Battle of Ichi-no-Tani

The Battle of Ichi-no-Tani [right of a pair of Scenes from the Tale of the Heike], mid 17th century. These screens illustrate two battles of the epochal Genpei War (1180–85) as narrated in the Tales of the Heike, an epic semihistorical account of two rival clans’ fight for control of Japan, written in the early 1200s. Each screen narrates a single battle through a number of small episodes divided and framed by gold clouds, landscape elements, and architectural spaces. The right screen shows scenes related to the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani (March 20, 1184), during which the Minamoto clan, identified by the white banners they carry, made a daring attack on the rival Taira clan at a Taira stronghold. The left screen shows the Battle of Yashima (March 22, 1185), another defeat for the Taira. The devastating war came to an end only a month later with the victory of the Minamoto, who took the title shogun, thus becoming Japan’s first military rulers.

Battle of Ichi-no-Tani, 一ノ谷の戦い。

Exhibit in the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Museum - Dallas, Texas, USA.

Site of captive Taira no Shigehira in Suma, Kobe

The monument where Taira no Shigehira was captured in Hyogo-pref, Japan.

View of Sumaura from Mt. Tekkai in Kobe, the location of "Battle of Ichi-no-Tani"

View of Sumaura from Mt. Tekkai in Kobe, the location of "Battle of Ichi-no-Tani"

Historic site of "Battle of Ichi-no-Tani" in Sumaura Park, Kobe

Tomb of Taira no Tadanori in Nagata-ku, Kobe

"Udeduka-dō" Hall for Taira no Tadanori in Nagata-ku, Kobe

一ノ谷の戦い。投稿者ja:User:味っ子 が作成。