Minamoto no Yoshinaka , also known as Kiso Yoshinaka , was a Japanese samurai lord in the late Heian period. A member of the Minamoto clan, shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo was his cousin and rival during the Genpei War between the Minamoto and the Taira clans. In The Tale of the Heike, he is known as Asahi Shogun (朝日将軍). His dharma name was Tokuon'in Gisan Senkō (徳音院義山宣公).
Yoshinaka
Shinano, Asahishōgun Minamoto no Yoshinaka, from the series Sixty-odd Famous Generals of Japan, woodblock print
Grave of Yoshinaka (Gichū-ji, Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture)
Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in the late 1870s during the Meiji era. They were the well-paid retainers of the daimyo, the great feudal landholders. They had high prestige and special privileges.
A samurai in his armour in the 1860s. Hand-colored photograph by Felice Beato
A Kofun period helmet, gilt copper, 5th century, Ise Province
In the noh drama Sanjō Kokaji, the 10th-century blacksmith Munechika, aided by a kitsune (fox spirit), forges the tachi (samurai sword) Ko-Gitsune Maru.
Taira no Masakado attacking an opponent on horseback (Yoshitoshi)
