Period: November 13, 1180
Kiso Yoshinaka (1154-1184) was a military commander of the late Heian period and the cousin of Minamoto no Yoritomo and Minamoto no Yoshitsune. After defeating the large army of the Taira clan, he proceeded to the capital (then Kyoto), which had been devastated, but failed to restore security. In fact, the worsening food situation and other factors saw him eventually come into conflict with the (cloistered) (Monk-)Emperor Go-Shirakawa, whereupon the Monk-Emperor and Emperor Go-Toba were imprisoned. Yoshinaka was then defeated by the armies of Minamoto no Noriyori and Yoshitsune.
September 1180 saw Kiso Yoshinaka muster an army to overthrow the Taira clan, then, two months later, issue a letter of ando (recognition and guarantee of ownership, issued by the shogunate, of the inherited estate of a samurai having pledged allegiance) to Takehiro Fujiwara (Nakano), a powerful local ruler in Oku-Shinano. This is the only surviving document bearing the signature of Kiso Yoshinaka.