Former Nine Years' War

Timeline

1. 1051Mutsu · MutsuAbe no Yoritoki, a powerful family of the Six Provinces of Ōshū in Mutsu, refused tribute and expanded his military power, clashing with provincial officials. The court appointed Minamoto no Yoriyoshi as Governor of Mutsu and Commander of the Chinjufu, who led Kantō warriors north to campaign, beginning the Former Nine Years' War.
2. 1056–1057Around Torikai stockade · MutsuThe war dragged on for years. In 1057 Abe no Yoritoki died in the fighting, and his sons Abe no Sadato and Munetō continued resistance. Minamoto no Yoshiie fought alongside his father, distinguishing himself in archery and horsemanship, while an alliance between the Minamoto and the Dewa Kiyohara clan gradually took shape.
3. 1062Wakikawa stockade · MutsyYoriyoshi allied with Kiyohara no Takenori to attack Abe no Sadato's last stronghold at Wakikawa stockade; Sadato was defeated and killed, ending Abe rule over the Six Provinces of Ōshū. The Minamoto gained fame in the eastern provinces through frontier exploits, and warrior lord-retainer bonds were strengthened in actual combat.
4. 1062Mutsu · MutsuPostwar rewards for merit established the reputation of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi's line in the eastern provinces. More than twenty years later, Minamoto no Yoshiie again became involved in the internal disputes of the Dewa Kiyohara clan—the Later Three Years' War. The Former Nine Years' War is thus regarded as a prehistory to the rise of the warrior class in the late Heian period.