Stories of the Japanese 00473 [Late Heian Period] The Arrival of Kiso Yoshinaka

Yukiie, having fallen out with Yoritomo, headed for the Kiso Valley. There, he sought the help of Minamoto no Yoshinaka (1154–1184), a member of the Minamoto clan.
Kiso Yoshinaka (also known as Minamoto no Yoshinaka) was the second son of Minamoto no Yoshikata (d. 1155). That Minamoto no Yoshikata was the second son of Minamoto no Tameyoshi. Since Minamoto no Tameyoshi was Yoritomo's grandfather, in short, Kiso Yoshinaka and Minamoto no Yoritomo were cousins.
The reason why a noble of the Minamoto clan was in the deep mountains of Kiso dates back to the year 1155.
On August 16 of that year, a territorial dispute broke out between members of the Minamoto clan in the Kanto region, and Akugenta Yoshihira, who had traveled down to Kamakura, struck down his uncle, Minamoto no Yoshikata, who was based in Okura, Musashi Province (present-day Ranzan Town, Saitama Prefecture). This is known as the 'Okura Battle'.
Yoshikata's orphaned son, Yoshinaka, was a one-year-old infant at the time. Saito Sanemori, a warrior on Yoshikata's side, carried Yoshinaka to Nakahara no Kaneto (d. 1181) in Kiso to help him escape. Incidentally, Saito Sanemori later served Minamoto no Yoshitomo, but after Yoshitomo was defeated and killed, he lost his lord and was forced to serve the Taira clan. Although he was the savior of Yoshinaka's life, ironically, he would later stand in his way as a member of the Taira side, and thus as Yoshinaka's enemy.
Nakahara no Kaneto raised the young Yoshinaka, placing his hopes in him to one day fulfill the dream of overthrowing the Taira clan during their golden age.
Then, in 1180, upon learning of Yoritomo's uprising, Yoshinaka called for Kaneto and said,
'Yoritomo is trying to strike down the Taira. I, too, want to be called one of the two great generals of Japan.'
Kaneto, choked with emotion, replied,
'That is exactly what I have raised you for.'
He then sent Yoshinaka off with his two sons, one daughter, and a large number of soldiers.
Here, let us introduce the retainers of Kiso Yoshinaka.
First, Imai Kanehira (1152–1184) was the son of Nakahara no Kaneto and, as a foster brother, was the retainer with the deepest bond to Yoshinaka. He fought alongside Yoshinaka until the very end.
Next, Higuchi Kanemitsu (d. 1184) was also a son of Kaneto and an older brother to Kanehira. (In this era, people took their surnames from the names of their lands, so it was not uncommon for fathers and sons or brothers to have different surnames.)
The father and son pair of Nenoi Yukichika (d. 1184) and his sixth son, Tate Chikatada (d. 1184), are also famous. The four men mentioned so far are known as the 'Kiso Four Heavenly Kings'.
And another famous figure is Tomoe, the daughter of Kaneto. It is said that although she was a woman, she was as strong as a thousand warriors, and while her existence is sometimes questioned, she is a woman who plays an active role in the Tale of the Heike and the Genpei Seisuiki.