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Heian Japan

700 CE – 1300 CE

The classical court culture of Heian-kyō — the world of the Tale of Genji, before the rise of the samurai shogunates.

72 events · 4 people · 4 eras

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Key events

  1. Battle of Dan-no-ura1185 CE
    The Battle of Dan-no-ura was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Dan-no-ura, in the Kanmon Straits off the southern tip of Honshū. On April 25, 1185, the fleet of the Minamoto ('Genji') clan, led by general Minamoto no Yoshitsune, defeated the fleet of the Taira clan (Heike). The morning rip tide was an advantage for the Taira, but turned to their disadvantage in the afternoon. The young Emperor Antoku was one of those who died among the Taira nobles.
  2. Heiji rebellion1160 CE
    short civil war between rival subjects of the cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan in 1159
  3. Battle of Uji1180 CE
    The First Battle of Uji , alternatively known as "Mochihitos Raising of an Army" in Japan is a battle which took place on June 20, 1180, following Prince Mochihito and Minamoto no Yorimasa's plan to raise an army to overthrow the Taira clan and the issuing of an edict urging the Minamoto clan, major temples, and shrines in the country to revolt.
  4. Battle of Yashima1185 CE
    Battle of Yashima (屋島の戦い) was one of the battles of the Genpei War on March 22, 1185, in the Heian period. It occurred in Sanuki Province (Shikoku), which is now Takamatsu, Kagawa.
  5. Zenkunen War1051 CE
    The Zenkunen War , also known in English as the Former Nine Years' War or the Early Nine Years' War, was fought between the Imperial Court and the Abe clan in Mutsu Province, in Northeast Japan, from 1051 to 1062. It resulted in Imperial Court victory and the surrender of Abe no Sadato. Like the other major conflicts of the Heian period, such as the Gosannen War and the Genpei War, the Zenkunen war was a struggle for power within the samurai clans.
  6. Battle of Ishibashiyama1180 CE
    The Battle of Ishibashiyama was fought on August 24th, 1180 or September 14th, 1180 at the end of the Heian period between Minamoto no Yoritomo, who became the first shōgun of Japan less than a decade later, and the forces of the Taira clan, including Ōba Kagechika. It was the first battle in which Yoritomo was commander of the Minamoto forces.
  7. Battle of Kurikara1183 CE
    The battle of Kurikara Pass , also known as the battle of Tonamiyama (砺波山), was a crucial engagement in Japan's Genpei War; in this battle the tide of the war turned in the favour of the Minamoto clan.
  8. Siege of Nara1181 CE
    The siege of Nara alternatively known as the Nanto Arson Campaign in Japan is an event which took place on January 15th 1181, following Prince Mochihito and Minamoto no Yorimasa's defeat and subsequent death to the Taira clan, after which the Taira forces burnt down the Miidera temple, before moving on to Nara, where they "set fire to the monastic complexes of Kōfuku-ji and Tōdai-ji."
  9. Battle of Ichi-no-Tani1184 CE
    The Battle of Ichi-no-Tani was fought between the attacking Minamoto clan and the defending Taira clan at Suma, to the west of present-day Kobe, Japan, on 20 March 1184. It sat on a very narrow strip of shore, between mountains on the north, and the sea to the south. This made it quite defensible, but also made it difficult to maneuver troops inside the fortress. The Taira suffered a crucial defeat to the forces of Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Minamoto no Noriyori.
  10. Battle of Kōan1281 CE
    The Battle of Kōan, also known as the Second Battle of Hakata Bay, was the second attempt by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China to invade Japan after their failed attempt seven years earlier at the Battle of Bun'ei. In the summer of 1281, the Yuan invaded with two large armies. The Japanese defenders were aided by a major storm which sank a sizeable portion of the Yuan fleets. The invaders who reached the shore were repulsed shortly after landing. The Japanese called the opportune storm kamikaze, a name later used in the Second World War for pilots who carried out aerial suicide attacks.
  11. Gosannen War1083 CE
    The Gosannen War, also known as the Later Three-Year War, was fought in the late 1080s in Japan's Mutsu Province on the island of Honshū.
  12. Battle of Fujigawa1180 CE
    The Battle of Fujigawa was a battle of the Genpei War of the Heian period of Japanese history. It took place in 1180, in what is now Shizuoka Prefecture.

Notable people

Eras spanning this view

Asuka period538 CE – 710 CENara period710 CE – 794 CEHeian period794 CE – 1185 CEKamakura period1185 CE – 1333 CE

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Events from Wikipedia/Wikidata (CC-BY-SA); boundaries from OpenHistoricalMap (ODbL). Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected].