Minamoto no Yoritomo founded Japan's first shogunate in Kamakura. This route follows him from his exile in Izu and Mishima Taisha to Ōkura, Hiraizumi and Tsurugaoka Hachimangū.
The stops trace his rise from exile in 1160, his first residence in Kamakura, the fall of Hiraizumi in 1189, the shogunate of 1192, his grave and the Hōjō regents who followed. Some sites, including the exile and the grave, are traditional identifications.
Minamoto no Yoshitsune's life runs from Kurama temple in Kyoto through the Genpei War battles of Ichi-no-Tani in Kobe, Yashima in Takamatsu and Dan-no-ura near Shimonoseki, to his last stand at Takadachi in Hiraizumi.
The route follows the famous general from a boy among the monks to a hero turned out by his own brother at Koshigoe. Battle sites are approximate; the temple, the Koshigoe temple and the Hiraizumi chapel can be visited.
Between 1180 and 1185 Japan's two great warrior clans, Taira and Minamoto, fought over the realm, and the war ended with a child emperor, a fleet and the tide at Dan-no-ura. It was the war that led to the first shogun.
This route visits seven battlefield sites in date order, from the bridge at Uji to the Kanmon Straits. Documented events are kept apart from the Heike Monogatari's legends, which the text attributes to the tale. Most battle areas are approximate.
