Minamoto no Mitsuyasu (源光保)
MINAMOTO no Mitsuyasu (源 光保: date of birth unknown - 1160) was a busho (Japanese military commander), who lived during the late Heian Period. He was the third son of Dewa no kuni no Kami (Governor of Dewa Province) MINAMOTO no Mitsukuni, who was a descendent of Settsu-Genji (Minamoto clan). His mother was a daughter of ONAKATOMI no Sukekiyo. He was a brother of MINAMOTO no Mitsunobu, MINAMOTO no Mata, etc., and his children were MINAMOTO no Mitsumune, Tosa no Tsubone (Lady of Tosa), and MINAMOTO no Shigeko (Bomon no Tsubone (Lady of Bomon)). His official court rank was Shoshiinoge (Senior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade) and hold the government posts such as Kebiishi (official with judicial and police powers) and the head of Hyoe-fu (Headquarters of the Middle Palace Guards), the head of Emon-fu (Headquarters of the outer Palace Guards), and the governor of Izumo Province.
His imina (real personal name) was also written as 光泰
In 1130, when his elder brother MINAMOTO no Mitsunobu, accused of the Toran-jiken (Brawling Incident), was sentenced to the deportation to Tosa Province, Mitsuyasu's involvement was also implicated and he was removed from the post of Hyoe-fu; however, before long, he was reappointed to the former position. Afterwards, he took charge of Hokumen no bushi (the Imperial Palace Guards for the North side) of Emperor Toba, taking over the elder brother's position, and when his own daughter (Tosa no Tsubone) became a retired Emperor's favorite concubine, he was taken up to be the retired Emperor's courtier. In 1151, starting from Intenjobito (a high ranking courtier allowed into the Imperial Palace), in 1154 he reached Jushiinoge (Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade) Izumo no kuni no Kami (Governor of Izumo Province). Moreover, in 1156 he was raised to Shoshiinoge, and as such, he moved up the promotional ladder with exceptional speed ("Heihanki" (Diary of TAIRA no Nobunori)).
As he had a close contact with Empress Bifukumon-in, he became a close adviser of her adopted son Imperial Prince Morihito(later Emperor Nijo), and during the Hogen Disturbance, he joined the Emperor Goshirakawa's side together with his nephew MINAMOTO no Mitsumoto (the first generation of the Toki clan), and wan the battle. After the disturbance, when a conflict took place between the supporters of the enthroned Emperor Nijo's new government and those of the cloister government of Retired Emperor Goshirakawa, Mitsuyasu acted consistently in support of the former side, in accordance with the relationship so far.
In this regard, when the Heiji Disturbance broke out in 1159, he joined the FUJIWARA no Nobuyori and MINAMOTO no Yoshitomo side, leading his eldest legitimate son, MINAMOTO no Mitsumune, and his nephew, MINAMOTO no Mitsumoto. He launched the pursuit of FUJIWARA no Shinzei, who was the primary target of attack, and he achieved a distinguished merit by successfully tracking him down to death.
However, Emperor Nijo left the Imperial Palace seeking refuge because of the betrayal of FUJIWARA no Korekata and FUJIWARA no Tsunemune, who once were the new government supporters. Mitsuyasu and his soldiers got frustrated because they had lost the reason for supporting the Nobuyori's camp; and although they took charge of guarding the Yomei-mon Gate at the beginning, they eventually went over to the TAIRA no Kiyomori's camp. Under such a circumstance, Mitsuyasu was exempted from the punishment for a while after the disturbance, however, targeted by Retired Emperor Goshirakawa who was trying to exclude all the followers of Emperor Nijo's government, he had to live in a precarious situation.
In July 1160, he was finally arrested together with Mitsumune for having attempted to kill Retired Emperor Goshirakawa, and was exiled to Satsuma Province. Immediately after that, he was killed as a criminal in Kawajiri of Satsuma Province (current Ibusuki City, Kagoshima Prefecture).