Genpei War (1180–1185) Destroyed Courtly Japan and Birthed Samurai Rule

The Genpei War (1180–1185) was a five-year national conflict that shattered the elegant court life of Heian-period Japan and led to the rise of the samurai class. The war erupted after Prince Mochihito called on the Minamoto clan to rebel against the Taira clan, which had seized power under Taira no Kiyomori. The initial rebellion was crushed at the Battle of Uji on June 23, 1180, but the revolt spread to the eastern provinces where Minamoto no Yoritomo built a coalition of samurai. In 1183, Minamoto no Yoshinaka defeated the Taira at the Battle of Kurikara and seized Kyoto, forcing the Taira to flee with child-Emperor Antoku. The war ended in 1185 with the naval Battle of Dan-no-ura, where the Taira were routed and Emperor Antoku drowned. The Minamoto victory established the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, ushering in seven centuries of samurai rule. The war's roots lay in the erosion of central imperial authority, the rise of private tax-free estates (shoen), and the emergence of provincial warrior bands that became the samurai.