Abe no Yoritoki
Encyclopedia
was the head of the Abe clan
of Emishi
who were allowed to rule the six Emishi districts (Iwate, Hienuki, Shiwa, Isawa, Esashi and Waga) in the Kitakami Basin from Morioka to Hiraizumi in what is now Iwate Prefecture. The clan emerged from the Appi River basin in what is now Hachimantai City, Iwate Prefecture, early in the 9th century. They provided a number of generals and governors throughout the 9th and 10th centuries. By monopolizing the gold, iron and horse trade in northern Honshū the family became enormously wealthy. They were also innovative in designing a new type of stockade which could withstand a long siege.
The 9th and 10th centuries saw a weakening of central power as a new land management system of tax-immune estates, or shoen, took hold. Yoritoki and the Abes came into conflict with the Minamoto clan as the Minamotos began to expand their holdings north into Abe territory and the Abes began to raid territories south of their border. In 1051 Yoritoki led an army of Emishi into northern Miyagi and trounced a government army at Onikiribe that had been sent to stop such practices. This is the event which triggered the Former Nine Years War Zenkunen War
.
Minamoto no Yoriyoshi
, was then deputized as the new Chinjufu Shogun
and sent to chastise Yoritoki in 1053. In 1056 Yoritoki's eldest son, Sadato, began skirmishing with the Minamotos. All out war erupted in 1057 and Yoritoki was killed in battle by a stray arrow.
Yoritoki's sons continued fighting for a time but were finally overwhelmed by combined Minamoto and Kiyohara armies in 1062.
Yoritoki was the father of -
Yoritoki is also one of the distant forefathers of Shinzō Abe
, the prime minister of Japan, through Munetō.
Abe clan
The was one of the oldest of the major Japanese clans ; and the clan retained its prominence during the Sengoku period and the Edo period. The clan's origin is said to be one of the original clans of the Yamato people; they truly gained prominence during the Heian period , and experienced a...
of Emishi
Emishi
The constituted a group of people who lived in northeastern Honshū in the Tōhoku region. They are referred to as in contemporary sources. Some Emishi tribes resisted the rule of the Japanese Emperors during the late Nara and early Heian periods...
who were allowed to rule the six Emishi districts (Iwate, Hienuki, Shiwa, Isawa, Esashi and Waga) in the Kitakami Basin from Morioka to Hiraizumi in what is now Iwate Prefecture. The clan emerged from the Appi River basin in what is now Hachimantai City, Iwate Prefecture, early in the 9th century. They provided a number of generals and governors throughout the 9th and 10th centuries. By monopolizing the gold, iron and horse trade in northern Honshū the family became enormously wealthy. They were also innovative in designing a new type of stockade which could withstand a long siege.
The 9th and 10th centuries saw a weakening of central power as a new land management system of tax-immune estates, or shoen, took hold. Yoritoki and the Abes came into conflict with the Minamoto clan as the Minamotos began to expand their holdings north into Abe territory and the Abes began to raid territories south of their border. In 1051 Yoritoki led an army of Emishi into northern Miyagi and trounced a government army at Onikiribe that had been sent to stop such practices. This is the event which triggered the Former Nine Years War Zenkunen War
Zenkunen War
The Zenkunen War , also known by the English translation Early Nine-Years War, was fought from 1051 to 1063, in Japan's Mutsu province, at the far north of the main island of Honshū...
.
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...
, was then deputized as the new Chinjufu Shogun
Chinjufu Shogun
Chinjufu shōgun , often translated as "Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of the North," was a military post in classical and feudal Japan...
and sent to chastise Yoritoki in 1053. In 1056 Yoritoki's eldest son, Sadato, began skirmishing with the Minamotos. All out war erupted in 1057 and Yoritoki was killed in battle by a stray arrow.
Yoritoki's sons continued fighting for a time but were finally overwhelmed by combined Minamoto and Kiyohara armies in 1062.
Yoritoki was the father of -
- Abe no SadatoAbe no Sadatowas a samurai of the Abe during the Heian period of Japan. Sadato was the son of Abe no Yoritoki, the chinjufu shogun...
(1019–1062) who occupied the Kuriyagawa Stockade; - Abe no MunetōAbe no Munetōwas a samurai of the Abe clan during the Heian period of Japan. He was the son of Abe no Yoritoki, the head of the Abe clan of Emishi who were allowed to rule the six Emishi districts in the Kitakami Basin from Morioka to Hiraizumi in what is now Iwate Prefecture. Abe no Yoritoki was the Chinjufu...
(1032–1108) who was based at the Isawa Stockade; - Abe no Masato who occupied the Kurosawa Stockade;
- Abe no Norito who stayed at the Koromo Stockade with his father;
- a daughter who married Taira no Nagahira;
- a daughter who married Fujiwara no TsunekiyoFujiwara no Tsunekiyowas a member of the martial Hidesato branch of the Fujiwaras and was the father of Fujiwara no Kiyohira, founder of the Northern Fujiwara dynasty in Japan. From the Japanese viewpoint he was considered a notorious traitor....
. Through this daughter Yoritoki became the grandfather of Fujiwara no KiyohiraFujiwara no Kiyohirawas a samurai of mixed Japanese-Emishi parentage of the late Heian period , who was the founder of the Hiraizumi or Northern Fujiwara dynasty that ruled Northern Japan from about 1100 to 1189....
, the founder of the Northern FujiwaraNorthern FujiwaraThe Northern Fujiwara were a Japanese noble family that ruled the Tōhoku region of Japan from the 12th to the 13th centuries as if it were their own realm. They succeeded the semi-independent Emishi families of the 11th century who were gradually brought down by the Minamoto clan loyal to the...
dynasty.
Yoritoki is also one of the distant forefathers of Shinzō Abe
Shinzo Abe
was the 90th Prime Minister of Japan, elected by a special session of the National Diet on 26 September 2006. He was Japan's youngest post–World War II prime minister and the first born after the war. Abe served as prime minister for nearly twelve months, before resigning on 12 September 2007...
, the prime minister of Japan, through Munetō.