The Genpei War (源平合戦, Genpei kassen, Genpei gassen?) (1180–1185) was a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late-Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the fall of the Taira clan and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto Yoritomo in 1192.
The name "Genpei" (pronounced and sometimes romanised as Gempei) comes from alternate readings of the kanji "Minamoto" (源) and "Taira" (平). The conflict is also known in Japanese as the Jishō-Juei War (治承寿永の乱, Jishō-Juei no ran?), after the two eras between which it took place.
It began with Minamoto support for a different candidate to take the throne, in conflict with the Taira's nomination. The ensuing Battle of Uji took place just outside Kyoto, starting a five-year long war, concluding with a decisive Minamoto victory in the naval Battle of Dan-no-ura.
Read more about Genpei War: Background, Beginnings of The War, Turning of The Tide, Internal Minamoto Clan Hostilities, Final Stages of The Conflict, Consequences of The Genpei War, Battles, Genpei War in Literature, Genpei War in Popular Culture
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“At last, after innumerable glamorous and frightful years, mankind approaches a war which is totally predictable from beginning to end.”
—Frederic Raphael (b. 1931)