Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199)

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the first sei-i taishogun, the commander-in-chief, of the Kamakura Shogunate. He is known for establishing one of the military governments which lasted from the Kamakura to Edo Periods [between the late 12th and mid-19th centuries]. His wife was Hojo Masako, and his younger paternal half-brother was Minamoto no Yoshitsune.

At the end of the Heian Period, samurai warriors began supporting a power struggle among nobles, and the two major clans, the Minamoto Clan and the Taira Clan, started gaining their power. In 1159, Minamoto no Yoshitomo, the father of Yoritomo, raised an army to defeat Taira no Kiyomori (at the Heiji Rebellion). Yoritomo followed his father and joined the army at the age of 13; however, the Minamoto Clan was defeated. While they fled to the eastern provinces, Yoshitomo was killed in Owari Province [now the western half of Aichi Prefecture] and Yoritomo himself was captured. He was exiled to Hirugakojima Island, Izu Province. Yoritomo reportedly visited Takebe Taisha Shrine, the highest ranked shrine in Omi Province, to pray for the restoration of the Minamoto Clan. Twenty years later, having received the command from Prince Mochihito, Yoritomo gathered samurai warriors in the eastern provinces and raised an army. Having expanded its power and becoming the major clan, the Minamoto Clan finally defeated the Taira Clan at the Battle of Dannoura in 1185 and fulfilled their wish.

After establishing the Kamakura Shogunate, Yoritomo made a lot of donations to temples and shrines. One example is Ishiyamadera two-storied pagoda.