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Minamoto was an honorary surname bestowed by the Emperors of Japan of the
Heian Period to their sons and grandsons after accepting them as royal
subjects. As custom, in order to ease imperial succession and end rivalries
for the throne, princes not eligable or far removed from the throne were
given a surname and became subjects of the emperor.
The first emperor to start granting the name Minamoto was Emperor Saga.
Afterwards, Emperor Seiwa, Emperor Murakami, Emperor Uda, and Emperor Daigo,
among others, also gave their sons the name Minamoto. These specific
hereditary lines coming from different emperors developed into specific
clans and are often referred to as the Genji (源氏). These specific hereditary
lines from these emperors is referred to by the emperor's name followed by
Genji, e.g., Seiwa Genji.
The Seiwa Genji line proved to be the most strong and dominant Minamoto
line during the late Heian period with Minamoto no Yoritomo eventually
forming the Kamakura Shogunate and becoming shogun in 1192. Also, it is from
the Seiwa Genji line that the later Ashikaga - founders of the Ashikaga
shogunate, Nitta, and Takeda clans come.
The protagonist of the classical Japanese novel The Tale of Genji, Hikaru
no Genji, was bestowed the name Minamoto for political reasons by his
father, the emperor, and was delegated to civilian life and a career as an
imperial officer.
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