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was one of the honorary surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan of the Heian Period
Heian period

The is the last division of classical History of Japan, running from 794 to 1185. It is the period in Japanese history when Confucianism and other Chinese culture were at their height....
 (794–1185 AD) on those of their sons and grandsons who were not considered eligible for the throne. The Taira
Taira clan

The was a major Japanese clan in historical Japan.In reference to History of Japan, along with Minamoto, Taira was a hereditary clan name bestowed by the emperors of the Heian Period to certain ex-members of the imperial family when they became subjects....
 were another such offshoot of the imperial dynasty. The Minamoto clan was also called the , using the alternate pronunciation of the Chinese character
Chinese character

A Chinese character, also known as a Han character , is a logogram used in writing Chinese language ,'' Japanese language ,'' less frequently Korean language ,'' and formerly Vietnamese language .''...
s for Minamoto (gen) and uji, or family (ji).

The first emperor to start granting the name Minamoto was Emperor Saga
Emperor Saga

Emperor Saga was the 52nd Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 809 through 823....
.






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Seiryoji0332
was one of the honorary surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan of the Heian Period
Heian period

The is the last division of classical History of Japan, running from 794 to 1185. It is the period in Japanese history when Confucianism and other Chinese culture were at their height....
 (794–1185 AD) on those of their sons and grandsons who were not considered eligible for the throne. The Taira
Taira clan

The was a major Japanese clan in historical Japan.In reference to History of Japan, along with Minamoto, Taira was a hereditary clan name bestowed by the emperors of the Heian Period to certain ex-members of the imperial family when they became subjects....
 were another such offshoot of the imperial dynasty. The Minamoto clan was also called the , using the alternate pronunciation of the Chinese character
Chinese character

A Chinese character, also known as a Han character , is a logogram used in writing Chinese language ,'' Japanese language ,'' less frequently Korean language ,'' and formerly Vietnamese language .''...
s for Minamoto (gen) and uji, or family (ji).

The first emperor to start granting the name Minamoto was Emperor Saga
Emperor Saga

Emperor Saga was the 52nd Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 809 through 823....
. Afterwards Emperor Seiwa
Emperor Seiwa

Emperor Seiwa was the 56th Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 858 through 876....
, Emperor Murakami
Emperor Murakami

Emperor Murakami was the 62nd Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He ruled from 946 to his death in 967....
, Emperor Uda
Emperor Uda

was the 59th Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 887 through 897....
, and Emperor Daigo
Emperor Daigo

Emperor Daigo was the 60th Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from 897 to 930....
, among others, also gave their sons the name Minamoto. These specific hereditary lines coming from different emperors developed into specific clans referred to by the emperor's name followed by Genji, e.g. Seiwa Genji. According to some sources, the first to be given the name Minamoto was Minamoto no Makoto
Minamoto no Makoto

Minamoto no Makoto was the seventh son of the Emperor of Japan Emperor Saga, and was the first courtier to be given the name Minamoto. Initially an honorary name given to a number of unrelated courtiers by a number of different Emperors, the Minamoto clan would grow to be an integrated clan family, one of the most powerful and most importa...
, seventh son of Emperor Saga.

The Minamoto were one of the four great clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period — the other three were the Fujiwara, the Taira
Taira clan

The was a major Japanese clan in historical Japan.In reference to History of Japan, along with Minamoto, Taira was a hereditary clan name bestowed by the emperors of the Heian Period to certain ex-members of the imperial family when they became subjects....
, and the Tachibana
Tachibana clan

Over the course of Japanese history, there have been two families with the name Tachibana:*Tachibana clan - a clan of kuge prominent in the Nara period and Heian periods...
.

In 814 Emperor Saga (reigned 809–823) awarded the kabane
Kabane

were hereditary titles used in ancient Japan to denote rank and political standing. There were more than thirty. Some of the more common kabane were Omi, Muraji, , , , , , and ....
 Minamoto no Ason to his non-heir sons; thereafter, they and their descendants ceased to be members of the Imperial Family. Several subsequent emperors gave the Minamoto surname to their non-heir sons.

The most prominent of the several Minamoto families, the Seiwa Genji
Seiwa Genji

The were the most successful and powerful of the many branch families of the Japanese Minamoto clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto warriors, including Minamoto Yoshiie, also known as "Hachimantaro", or God of War, and Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate, were descended from this line....
, descended from Minamoto no Tsunemoto
Minamoto no Tsunemoto

Minamoto no Tsunemoto was a samurai and Imperial Prince during Japan's Heian period, the progenitor of the Seiwa Genji branch of the Minamoto clan....
 (917–961), a grandson of the 56th Emperor Seiwa. Tsunemoto went to the provinces and became the founder of a major warrior dynasty. Minamoto no Mitsunaka
Minamoto no Mitsunaka

Minamoto no Mitsunaka , son of Minamoto no Tsunemoto, was a samurai and Court official of Japan's Heian period. He held the title, passed down from his father, of Chinjufu-shogun, Commander-in-chief of the Defense of the North....
 (912–997) formed an alliance with the Fujiwara. Thereafter the Fujiwara frequently called upon the Minamoto to restore order in the capital, Heian-Kyo
Heian-kyo

Heian-kyo , was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1868....
 (or Kyoto
Kyoto

Sorry, no overview for this topic
.)

Mitsunaka's eldest son, Minamoto no Yorimitsu
Minamoto no Yorimitsu

, also known as 'Minamoto no Raiko', served the regents of the Fujiwara clan along with his brother Minamoto no Yorinobu, taking the violent measures the Fujiwara were themselves unable to take....
 (948–1021), became the protιgι of Fujiwara no Michinaga
Fujiwara no Michinaga

Fujiwara no Michinaga represents the highpoint of the Fujiwara regents' control over the government of Japan.Michinaga exerted de facto reign over Japan in the early 11th century....
; another son, Minamoto no Yorinobu
Minamoto no Yorinobu

was a samurai commander and member of the powerful Minamoto clan. He was the son of Minamoto no Mitsunaka . Along with his brother Minamoto no Yorimitsu, Yorinobu served the regents of the Fujiwara clan, taking the violent measures the Fujiwara were themselves unable to take....
 (968–1048) suppressed the rebellion of Taira no Tadatsune
Taira no Tadatsune

was a chieftain of the Taira clan in the early 11th century, and predecessor of the Chiba clan. He was also, for a time, Governor of Shimosa Province and Vice-Governor of Kazusa Province Provinces, and manager of the Grand Shrine of Ise in fact if not in name....
 in 1032. Yorinobu's son, Minamoto no Yoriyoshi
Minamoto no Yoriyoshi

Minamoto no Yoriyoshi was a head of Japan's Minamoto clan who is perhaps most notable for having led, along with his son Minamoto no Yoshiie, the Imperial forces against rebellious forces in the north....
 (998–1075), and grandson, Minamoto no Yoshiie
Minamoto no Yoshiie

Minamoto no Yoshiie , also known as Hachimantaro, was a Minamoto clan samurai of the late Heian period, and Chinjufu shogun . The first son of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, he proved himself in battle with the Abe clan in the Zenkunen War and the Kiyowara clan in the Gosannen War ....
 (1039–1106), pacified most of northeastern Japan between 1051 and 1087.

The Seiwa Genji's fortunes declined in the Hogen Rebellion
Hogen Rebellion

The Hogen Rebellion was a Japanese civil war fought in 1156 over Emperors of Japan succession and control of the Fujiwara Regents clan of regents....
 (1156), when the Taira executed much of the line. During the Heiji Disturbance (1160), the head of the Seiwa Genji clan, Minamoto no Yoshitomo
Minamoto no Yoshitomo

was the head of the Minamoto clan and a general of the late Heian period of History of Japan. His son Minamoto no Yoritomo became shogun and founded the Kamakura Shogunate, the first shogunate in the history of Japan....
, died in battle. Taira no Kiyomori
Taira no Kiyomori

was a general of the late Heian Period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the History of Japan.After the death of his father Taira no Tadamori in 1153, Kiyomori assumed control of the Taira clan and ambitiously entered the political realm in which he had previously only held a minor post....
 seized power in Kyoto by forging an alliance with the retired emperors Shirakawa
Emperor Shirakawa

Emperor Shirakawa was the 72nd Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from January 18, 1073 to January 5, 1087....
 and Toba
Emperor Toba

Emperor Toba was the 74th Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1107 through 1123....
 and infiltrating the kuge
Kuge

The kuge was a Japanese aristocratic Social class that dominated the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto until the rise of the Shogunate in the 12th century at which point it was eclipsed by the daimyo....
. He sent Minamoto no Yoritomo
Minamoto no Yoritomo

was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan. He ruled from 1192 until 1199....
 (1147–1199), the third son of Minamoto no Yoshimoto of the Seiwa Genji, into exile. In 1180 Yoritomo mounted a full-scale rebellion against the Taira rule (Gempei
Genpei War

The was a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clan clans and in late-Heian period Japan. It resulted in the fall of the Taira clan and establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto Yoritomo in 1192....
 or the Taira-Minamoto War), culminating in the destruction of the Taira and the subjugation of eastern Japan within five years. In 1192 he received the title shogun
Shogun

is a military rank and historical title for Hereditary Commanders in Chief of the Armed Forces of Japan. The Japanese word for "general", it is made up of two kanji characters: sho, meaning "commander", "general", or "admiral", and gun meaning military troops or warriors....
 and set up the first bakufu at Kamakura
Kamakura, Kanagawa

is a cities of Japan located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called . Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is sometimes considered a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Shikken during the Kamakura Period....
.

Thus the Seiwa Genji
Seiwa Genji

The were the most successful and powerful of the many branch families of the Japanese Minamoto clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto warriors, including Minamoto Yoshiie, also known as "Hachimantaro", or God of War, and Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate, were descended from this line....
 line proved to be the most strong and dominant Minamoto line during the late Heian period with Minamoto no Yoritomo eventually forming the Kamakura Shogunate
Kamakura shogunate

The Kamakura shogunate was a feudal military dictatorship in Japan headed by the shoguns from 1185 to 1333. It was based in Kamakura, Kanagawa....
 and becoming shogun
Shogun

is a military rank and historical title for Hereditary Commanders in Chief of the Armed Forces of Japan. The Japanese word for "general", it is made up of two kanji characters: sho, meaning "commander", "general", or "admiral", and gun meaning military troops or warriors....
 in 1192. Also, it's from the Seiwa Genji line that the later Ashikaga
Ashikaga clan

The was a prominent Japanese samurai Japanese clans which established the Muromachi shogunate and ruled Japan from roughly 1336 to 1573.The Ashikaga were descended from a branch of the Minamoto clan, deriving originally from the town of Ashikaga, Tochigi in Shimotsuke province ....
 (founders of the Ashikaga shogunate
Ashikaga shogunate

The was a feudal military dictatorship ruled by the shoguns of the Ashikaga family.This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from the Muromachi street of Kyoto where the third shogun Yoshimitsu established his residence....
), Nitta
Nitta family

The was one of several major families descended from the Seiwa Genji, and numbered among the chief enemies of the Ashikaga shogunate, and later the Hojo clan regents....
, and Takeda
Takeda family

The was a famous clan of daimyo in Japan's late Heian Period to Sengoku period.The Takeda were descendants of Emperor Seiwa and are a branch of the Minamoto clan , by Minamoto no Yoshimitsu , brother to the Chinjufu-shogun Minamoto no Yoshiie ....
 clans come.

The protagonist
Protagonist

A protagonist is the main Character of a drama or Narrative. The word "protagonist" derives from the Greek language p??ta????st?? , "one who plays the first part, chief actor." In the theatre of Ancient Greece, three actors played all of the main dramatic roles in a tragedy; the leading role was played by the protagonist, while the othe...
 of the classical Japanese novel The Tale of Genji
The Tale of Genji

is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early eleventh century, around the peak of the Heian Period....
, Hikaru no Genji, was bestowed the name Minamoto for political reasons by his father the emperor and was delegated to civilian life and a career as an imperial officer.

Members of the Minamoto clan


The Seiwa Genji
Seiwa Genji

The were the most successful and powerful of the many branch families of the Japanese Minamoto clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto warriors, including Minamoto Yoshiie, also known as "Hachimantaro", or God of War, and Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate, were descended from this line....


Seiwagenjitree

See also

  • History of Japan
    History of Japan

    The written history of Japan begins with brief references of Twenty-Four Histories, a collection of Chinese historical texts, in the 1st century AD....
  • Taira