Genpei War The ( 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 , 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 . Background . The Genpei War was the culmination of a decades - long conflict between the two aforementioned clans over dominance of the Imperial court , and by extension , control of Japan . In the Hōgen Rebellion and in the Heiji Rebellion of earlier decades , the Minamoto attempted to regain control from the Taira and failed . The Taira then began a series of executions , intended to eliminate their rivals . In 1177 , relations between the Taira clan and the retired Emperor Go - Shirakawa became highly strained , and the latter attempted a " coup d ' état " to oust the Daijō Daijin ( prime minister ) , Taira no Kiyomori . Kiyomori defeated the former emperor and abolished the Insei system . This provoked strong anti - Taira sentiment . On March 21 , 1180 , Taira no Kiyomori put his grandson , Antoku ( then only two years of age ) , on the throne , after the abdication of Emperor Takakura . Go - Shirakawa ' s son , Prince Mochihito , felt that he was being denied his rightful place on the throne and , with the help of Minamoto Yoritomo , sent out a call to arms to the various samurai families and Buddhist monasteries on May 5 . In June , Kiyomori moved the seat of imperial power to Fukuhara ( modern day Kobe ) , in the hope of promoting trade with Song Dynasty China , and on the fifteenth of that month , Prince Mochihito fled Kyoto to take refuge in Mii - dera . Beginnings of the war . The actions of Taira no Kiyomori having deepened Minamoto hatred for the Taira clan , a call for arms was sent up by Minamoto no Yorimasa and Prince Mochihito . Not knowing who was behind this rally , Kiyomori called for the arrest of Mochihito , who sought protection at the temple of Mii - dera . The Mii - dera monks were unable to ensure him sufficient protection , so he was forced to move along . He was then chased by Taira forces to the Byōdō - in , just outside Kyoto . The war began thus , with a dramatic encounter on and around the bridge over the River Uji . This battle ended in Yorimasa ' s ritual suicide inside the Byōdō - in and Mochihito ' s capture and execution shortly afterwards . It was at this point that Minamoto no Yoritomo took over leadership of the Minamoto clan and began traveling the country seeking to rendezvous with allies . Leaving Izu Province and heading for the Hakone Pass , he was defeated by the Taira in the battle of Ishibashiyama . However he successfully made it to the provinces of Kai and Kozuke , where the Takeda and other friendly families helped repel the Taira army . Meanwhile , Taira no Kiyomori , seeking vengeance against the Mii - dera monks and others , besieged Nara and burnt much of the city to the ground . Fighting continued the following year . Minamoto no Yukiie launched an unsuccessful sneak attack attempt against the army of Taira no Tomomori at the Battle of Sunomatagawa . He was pursued by them to the Yahahigawa , destroying the bridge over the river in order to slow the Taira progress . He was defeated and forced to withdraw once again , but Taira no Tomomori fell ill and called off his pursuit of Yukiie ' s forces . Taira no Kiyomori died from illness in the spring of 1181 , and around the same time Japan began to suffer from a famine which would last through the following year . The Taira moved to attack Minamoto no Yoshinaka , a cousin of Yoritomo , who had raised forces in the north but were unsuccessful . For nearly two years , the war ceased , only to resume in the spring of 1183 . Turning of the tide . The Taira loss at Kurikara was so severe that they found themselves , several months later , under siege in Kyoto , with Yoshinaka approaching the city from the northeast and Yukiie from the east . Both Minamoto leaders had seen little or no opposition in marching to the capital and now forced the Taira to flee the city . Taira no Munemori , head of the clan since his father Kiyomori ' s death , led his army , along with the young Emperor Antoku and the Imperial regalia , to his clan ' s fortresses in western Honshū and Shikoku . Internal Minamoto clan hostilities . The Taira clan set fire to their Rokuhara palace and the surrounding district , leaving Minamoto no Yoshinaka with the only force of any significant power in the Home Provinces surrounding the capital . Empowered with a mandate by Emperor Go - Shirakawa to pursue the Taira and destroy them , Yoshinaka once again sought to gain control of the Minamoto clan and regain his ancestral lands from his cousins Yoritomo and Yoshitsune . Meanwhile , the fleeing Taira set up a temporary Court at Dazaifu in Kyūshū , the southernmost of Japan ' s main islands . They were forced out soon afterwards by local revolts , spurred by Emperor Go - Shirakawa and sought refuge at Yashima , a small island in the Inland Sea . Yoshinaka sent a force to pursue the Taira , while he led a second force back to Kamakura to delay his cousins ' actions . While his men lost to the Taira at Mizushima , Yoshinaka conspired with Yukiie to seize the capital and the Emperor , possibly even establishing a new Court in the north . However , Yukiie revealed these plans to the Emperor , who communicated them to Yoritomo . Betrayed by Yukiie , Yoshinaka took command of Kyoto and , at the beginning of 1184 , set fire to the Hōjūjidono , taking the Emperor into custody . Minamoto no Yoshitsune arrived soon afterwards with his brother Noriyori and a considerable force , driving Yoshinaka from the city . After fighting his cousins at the bridge over the Uji , where the war began , Yoshinaka made his final stand at Awazu , in Ōmi province . He was defeated by Yoshitsune , and killed while attempting to flee . Final stages of the conflict . As the united Minamoto forces left Kyoto , the Taira began consolidating their position at a number of sites in and around the Inland Sea , which was their ancestral home territory . They received a number of missives from the Emperor offering that if they surrendered by the seventh day of the second month , the Minamoto could be convinced to agree to a truce . This was a farce , as neither the Minamoto nor the Emperor had any intentions of waiting until the eighth day to attack . Nevertheless , this tactic offered the Emperor a chance to regain the Regalia and to distract the Taira leadership . The Minamoto army , led by Yoshitsune and Noriyori , made their first major assault at Ichi - no - Tani , one of the primary Taira fortresses on Honshū . The fortress was surrounded , and the Taira retreated to Shikoku . However , the Minamoto were not prepared to assault Shikoku ; a six - month pause thus ensued during which the Minamoto took the proper steps . Though on the retreat , the Taira enjoyed the distinct advantages of being in friendly , home territories , and of being far more adept at naval combat than their rivals . It was not until nearly a year after Ichi - no - Tani that the main Taira fortress at Yashima came under assault . Seeing bonfires on the mainland of Shikoku , the Taira expected a land - based attack and took to their ships . This was a deceptive play on the part of the Minamoto , however , who lay in wait with their own navy . The Yashima fortress fell , along with the improvised imperial palace built there by the Taira , many of whom however escaped along with the Imperial regalia and the Emperor Antoku . The Genpei War came to an end one month later , following the battle of Dan - no - ura , one of the most famous and important battles in Japanese history . The Minamoto engaged the Taira fleet in the Straits of Shimonoseki , a tiny body of water separating the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū . After a series of archery duels , hand - to - hand fighting broke out . The tides played a powerful role in the development of the battle , granting the advantage first to the Taira , who were more experienced and abler sailors and later to the Minamoto . The Minamoto advantage was considerably enhanced by the defection of Taguchi Shigeyoshi , a Taira general who revealed the location of Emperor Antoku and the regalia . The Minamoto redirected their attention on the Emperor ' s ship , and the battle quickly swung in their favor . Many of the Taira samurai , along with Emperor Antoku and his grandmother Taira no Tokiko , widow of Taira no Kiyomori , threw themselves into the waves rather than live to see their clan ' s ultimate defeat at the hands of the Minamoto . Consequences of the Genpei War . The Taira clan was destroyed , and the Minamoto victory was followed by the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate . Though Minamoto no Yoritomo was not the first to ever hold the title of Shogun , he was the first to wield it in a role of nationwide scope . The end of the Genpei War and beginning of the Kamakura shogunate marked the rise of military ( samurai ) power and the suppression of the power of the emperor , who was compelled to preside without effective political or military power , until the Meiji Restoration over 650 years later . In addition , this war and its aftermath established red and white , the colors of the Taira and Minamoto standards , respectively , as Japan ' s national colors . Today , these colors can be seen on the flag of Japan , and also in banners and flags in sumo and other traditional activities . Major figures in the Genpei War . Minamoto Clan ( Also known as " Genji " ) . The Minamoto were one of the four great clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period ( 794 - 1185 ) . They were , however , decimated by the Taira in the Heiji Rebellion of 1160 . Minamoto no Yoshitomo had been the head of the clan at this time ; upon his defeat at the hands of Taira no Kiyomori , two of his sons were killed and the third , Minamoto no Yoritomo , was banished . Following the call to arms of Prince Mochihito and Minamoto no Yorimasa in 1180 , the clan would gather together and rise to power again . The Genpei war would see the Minamoto clan defeat the Taira and take command of the entire country . Taira Clan ( Also known as " Heike " ) . The Taira clan was one of the four great clans which dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period ( 794 - 1185 ) . As a result of the near - total destruction of their rival clan , the Minamoto , in the Heiji Rebellion of 1160 , Taira no Kiyomori , head of the clan , initiated the Genpei War at the height of his power . The end of the war , however , brought destruction to the Taira clan . Genpei War in literature . Many stories and works of art depict this conflict . " The Tale of the Heike " ( " Heike Monogatari " , 平家物語 ) is one of the most famous , though many Kabuki and bunraku plays reproduce events of the war as well . " Ichinotani futaba gunki " ( Chronicle of the battle of Ichi - no - Tani ) by Namiki Sōsuke may be one of the more famous of these . " Shike " by Robert Shea features a somewhat fictionalised account of the wars , as seen from the perspectives of his two main characters , the Zinja Monk Jebu , and the Noblewoman Lady Shima Taniko . The names of the two rival clans have been changed , " Minamoto " to " Muratomo " and " Taira " to " Takashi " . Another fictionalized account of the conflict forms the central plot of " Civil War " ( also known as " Turbulent Times " ) , the ninth volume of Osamu Tezuka ' s celebrated Phoenix series . The Genpei War is the backdrop for much of Katherine Patterson ' s young adult novel , " Of Nightingales That Weep " . Genpei War in popular culture . On September 27 , 2011 , The Creative Assembly released a DLC pack for entitled " Rise of the Samurai " , which allows players to play as members of the Taira , the Minamoto , or the Fujiwara families . Through a complex system of province building , diplomacy , research , and combat , players can decide the outcome of the Genpei War for themselves . Cinemaware ' s Amiga title Lords of the rising sun features Genpei war . It was made in the beginning of nineties . The conflict between the Genji and Heike gangs in 2007 Japanese Western film " Sukiyaki Western Django " mirror ' s that of the actual Genpei war , albeit " a few hundred years after . "