Minamoto no Yoshitsune

Who was Minamoto no Yoshitsune?

Minamoto no Yoshitsune was a general of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's older brother Minamoto no Yoritomo founded the Kamakura shogunate. Yoshitsune's name in childhood was Ushiwakamaru. He is considered one of the greatest and the most popular warriors of his era, and one of the most famous samurai fighters in the history of Japan.