Changes

The battle of Dan no Ura, which took place in or quite near the [[Straits of Shimonoseki]], was the culmination of the [[Gempei War]] ([[1180]]-85) and resulted in the complete destruction of the [[Taira clan|Taira]] leadership.

The battle of Dan no Ura, which took place in or quite near the [[Straits of Shimonoseki]], was the culmination of the [[Gempei War]] ([[1180]]-85) and resulted in the complete destruction of the [[Taira clan|Taira]] leadership.

The battle had been essentially forced on the Taira by their loss of [[battle of Yashima|Yashima]] - their base on [[Shikoku]]. Pursued by Minamoto no Yoshitsune and isolated by the maneuvers of [[Minamoto no Noriyori]] on Honshu and northern Kyushu, the Taira were forced to stand and fight. They were more experienced at naval warfare than the Minamoto, but this was offset to a great extent when a number of local warriors brought ships and seasoned Inland Sea sailors for the Minamoto. Though outnumbered in ships (perhaps 850 to 500), the Taira hoped to use the tides to their advantage. In the event, the tides did flow against the Minamoto initially, allowing the Taira to employ their archers to some effect. In the end, the tide changed and Yoshitsune, aided by the defection of the Taira general [[Taguchi Shigeyoshi]], was able to drive home his attack. The child-emperor [[Emperor Antoku|Antoku]] and his mother [[Taira no Tokuko]] (Kenreimon-in) committed suicide by drowning, followed by most of the Taira samurai - save their leader, Munemori, who was captured and later executed.

The battle had been essentially forced on the Taira by their loss of [[battle of Yashima|Yashima]] - their base on [[Shikoku]]. Pursued by Minamoto no Yoshitsune and isolated by the maneuvers of [[Minamoto no Noriyori]] on Honshu and northern Kyushu, the Taira were forced to stand and fight. They were more experienced at naval warfare than the Minamoto, but this was offset to a great extent when a number of local warriors brought ships and seasoned Inland Sea sailors for the Minamoto. Though outnumbered in ships (perhaps 850 to 500), the Taira hoped to use the tides to their advantage. In the event, the tides did flow against the Minamoto initially, allowing the Taira to employ their archers to some effect. In the end, the tide changed and Yoshitsune, aided by the defection of the Taira general [[Taguchi Shigeyoshi]], was able to drive home his attack. The child-emperor [[Emperor Antoku|Antoku]] and his wet-nurse [[Suke no Tsubone]] committed suicide by drowning, followed by most of the Taira samurai - save their leader, Munemori, who was captured and later executed.

==Aftermath & Theories==

==Aftermath & Theories==