed. Not long after, he was banished from the capital by the head of the Taira clan, Kiyomori. While in exile he married into the powerful Hōjō clan.
In 1180 Prince Mochihito made a plea to the Minamoto to rebel against the Taira and so started the Genpei War, the most famous war in Japanese history. There are many tales from this war, but let's skip to the chase: it ended in the naval Battle of Dan-no-Ura, where the Minamoto finally completely defeated the Taira.
The war ended in 1185 and it left Yoritomo as the most powerful man in Japan. Eventually in 1192 he was made shogun. There are some records reporting that on his deathbed, Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa made Yoritomo shogun. But there are other reports that say after Go-Shirakawa died, Yoritomo took the title for himself.
He set up his government in Kamakura where it would continue to rule until 1333. He died shortly after becoming shogun, but his wife (often referred to as the nun-shogun; she took vows and became a nun but never moved into a temple, rather continued to run the shogunate from behind the scenes) took control and made things stable enough for the government to continue for the next 153 years.
Today is shakkō 赤口, one of the rokuyō, the Buddhist horoscope. On this day the hour of the horse (11am-1pm) is lucky but the rest is unlucky. If you have anything important to do today, better save it for around noon!
(Read more about the rokuyō here)
On the old calendar, today would have been the twenty-second day of the seventh month. It is Thick Fog Comes Out (蒙霧升降), the third and final microseason of Risshu. According to the forecast, this is when the morning and evening have become cool enough that a deep fog comes out.
Here's a haiku from Bashō:
曙や霧にうづまく鐘の声
akebono ya kiri ni uzumaku kane no koe
daybreak:
swirling in the fog
a temple bell sounds
Fog (kiri) is an autumn season word in haiku, telling us Bashō wrote this around now (in 1689). He wrote this when he was in Niigata, staying at the village where Yoshitsune, Yoritomo's half-brother, had once fled in 1185 when Yoritomo turned against him.
Now there's a story, but one we'll have to save for another time.
❦
 |
David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. |
If this blog post has entertained or helped you, please follow/upvote/reblog. If you want to further support my writing, donations are welcome.