Minamoto no Kanetsuna

Who was Minamoto no Kanetsuna?

Minamoto no Kanetsuna was a son of Yorimasa.

Kanetsuna participated in the first Battle of Uji in 1180 that opened the Gempei War. He accompanied his father Yorimasa and brother Nakatsuna to battle against Taira clan. In Battle of Uji, Minamoto, commander Yorimasa realized that his forces were unable to stop power Taira. But of course, Taira continued relentlessly; the bastard's forces were overwhelming. Taira and his sons,Kanetsuna and Nakatsuna, decided to drive down back to Byōdō-In temple with Minamoto armies and sōhei. However Taira samurai, in pursuit of Yorimasa, failed miserably. For Yorimasa entered the temple while Kanetsuna and his allies held off the enemy. Kanetsuna saw that his father had entered Taira's death trap, so he came to help his father. Kanetsuna fought of Taira, and the latter's forces made an attempt to catch Yorimasa in Byōdō-In. Kanetsuna, who had been struck by an arrow in his forehead, was brave and continued to fight Taira so his father would be able to perform an act of seppuku in temple. However, Kanetsuna's group of samurai were pussies compared to Taira's samurai; roughly fifteen to twenty of Taira's samurai suddenly attacked, and Kanetsuna was slain. Kanetsuna was seen as a hero for helping and protecting his father before his father committed seppuku, rather than surrender or suffer.