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Born in 1147 in Owari Province as the third son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo. After his father's defeat and death in the Heiji Rebellion of 1159, he was exiled to Hirugakojima in Izu Province at age 14. During twenty years of exile he married Masako, daughter of Hojo Tokimasa, and quietly built a base of support. In 1180 he raised arms in response to an imperial decree from Prince Mochihito calling for the overthrow of the Taira, defeated the Taira at the Battle of Fujigawa, and organized the eastern warrior bands as his housemen (gokenin) with Kamakura as his base. After destroying the Taira at Dan-no-ura in 1185, he installed shugo (military governors) and jito (land stewards) nationwide, establishing the foundations of warrior governance. In 1192 the imperial court appointed him Seii Taishogun, formally inaugurating the Kamakura Shogunate — Japan's first warrior government. To stabilize the shogunate he purged potential rivals including his brothers Yoshitsune and Noriyori, though in his later years he was troubled by succession problems of his own. In 1199 he suffered a fall from his horse on the way home from the bridge-dedication ceremony at the Sagami River and died suddenly that same year at age 52.

A calm, strategic political thinker who rarely showed emotion and always acted with long-term vision. He was deeply suspicious even of loyal retainers, purging kinsmen such as Yoshitsune and Noriyori. He valued the lord-vassal bond and firmly embedded the principle of reciprocal duty in samurai society.

Founded the Kamakura Shogunate, Japan's first warrior government, laying the groundwork for nearly 700 years of samurai rule. The shugo-jito system became the foundation of medieval land governance. Kamakura flourished as a political and cultural center where Zen Buddhism and warrior culture blossomed.