The Battle of Ishibashiyama (石橋山の戦い, Ishibashiyama no tatakai?) was the first in which Minamoto Yoritomo, who was to become shogun less than a decade later, was commander of the Minamoto forces. The battle was fought on September 14, 1180 in the southwest of present-day Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture near Yoritomo's headquarters at Kamakura. In this, his first attempt to challenge the Taira, Yoritomo was assisted by warriors from the Miura clan.
Yoritomo was exiled by Taira no Kiyomori following the Heiji Rebellion of 1160. When Kiyomori heard that Yoritomo had left Izu Province for the Hakone Pass, he appointed Ōba Kagechika to stop him. Kiyomori succeeded with a surprise attack in the night. The Battle of Ishibashiyama was one of the bloodier battles in the Genpei War. After loss in the battle Yoritomo fled by sea from Capa Manazuru to Awa Province in the south of present-day Chiba Prefecture on September 28, 1180.
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