After this another Imperial decree was issued, yet this one was issued against him, commanding that Yoshitsune himself be hunted down; facing ruin, he fled to his Fujiwara ally in northern Japan, but in April, 1189, he was assassinated in the town of Hiraizumi.
逆に追討の宣旨を出されて没落して奥州藤原氏の元へ逃れるが、文治5年（1189年）閏4月に平泉町で殺された。