Minamoto no Yoritomo, after seizing the Japanese…
April 1185 CE
Minamoto no Yoritomo, after seizing the Japanese capital in 1183 with invaluable help from his younger half brother Yoshitsune and other relatives, gradually reduces the numbers of the Minamoto clan.
Known as the Gempei War, the civil war ends at the western reaches of the Inland Sea in April 1185 in the half-day naval battle of Dan-no-ura.
The Taira are outnumbered, but some sources say that they had the advantage over the Minamoto in understanding the tides of that particular area, as well as naval combat tactics in general.
The Taira split their fleet into three squadrons, while their enemy arrives en masse, their ships abreast, and archers ready.
The beginning of the battle consists mainly of a long-range archery exchange, before the Taira take the initiative, using the tides to help them try to surround the enemy ships.
They engage the Minamoto, and the archery from a distance, eventually shifting to hand-to-hand combat with swords and daggers after the crews of the ships board on another’s vessels However, the tide changes, and the advantage returns to the Minamoto.
One of the crucial factors that allows the Minamoto to win the battle is the defection of a Taira general, Taguchi Shigeyoshi, who reveals to the Minamoto which ship is carrying the six-year-old Emperor Antoku.
Their archers turn their attention to the helmsmen and rowers of the Emperor's ship, as well as the rest of their enemy's fleet, sending their ships out of control.
Many of the Taira warriors, including Taira no Tomomori, Taira no Tsunemori and Taira no Norimori, as they see the battle turn against them, throw themselves overboard, committing suicide rather than having to face defeat at the hands of the Minamoto.
Among those who perish this way are Antoku and his grandmother, the widow of Taira no Kiyomori, head of the clan.
To this day, the Heike Crabs found in the Straits of Shimonoseki are considered by the Japanese to hold the spirits of the Taira warriors.
The Taira attempt to toss the imperial regalia off the ship but only manage to get the sword and jewel into the water before the ship holding the regalia is captured.
The jewel is recovered by divers; many presume the sword to have been lost at this time, though it is officially said to have been recovered and enshrined at Atsuta Shrine.
This decisive defeat of the Taira forces leads to the end of the Taira bid for control of Japan.