Minamoto no Yoritomo

Minamoto no Yoritomo
源 頼朝
Portrait by Fujiwara no Takanobu, 1179
Shōgun
In office July 12, 1192 – February 9, 1199
Monarch	Go-Toba
Preceded by	Shogunate established
Succeeded by	Minamoto no Yoriie
Head of the Kawachi Genji (Minamoto clan)
Preceded by	Minamoto no Yoshitomo
Succeeded by	Minamoto no Yoriie
Personal details
Born	May 9, 1147[citation needed] Atsuta, Owari Province
Died	February 9, 1199 (aged 51)[1] Kamakura, Kamakura shogunate
Spouse	Hōjō Masako
Relations	Kame no Mae [ja] (concubine) Daishin no Tsubone [ja] (concubine)
Children	Minamoto no Yoriie Minamoto no Sanetomo Shimazu Tadahisa Ōhime [ja]
Parents	Minamoto no Yoshitomo (father) Yura Gozen [ja] (mother)
Relatives	Fujiwara no Suenori (grandfather) Minamoto no Yoshihira (brother) Minamoto no Noriyori (brother) Minamoto no Tomonaga (half-brother) Minamoto no Yoshitsune (half-brother)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Emperor of Japan
Rank	Commander-in-Chief
Battles/wars	Genpei war (1180 - 1185)

Minamoto no Yoritomo (源 頼朝, May 9, 1147 – February 9, 1199) was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.^[2] He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (shikken) after his death.

Yoritomo was the son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo and belonged to Seiwa Genji's prestigious Kawachi Genji family. After successfully maneuvering himself to the position of rightful heir of the Minamoto clan, he led his clan against the Taira from his capital in Kamakura, beginning the Genpei War in 1180. After five years of civil war, the Minamoto clan finally defeated the Taira in the Battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185. Yoritomo established the supremacy of the samurai caste and the first shogunate (bakufu) which was to be centered around Kamakura, thus beginning the feudal age in Japan, which lasted until the 17th century.^[3]