Minamoto no Yoshishige

Who was Minamoto no Yoshishige?

Minamoto no Yoshishige was the progenitor of the Nitta branch family of the Minamoto samurai clan, who fought alongside the Minamoto in the Genpei War. He is also known as Nitta Tarō and Nitta Yoshishige.

His father was Minamoto no Yoshikuni, and his grandfather Minamoto no Yoshiie.

Yoshishige was posthumously awarded the title of Chinjufu-shogun, or Commander-in-chief of the Defense of the North, in 1611, four centuries after his death, by the second Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada. The Tokugawa family falsely claimed descent from the Nitta.