Minamoto no Yoshitsune is well known in Japan as he has long been a popular figure in the Japanese literary classic Heike

Monogatari (Tale of the Heike). The Japanese term for "sympathy for a tragic hero", Hougan-biiki, actually
comes from Yoshitsune's title Hougan, which he received from the Imperial Court. While he is known throughout
Japan, his fame is eclipsed by his half-brother Yoritomo - the first shogun. But for Yoshitsune and Yoshinaka,
Yoritomo would never had been able to consolidate power.
First he fought for his half-brother Yoritomo in the Genpei War and was mainly responsible for bringing the war to an
end - chasing his enemy the Taira to half way across Japan and finally killing most all of the imperial court including
the reigning emperor in the Battle of Dan-no-ura
Later, however, fought "against" his half-brother Yoritomo, fighting alongside the former emperor Go-Shirakawa, but
was eventually defeated and killed. Despite this ultimate failure, Yoshitsune was a hero's hero. Although his
accomplishment come mostly at the end of the conflict, Yoshitsune's accomplishments are manifold.
In the Battle of Awazu in mi Province in the January 1184, Yoshitsune defeated and killed his rival cousin Yoshinaka,
who had "become a problem."
Yoshinaka was also a colourful character had been responsible for defeating the Taira at the battle of Battle of
Kurikara Pass, which resulted in the Taira abandoning Kyoto, along with the child emperor Antoku. Yoshinaka quickly
fell from grace with Yoritomo and eventually took the former emperor Go-Shirakawa hostage, which really didn't get
him too far. In fact, it took him only to the grave at Yoshitsunes hand. To the extent that Yoshitsune
accomplishments are eclipsed by Yoritomo's fame, Yoshinaka's fame is eclipsed by Yoshitsune. But for Yoshinaka's
defeat of the Taira in the Battle of Kurikara Pass and subsequent abandonment of Kyoto, Yoshitsune and Yoritomo's
job would have been very hard.
The Battle of Ichi no Tani (modern day Kobe), in February 1184, was a major battle where Yoshitsune moved in on
the Taira fortress at Suma, a place just west of present day Kobe near the Akashi Bridge. The battle included the
most famous of all warrior monks which fought alongside the Minamoto here, and many of the Taira's most
important and powerful warriors were present. This was a big deal to say the least: those powerful warriors were all
dead by the end.

The Battle of Yashima (modern day Takamatsu), in March 1185 is well documented in Japanese literature, but its
really not that significant other than it forced the Taira to abandon Shikoku and run away where they would be
utterly defeated 3 months later. This one day battle March 22, 1185, took place at Yashima (Takamatsu, northern
coast of Shikoku.) The Taira had retreated to Takamatsu where they had set up a fortress and improvised palace for
the "reigning" child Emperor Antoku and the Three Sacred Treasures. Minamoto no Yoshitsune, setting out from
Kyoto after a lull of several months in the war, found his way to Shikoku with a small force of no more than about a
hundred men. Most of his ships were destroyed or lost in a storm only days before; but he was re-supplied by an
ally, Kajiwara Kagetoki. The Taira were expecting a naval attack because Shikoku itself is a very large island.
Yoshitsune fooled the Taira into believing that a much larger was approaching on land, by lighting large bonfires on
the land. The Taira, fearing the worst, abandoned the fortress-palace and took to their ships, along with Emperor
Antoku and the Imperial regalia. While the Minamoto were deemed victorious, most of the Taira and Taira fleet
escaped to Dan-no-ura (Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture), where they were completely defeated one month later
in the Battle of Dan-no-ura