Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third child he had with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's childhood name was Ushiwakamaru (牛若丸). Shortly after his birth, Heiji's rebellion broke out, and his father and his two older brothers lost their lives. While his older brother Yoritomo, now the designated heir of the clan, was exiled to the province of Izu, Yoshitsune was entrusted to Kurama temple, in the mountains of Hiei near Kyoto.