Gosannen War

TheGosannen War( sau ba năm hợp chiến,gosannen kassen), also known as theLater Three-Year War,was fought in the late 1080s in Japan'sMutsu Provinceon the island ofHonshū.

Gosannen War
Part of Clan disputes of theHeian period
Date 1083–1089 (disputed) Location Mutsu province,Tōhoku region,Japan Result Military stalemate
Belligerents
Forces of various branches ofKiyohara clan	Forces ofMinamoto no Yoshiie Governor of Mutsu province
Commanders and leaders
Kiyohara no Iehira Kiyohara no Takahira Others	Minamoto no Yoshiie Fujiwara no Kiyohira

History

The Gosannen War was part of a long struggle for power within the warrior clans of the time.

TheGosannen kassenarose because of a series of quarrels within theKiyohara clan(sometimes referred to as "Kiyowara" ). The long-standing disturbances were intractable. WhenMinamoto no Yoshiie,who became Governor of Mutsu province in 1083, tried to calm the fighting which continued betweenKiyohara no Masahira,Iehira,andNarihira.

Negotiations were not successful; and so Yoshiie used his own forces to stop the fighting. He was helped byFujiwara no Kiyohira.In the end, Iehira and Narihira were killed.

During the siege of Kanezawa, 1086–1089, Yoshiie avoided an ambush by noticing a flock of birds take flight from a forest.

In art

Handscroll illustrating the Gosannen War of the 11th century

Much of the war is depicted in ane-makinarrative handscroll, theGosannen kassen emaki,which was created in 1171.The work is owned today by theWatanabe MuseuminTottori city,Japan.

See also

• Kamakura Gongorō Kagemasa
• Zenkunen War

Further reading

• Turnbull, Stephen.(1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.