Unno Yukiuji (海野幸氏)
Yukiuji UNNO was a gokenin (shogunal retainer) in the early Kamakura period and was the head of the family of the Unno clan which was said to be a direct descendant of the Shigeno clan, a noble family of Shinano Province. He was the third son of Yukichika UNNO who appeared in 'Hogen Monogatari' and 'Heike Monogatari' and was known as a master of archery who represented the early Kamakura period. He was a son of Yukihiro UNNO in the 'Shigeno genealogy'.
Summary
He, his father and brothers joined the war against MINAMOTO no Yoshinaka who raised an army in Yoda-jo Castle in Saku County, Shinano Province in 1180. When MINAMOTO no Yoshinaka dispatched his legitimate son Yoshitaka KISO to Kamakura as a sign of reconciliation with MINAMOTO no Yoritomo in 1183, he and Shigetaka MOCHIZUKI accompanied him.
Yoshinaka KISO ruined in 1184 and his father and brother Yukihiro who accompanied Yoshinaka died in battle. When Yoshitaka considered that he could not evade capital crime and got away from Kamakura, Yukiuji let Yoshitaka escape by sacrificing himself. Yoshitaka was finally captured and killed by pursuers, but the loyalty of Yukiuji was appreciated by MINAMOTO no Yoritomo and he became a gokenin (an immediate vassal of the shogunate).
Yukiuji who had become a gokenin appeared frequently as a master of archery in 'Azuma Kagami'. He participated in yumi-hajime (Honorable First Bow) as an archer for Yoritomo in 1190, and he, Jiro FUJISAWA, Saburo MOCHIZUKI (Shigetaka), and NEZU no Jiro were described as masters of archery in the hunting by MINAMOTO no Yoritomo at the foot of Mt. Fuji in May 1193. He taught Tokiyori HOJO, a legitimate son of regent Yasutoki HOJO, in yabusame (the art of shooting arrows on horseback) in 1237, showed the art of kisha (to shoot an arrow with riding a horse) in Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine and he was admired by spectators as a Soke (grand master) of kyuba (archery and equestrianism).
He was counted as one of eight masters in the country at that time, and he, Nobumitsu TAKEDA, Nagakiyo OGASAWARA, and Shigetaka MOCHIZUKI were called 'Kyuba (archery and equestrianism) Shitenno (the big four)'.
He played an active role as busho (Japanese military commander), and he served as an escort of Yoritomo and got injured when they took revenge on Soga brothers in 1193, according to 'Azuma Kagami' and fought in the battle of Wada in 1213 and the Jokyu War in 1221.
According to 'Azuma Kagami' in March, 1241, Yukiuji fought with Kai no kuni Shugo (provincial constable of Kai Province) Nobumitsu TAKEDA for boundaries of Miharaso, Kozuke Province (present Mihara, Tsumagoi-mura, Azuma-gun, Gunma Prefecture) and Nagakuraho, Shinano Province (present Karuizawa), and he won. From this description, it is clear that the power of the Unno clan was expanding from Shinano to the western part of Joshu in the generation of Yukiuji.
There was no record about the last days of Yukiuji. In 'Azuma Kagami' dated March, 1250, the name of 'Saemonnyudo UNNO' which seems to mean Yukiuji appeared for the last time in the record.
The Unno clan after Yukiuji
It is reported that the Unno clan was given favorable treatment among gokenin (shogunal retainers) after Yukiuji who was highly evaluated by Yoritomo and the Hojo clan, but there were differences in subsequent pedigree records and documents. This is considered as a byproduct due to the fact that, as seen in the territorial dispute with the Takeda clan, the power of the Unno clan expanded greatly in the generation of Yukiuji, and that they became scattered in various parts of the country. In fact, in the unquiet days in Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Sengoku period, the branch families calling themselves the line of Unno clan or Shigeno clan lived in the vast area from the entire Shinano Province to the western part of Kozuke Province.