Minamoto no Yoshinaka

Minamoto no Yoshinaka

was a general of the late Heian Period of Japanese history. A member of the Minamoto samurai clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo was his cousin and rival during the Genpei War between the Minamoto and the Taira clans....

 made his final stand at Awazu

Otsu, Shiga

is the capital city of Shiga, Japan. The city was founded on October 1, 1898. As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 338,629 with an average age of 40.7 years and a population density of 905.28 persons per km²...

, after fleeing from his cousins' armies, which confronted him after he attacked Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

, burning the Hōjūjiden

Siege of Hojujidono

The 1184 siege of the Hōjūjidono was part of Japan's Genpei War, and was a key element of the conflict between Minamoto no Yoshinaka and his cousins Yoritomo and Yoshitsune for control of the Minamoto clan....

, and kidnapping Emperor Go-Shirakawa

Emperor Go-Shirakawa

Emperor Go-Shirakawa was the 77th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession...

. During the pursuit he had joined up with his companion and milk brother Imai Kanehira

Imai Kanehira

Imai Kanehira was the milk brother of Minamoto no Yoshinaka. He became joint commander of Yoshinaka's faction during the Genpei War after Yoshinaka met up with him at Seta. He fought with the forces of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who wanted to bring an end to Yoshinaka's tyranny. Imai commanded...

 at Seta

Seta

Seta is a biological term derived from the Latin word for "bristle". It refers to a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms.-Animal setae:In zoology, most "setae" occur in invertebrates....

; Kanehira became joint commander along with Yoshinaka.

During the battle, they fought valiantly, holding off Noriyori's

Minamoto no Noriyori

was a late Heian period general, who fought alongside his brothers Minamoto no Yoritomo and Minamoto no Yoshitsune at a number of battles of the Genpei War. The sixth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, he was spared along with his brothers in 1160 by Taira no Kiyomori following Yoshitomo's death.He...

large force of thousands of men for a time. However, in the end, they both died: Yoshinaka was struck dead by an arrow when his horse became mired in a paddy field, and after Kanehira heard that Yoshinaka had been killed, he committed suicide by leaping off his horse while holding his sword in his mouth.