Yowa no Hokuriku syuppei (the dispatch of troops to the Hokuriku region in the Yowa period) (養和の北陸出兵)
The Yowa no Hokuriku syuppei (the dispatch of troops to Hokuriku region in the Yowa period) was conducted by the Heike in order to track down and kill the rebelling powers in the Hokuriku region, and intensified around September 1181 (ending around December 1181 or January 1182 (November 1181 by the old lunar calendar)).
Course of Events
MINAMOTO no Yoshinaka defeated Sukemoto JO in the battle at Yokota River in July or August 1181 (June 1181 by the old lunar calendar). Immediately afterwards, powerful families in the Hokuriku region (including Kaga Province, Noto Province and Wakasa Province) began to rebel. In various locations in the Hokuriku region, the monk-soldiers and the jinin (associates of Shinto shrines) of Hakuzan-jinja Shrine, a branch shrine of Enryaku-ji Temple, had clashed with kokuga seiryoku (the force of the provincial headquarters) even before the Jisho-Juei War. Thus, there had been a preexisting feeling that the Taira clan (who were considered to be on the same side as the kokuga) antagonized the local people. In addition, there were signs of insurgency such as the agreement of the Kokujin (local samurai) in Wakasa to the offense and defense in Omi Province in November or December 1180 (November 1180 by the old lunar calendar).
In the latter half of September 1181, a rebellion broke out in Kaga and Noto, and spread to Echizen Province. In response, the Taira clan appointed Sukemoto JO, who had been defeated in the battle at Yokota River, as the provincial governor of Echigo Province. Following this, TAIRA no Michimori and TAIRA no Tsunemasa departed for Hokuriku as envoys for the search and kill expedition in September or October (August by the old lunar calendar) ("Kikki" (a diary by Tsunefusa YOSHIDA)). Michimori entered the provincial capital of Echizen Province, but the residents of Echizen and Kaga did not obey him, and on October 22, a war broke out between the rebel forces and Michimori at Suizu. Defeated, Michimori retreated to Tsuruga-jo Castle.
Michimori was then ousted from Tsuruga-jo Castle. Although TAIRA no Tsunemasa was staying in Wakasa Province, he sent no reinforcements.
In November or December (October by the old lunar calendar), a plan was developed to deliver reinforcements, but in reality, reinforcements were not dispatched ("Gyokuyo" (Diary of FUJIWARA no Kanezane)).
On December 16, TAIRA no Michimori returned to Kyoto without having accomplished anything on his expedition to Hokuriku ("Kikki" (a diary by Tsunefusa YOSHIDA)). Later, the Taira clan planned an expedition to Hokuriku, but the dispatch of troops was put off in the name of preparations for the Daijo-sai festival (a festival to celebrate the succession of an emperor), and it was ultimately postponed until 1183, when the mighty expedition started.
At that time, the rebel forces had taken control of the Tokai-do and Tosan-do Roads as well, but Hokuriku was recognized as an important supplier of army provisions, so it was this region as well as Chinzei (nickname of Kyushu) where the Taira clan had to suppress the rebellion. Therefore, the dispatch of troops to Hokuriku was given paramount importance.
The books compiled in later years, including "Azuma Kagami" (The Mirror of the East), state that the serial dispatch of troops to Hokuriku was 'in order to seek out and kill Yoshinaka' but Yoshinaka's name was not recorded in the records made at the time, until the June 14, 1183 entry in "Gyokuyo" (Diary of FUJIWARA no Kanezane). The Yowa no Hokuriku syuppei (the dispatch of troops to Hokuriku region in the Yowa period) and the dispatch of troops in the Juei period were not to find and kill Yoshinaka but to find and kill the rebel forces in Hokuriku, and the rebel forces in Hokuriku were not under Yoshinaka's command from the time when troops were dispatched to Hokuriku.