- Born: 1154
- Died: 1184
- Other Names: 木曽義仲, 木曾義仲 (Kiso Yoshinaka)
- Japanese: 源 義仲 (Minamoto no Yoshinaka)
Minamoto no Yoshinaka was a prominent general among Minamoto clan forces during the Genpei War (1180-1185). A son of Minamoto no Yoshikata and first cousin to Minamoto no Yoritomo and Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Tomoe Gozen is said to have been his consort.
In 1183/3, Yoshinaka reached an agreement with Yoritomo to join forces against the Taira clan. In the 5th month, Yoshinaka then defeated forces led by Taira no Tomomori and Koremori in the Battle of Kurikara. Two months later, in the 7th month, he then succeeded in driving Taira clan forces out of Kyoto. The great majority of Taira forces then fled west, setting in motion the events which would later lead to their defeats at Ichi no Tani and Yashima, and the final defeat and near destruction of the Taira at the 1185 battle of Dan no Ura.
Yoshinaka suffered a defeat at the hands of Taira forces at the battle of Mizushima in 1183/9. By the end of 1183, Yoritomo came to fear that Yoshinaka might use his control of Kyoto to claim greater power for himself, and to challenge or separate from Yoritomo's authority as head of the Minamoto. In the first month of 1184, forces led by Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Noriyori then drove Yoshinaka out of Kyoto. On 1/20, he was cornered and killed at the battle of Awazu.
Yoshinaka is buried at Gichû-ji, a temple in Ôtsu (Shiga prefecture) named after him (Gichû being another reading of the characters for "Yoshinaka").
