Minamoto Yoritomo, << MEE nah moh toh yoh REE toh moh >> (1147-1199), was the greatest leader of early medieval Japan. He founded Japan’s first bakufu or shogunate (warrior government) in 1192.
Yoritomo was born into the aristocratic Minamoto clan. In 1180, he broke relations with the imperial court at Kyoto, then the capital of Japan, and was drawn into a war with a clan much like his own. The Minamoto clan defeated the Taira clan in the Gempei War (1180-1185). Yoritomo, the Minamoto clan leader, established a military headquarters at the city of Kamakura. The emperor gave Yoritomo the title of shogun (great general), and Yoritomo’s headquarters became the administrative center of the bakufu. Yoritomo formed a system of civil and military rule in cooperation with the Kyoto court. His rule led to a balance of power and influence between Kamakura and Kyoto that provided relative peace and stability for almost 150 years. He died on Feb. 9, 1199.
