Kiso Yoshinaka (1154–1184) rose from the Kiso mountains during the Genpei War, swept through the Hokuriku Road, and drove the Taira from the capital in 1183. He was defeated by Yoshitsune and Noriyori the following year, dying at Awazu at age 30. Kozen-ji was founded after Yoshinaka's era, but as the ancestral temple of the Kiso clan it was developed to enshrine Yoshinaka's grave alongside a memorial tower for Tomoe Gozen, the female warrior who fought at his side to the end. The temple's enduring veneration of this Kiso hero across the centuries testifies to the lasting bond between the Kiso people and their fallen champion.