Prince Mochihito (以仁王,Mochihito-ō) (died June 1180), also known as theTakakura Prince, and asMinamoto no Mochimitsu (源 以光), was a son ofEmperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan. He is noted for his role in starting theGenpei War.
Believing thatTaira no Kiyomori was causing suffering, Mochihito supported theMinamoto clan in their conflict against theTaira. At the same time,Minamoto no Yorimasa led the Minamoto clan in supporting Mochihito's bid for theImperial Throne. In May 1180, Yorimasa sent out a call to other Minamoto leaders, and to the monasteries (Enryakuji,Miidera and others) that Kiyomori had offended; he asked for aid against the Taira, in the name of Prince Mochihito.[1]
Learning of this, Kiyomori sent men after Mochihito, who retreated toMiidera, at the foot ofMount Hiei, but discovered that thewarrior monks of Miidera, for various political reasons, could not rely on the support of any other monasteries. Thus, he fled once more, along with a small Minamoto force, across theRiver Uji, to the Phoenix Hall of theByōdō-in. There they were caught by the Taira forces, and theBattle of Uji was fought. The bridge was the site of much of the fighting, and the planks were famously smashed to impair the ability of the Taira to cross, but eventually the Minamoto were forced back into the Phoenix Hall, where Yorimasa committedseppuku. Mochihito escaped, but was captured on his way and killed soon afterwards.[1]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
 | This biography of a member of theImperial House of Japan is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
