Prompt for Module 6 Discussion:

Chapter 6

Time: first, second, and intercalary second months of II 8 I Principal subjects: revolts of Yoshinaka and others in the provinces; death of

Kiyomori Principal characters:

Go-Shirakawa, Retired Emperor. Head of the imperial clan Kiyomori (Taira), Retired head of the Taira clan Munemori (Taira). Son of Kiyomori; clan head Yoritomo (Minamoto). Heir to the chieftainship of the Minamoto clan;

leader of anti-Taira forces in the east Yoshinaka (Minamoto). Cousin of Yoritomo; leader of anti-Taira forces

in the north

[ The new year, rr81, has begun with the death of Retired Emperor Takakura, the son of Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa. "He had been distressed to the · point of physical illness by Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa's confinement in the Toba Mansion two years earlier, by Prince Mochihito's slaying in the year just past, by the shocking disruption of the move to the new 'dpital, and by< other such happenings. To the intense grief of his father, the priestly retired emperor, he sank very low after learning of the destruction of the Tiidaiji and' the Kiifukuji; and he finally breathed his last at the Rokuhara Ikedono Man- sion on the fourteenth of the first month"; Sec. 6.1.]

6.5. The Circular Letter

Kiyomori himself may have felt that he had been inhumane, for he tri to placate Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa by giving him his eighteen-ye old daughter, an elegant, beautiful girl whose mother was one of the atte dants at the Itsukushima Shrine. Many carefully selected ladies-in-waid of high status entered the former sovereign's palace with her, and a gre assemblage of senior nobles and courtiers accompanied the procession, i\l, as though a new imperial consort were arriving. People whispered that was inappropriate for such an event to take place within fourteen days Retired Emperor Takakura's death. .

Meanwhile, there began to be talk of a Minamoto in Shinano Provin

lied Kiso no shikata of th

okujo Police ta, at the ha1 e eighth mo1 ild's weepinf ere she went st; make a 1 bringing for

·· tstanding st1 ou'll ever see,

shihito, Kor, d Yoshiie, ar One day, Yo ing that had ·zed control 'arch against 1

the city. I w rcuits and da e to have pe, Kaneta was

me," he said, om Yoshiie." With his gu: serve the ac iman Shrine the preseno

andfather Yo

otsteps." Th, me Kiso no· "The first th

eto said. In Shinano I ukichika, an,

ame; not a gr ke Province

;iuse there we1 enji tried to eakness of th,

The area knc ce, on the bo

Ian

,eror Takakura, istressed to the confinement in: ving in the year• capital, and by · priestly retired the Todaiji and• Ikedono Man-;

ane, for he tri is eighteen-ye one of the atte ladies-in-waiti her, and a gr procession, j

,hispered that fourteen days

hinano Provin

Chapter Six 339

d Kiso no Kanja Yoshinaka. This Yoshinaka was the son of Captain ikata of the crown prince's guards, who was the second son of the late

ujo Police Lieutenant Tameyoshi. After the slaying of his father, Yoshi- at the hands of Kamakura no Akugenda Yoshihira on the sixteenth of

;ighth month in the second year of Kyiiju [n55], the two-year-old 'd's weeping mother carried him in her arms to Shinano Province, and reshe went to Kiso no Chiizo Kaneta. "Please raise the boy as you think t· make a man of him," she said. Kaneta worked hard at his ward's ' ;inging for more than twenty years, and the child grew into a man of tstanding strength and peerless bravery. "He's a stronger archer than ,, 'II ever see. On horseback or on foot, he's the equal of Tamuramaro, shihito, Koremochi, Tomoyori, Yasumasa, his own ancestors Yoshimitsu d Yoshiie, and all the other great warriors of the past," people said.

ne day, Yoshinaka summoned his guardian, Kaneta, to hint at some- Ilg that had been on his mind. "They say Yoritomo has rebelled and zed con tro I of the eight eastern provinces; I hear he's getting ready to rch against the capital from the Eastern Sea Road and drive the Taira out the city. I Vyant to subjugate the Eastern Mountain and Northern Land uits and dish on to defeat the Heike. To tell you the truth, I think I'd

\: to have people call me one of the Two Commanders of Japan," he said. aneto was delighted. "That's just why I've taken care of you all this

e," he said, with a respectful bow. "Those words prove your descent • m Yoshiie." He set to work at once to plan the rebellion. With his guardian as escort, Yoshinaka had often visited the capital to serve the activities and behavior of the Taira. He had gone to the Ha- iman Shrine for his capping ceremony when he was thirteen, and there, the presence of the bodhisattva, he had offered a prayer. "My great- ndfather Yoshiie became the son of this august divinity and assumed the e Hachiman Taro [Hachiman's Eldest Son]. I intend to follow in his

tsteps." Then he had put up his hair in front of the shrine and taken the e Kiso no Jira [Second Son] Yoshinaka.

;'The first thing we need to do is to send around a circular letter," Ka- hi said. n Shinano Province, they approached Nenoi no Koyata and Unno no kichika, and both men agreed to join them. Then other warriors did the

me; not a grass or tree but bowed. The warriors of Tago District in Ko- J<e Province were also unanimous in their declarations of allegiance, be- µse there were old ties between them and Yoshikata. Thus it was that the nji tried to satisfy long-standing ambitions by taking advantage of the akness of the Taira.

6.6. The Arrival of the Couriers

he area known as Kiso is situated at the southern edge of Shinano Prov- e, on the border with Mino Province, which is no distance at all from the

34° The Tale of the Heike

capital. Thus there was a great commotion when the Heike learned of Yo naka's activities. "It was bad enough to have the eastern provinces in rev What are we going to do now?" they asked one another. ··

"We don't need to worry about Yoshinaka," Kiyomori said. "Even if warriors in Shinano Province do join him, Taira no Koremochi's desc dants in Echigo Province, Jo no Taro Sukenaga and his brother Jo no S Sukeshige, are both men who control large forces. They'll take care of any time the emperor gives the command, just like that." But many ot people expressed whispered doubts.

On the first day of the second month, Jo no Taro Sukenaga was appoin governor of Echigo. People said it was to get him to subdue Yoshinaka.

On the seventh day, ministerial and lesser families prepared and offer copies of the Enlightened One Darani and pictures of Fudo, hoping to e the revolts through prayer.

On the ninth day, it was reported that Musashi Gon-no-kami Yoshimo and his son Ishikawa no Hangandai Yoshikane, two men who had be living in the Ishikawa District of Kawachi Province, had rebelled against · Taira and reached an agreement with Yoritomo, and that they were abo to flee to the east. Kiyomori immediately ordered the dispatch of a puniti' force. The force's commanders, Gendayii no Hangan Suesada and Settsu rt. Hangan Morizumi, set out with more than three thousand horsemen. T defenders at the Ishikawa stronghold numbered barely a hundred men; Yoshimoto, Yoshikane, and some minor figures. The besiegers yelled a wa whoop, fired some preliminary arrows, and attacked in relays for sever hours. Many of the warriors who were inside perished after desperate stru gles. Yoshimoto died in battle, and Yoshikane was taken prisoner, sever wounded.

On the eleventh day, the victors brought Yoshimoto\; hea'd'into the capi and paraded it along the avenues. (It was said that the precedent for such act during a period of national mourning had been set after the death of E peror Horikawa, when the head of Minamoto no Yoshichika was parade

On the twelfth day, a courier arrived from Chinzei with a message fro, Kinmichi, the head priest at the Usa Hachiman Shrine. "Okata no Sabu;. Koreyoshi, Usuki no Jiro Koretaka, the Hetsugi, and all the other warriof in Kyushu, including the Matsura League, have turned against the Hei and cast their lot with the Genji," he said. The Heike struck their pal together in frustration and alarm. "It was bad enough when the eastern an, northern provinces revolted. What shall we do now?" they said.

On the sixteenth day, a courier arrived with news from Iyo Provine., Beginning around the winter of the year just past, it seemed, Kono no Shi,;.. Michikiyo and the lesser warriors in Shikoku had all turned against tli Heike and cast their lot with the Genji. The Naka novice Saijaku of Bing Province, a loyal Taira partisan, had crossed into Iyo Province and kille. Michikiyo at the Takano stronghold, on the boundary between the easter and central districts of the province.

At the time of en absent on 2 ovince. Detern

·cy to kill Saijal After disposin ls in Shikoku.

omo in Bingo urtesans and ooped down

·· ore than thre emendous con ot down or p e Takano strc

is end), and ct .f the story, crt

After that, al ichinobu. Tt ano shrines, · ing that he o The east anc

ave described f war were re · hether they l irections hav, At a counci onth, Mune1

.n-chief of a 1 ... ccomplished raise, and Re ori was to c

nd that the obles whoo,

. On thetwe1 .which had be

enty-eightb here were v

have come he After the d

:Sip of water. "."ithin twent 1Ps were, "Sc

The staff a

e learned of Yi >rovinces in re

said. "Even i 1remochi's des rother Jo no f II take care of ,, B ut many 0

1ga was appoi ue Yoshinaka. pared and off do, hoping to

i-kami Yoshi en who had ~belled agains t they were a >atch of a pun! :ada and Setts' 1d horsemen. , a hundred mi egers yelled a relays for seef :r desperate st

ad into the ca :edent for sue r the death of ika was parad ha message ·okata no Sab :he other war · against the truck their pal ~n the eastern y said. om Iyo Provj :d, Kono no S 11rned against · , Saijaku of Bi ·ovince and k tween the eas

Chapter Six 341

the time of Michikiyo's death, his son, Kono no Shiro Michinobu, had absent on a visit to his maternal uncle Nuta no Jiro, who Jived in Aki

ince. Determined to avenge his father, Michinobu awaited an opportu- to kill Saijaku. frer disposing of Michikiyo, Saijaku went on to subjugate the other re- 'in Shikoku. Then, on the fifteenth of the first month, he crossed over to

0 in Bingo Province, and began to drink and carouse with a troop of tesans and harlots. Michinobu and a hundred daredevil confederates oped down on him while he was in his cups. Saijaku's force numbered e than three hundred men, but the suddenness of the attack created endous confusion, and the defenders who managed to resist were either

.t down or put to the sword. Michinobu captured Saijaku, took him to Takano stronghold in Iyo Province (the place where his father had met "nd), and cut off his head with a saw-or, according to another version he story, crucified him.

6.7. The Death of Kiyomori

fter that, ~l~ the warriors in Shikoku swore allegiance to Kono no Shiro hinobu. There were rumors that Tanzo, the superintendent of the Ku- o shrines, had also gone over to the side of the Genji, in spite of every- g that he owed to the Taira. he .east and the' north were in revolt; the south and the west were as we

described. Tidings of barbarian rebellions shocked every ear; portents ar were reported one after another. All men of discernment lamented,

ther they belonged to the Taira clan or not. "The barbarians in the four ctions have risen overnight; the regime is doomed," they said. t a council of senior nobles, held on the twenty-third of the second th, Munemori proposed that he himself should be named commander-

hief of a new expedition against the east, since the first one had not . mplished anything worth mentioning. The suggestion met with effusive jse, and Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa proceeded to decree that Mune- fi was to command a campaign against the rebels in the east and north,

that the army was to include in its ranks those courtiers and senior Jes who occupied military posts or were experienced in the martial arts. n the twenty-seventh, Munemori postponed the force's eastward march,

'ch had been about to begin, because his father had fallen ill. From the ty-eighth on, word spread that Kiyomori was in critical condition.

re were whispers in the city, and also at Rokuhara. "Aha! His deeds ,e come home to roost!" · fter the disease took hold, Kiyomori could swallow nothing, not even a .of water. His body was as hot as fire; people could hardly bear to stay hin twenty-five or thirty feet of the bed. The only words that passed his were, "So hot ... so hot." Apparently, it was no ordinary ailment. he staff at the mansion filled a stone tub with water, which they drew

342 The Tale of the Heike

from the Thousand-armed Well on Mount Hiei, but it boiled off into stea as soon as Kiyomori got in to cool off. 1 Desperate to give him a little rel{ they sent a stream onto his body from a bamboo pipe, but it spattered a·· without reaching him, as though recoiling from red-hot stone or iron. few drops that struck burst into flame, sending black smoke throughout hall and tongues of fire swirling toward the ceiling. For the first time, th who witnessed these things understood what Bishop Hozo must have ex rienced when he asked about the site of his mother's rebirth while he visiting King Enma's court at the king's invitation: the sympathetic kings him to the Tapana Hot Hell with an escort of torturer-guards, and ins' the iron gate he saw flames like shooting stars, ascending into the sky hundreds of yojanas. 2

Kiyomori's wife, the nun of second rank, had a terrible dream. In it, so ... people brought a flaming carriage inside the gate, attended before and hind by creatures with the faces of horses and oxen. On the front of carriage, there was an iron tablet, inscribed with the single graph [without].

"Where has that carriage come from?" the nun asked. "From Enma's tribunal. It's here to get Kiyomori," a voice answered. "What does the tablet mean?" she asked. "The tribunal has decided that Kiyomori is going to fall to the bottom'

'[the hell of suffering] without intermission' [mugen] because he is guilty burning the one-hundred-and-sixty-foot gilt bronze Vairocana in the wot of men. Enma has written the mu of mugen, but he hasn't put in the g [intermission] yet." ' ·

The nun started awake, wet with perspiration; and all the people she t felt their hair stand on end. The family showered wonder-working shri and temples with gold, silver, and the seven treasures; they even sent horses, saddles, armor, helmets, bows, arrows, swords, and daggers- there was no sign of a divine response. Kiyomori's grieving sons and dau ters gathered at the head and foot of his bed, racking their brains for so thing to do, but there seemed little chance that things would turn out as t. hoped.

On the second day of the intercalary second month, the nun went up her husband's pillow, steeling herself against the unbearable heat. "A .. watch you, I can't help feeling that it's getting more and more hopeless eY day. If there's anything in the world you want, tell me when your min · clear." She wept as she spoke.

A painful whisper issued from the lips of the man who had been so f midable a presence. "Since Hogen and Heiji, I have subdued enemies of

r. The well was a source of holy-water offerings for a nearby image of Thousand-ar Kannon. Since the name of the well was sometimes written with graphs meaning "thot.15

years," it was probably selected in the hope of prolonging Kiyomori's life through word ma 2. A Hindu measure of distance; one yojana usually equaled about five miles.

urt on more I serts. I've bee en my prospe sire in this lif, · ered head of r my sake afo d the puni ti,

. front of my f eped in sin! On the fourt aked with wa conscious, a1 Horses and c t the heavens perial maste1 uld have bee

·yomori h, th was nect the should cacy, the po offered no l

ousands of I ady to excha visible, unco

instant. Ki urney throu1

man returi le escorts m ilty, coming d oxen. Since matte1 Otagi on t! ck, took tr

)and. · Kiyomori's eadth of Ja ansitory plu ming one VI

led off into st him a little re it spattered a :one or iron .. :e throughout? e first time, th , must have e rth while he )athetic king 1ards, and ins ; into the sky

lream. In it, s :d before and the front oft

,ingle graph

ce answered.

to the bottom' 1se he is guil ' :ana in the wq t't put in the

,e people she t. -working shri 1ey even sent' nd daggers-· sons and dau brains for so :l turn out as t ·

: nun went u ·able heat. "A • ,re hopeless ev. 1en your mm

had been so f ~d enemies of

: of Thousand-ar ; meaning "thou through word ma ·e miles.

Chapter Six 343

rt on more than one occasion, and my rewards have been beyond my · rts. I've become a chancellor and the grandfather of an emperor; I've

mY prosperity shared by my children. There's nothing left for me to ire in this life. The one thing that bothers me is that I have yet to see the red head of Yoritomo, the Exile of Izu. Don't build any halls or pagodas

y sake after I die; don't dedicate any pious works on my behalf. Just d the punitive force off immediately, take Yoritomo's head, and hang it ront of my grave. That's the only dedication I need." Those were words ped in sin! n the fourth, they tried to ease his suffering by laying him on a board

ked with water, but it did no good. He writhed in agony, fell to the floor 'conscious, and died in convulsions. · orses and carriages galloped in every direction, making enough noise to the heavens echoing and the earth trembling. If death had claimed the erial master of all the realm, the lord of a myriad chariots, the agitation ld have been no greater. iyomori had turned sixty-four that year. It was not an age at which th was ne~essarily to have been anticipated, but his karma had decreed the should' live no longer: the large rituals and the secret rituals lacked pcy, the power of the gods and the buddhas vanished, the heavenly spir- offered no protection. What could mere mortals do? There were tens of

pusands of loyal·,warriors seated in rows high and low at the hall, each ;idy to exchange his life for his lord's, but none of them could hold off the "visible, unconquerable messenger from the land of the dead, not even for

instant. Kiyomori must have been all alone when he started on his urney through the nether regions, over the Shide Mountains from which ·· man returns, and past the River of Three Crossings. Most sadly, his e escorts must have been the evil deeds of which he had so often been 'lty, coming to greet him in the form of torturers with the heads of horses

oxen. ince matters could not go on like that forever, they cremated the remains Otagi on the seventh. Dharma Eye Enjitsu hung the bones around his k, took them to Settsu Province, and buried them at Kyo-no-shima

.and. Kiyomori's fame and power had extended over the whole length and adth of Japan, yet his flesh rose into the skies above the capital as a nsitory plume of smoke, and his bones survived only briefly before be-

;ming one with the earth, indistinguishable from the sands of the beach.

Chapter 7

8 . . ' . Time: fourth to seventh month of n83 Principal subjects: fighting in the north between Yoshinaka and the Taira; the

flight of the Taira from the capital Principal characters:

Go-Shirakawa, Retired Emperor. Head of the imperial clan Kenreimon'in. Daughter of Kiyomori; consort of the late Emperor Ta-

kakura; mother of the young Emperor Antoku Koremori (Taira). Son of Shigemori; grandson of Kiyomori Michimori (Taira). Son of Norimori; nephew of Kiyomori Motomichi (Fujiwara). Imperial regent Noritsune (Taira). Son of Norimori; nephew of Kiyomori Shigehira (Taira). Son of Kiyomori Tadanori (Taira). Son of Tadamori; brother of Kiyomori Tomomori (Taira). Son of Kiyomori Tsunemasa (Taira). Son of Tsunemori; nephew of Kiyomori Yoshinaka (Minamoto). Cousin of Yoritomo; leader of antii"t'aira forces

in the north Yukiie (Minamoto). Son of Tameyoshi; uncle of Yoritomo and

Yoshinaka

[ The expedition planned in II8r, before Kiyomori's death, has yet to take place. Fighting in the provinces has continued, and Yoshinaka, in particular, has been successful against Taira partisans. "The Heike in the capital shrugged off the news from the provinces. On the sixteenth [ of the ninth month of n82.], Munemori was reappointed to the office of major counselor, and on the third of the tenth month he became palace minister. When he went to make his formal expression of gratitude on the seventh, he was attended by twelve Taira senior nobles and preceded by sixteen courtiers on horseback, including the two head chamberlains. But there seemed little substance to such magnificent occasions, staged as they were in frivolous disregard of the coming storm, while the Genji in the east and north swarmed like hornets, poised for an attack on the capital"; Sec. 6.r2..]

7.2.

eanwhile, ti tern Mounta with more th i1 been procla

ng grass nex Mountain S n had arrive< Road, but

ose in thew the Northen t had been d dRoad to d

ring the first seventeen th bined total

rd from the

The cor Korn Echi, Tajin Satsu Mike Awa:

Them: Etch Kazt Hidf Tak~ Kaw Mus Etch Kaz, Aku

:he army l zed everythi cial tax cor e common nd enduran ki, Mitsuka,

· 1

· All places n

l

Emperor Ta-.

'.I

-Taira forces

; yet to take n particular, ital shrugged th month of elor, and on . he went to attended by

t horseback, ·ance to such f the coming s, poised for

Chapter Seven 345

7.2. The Expedition to the Northern Provinces

~anwhile, there were rumors that Kiso no Yoshinaka, the master of the rn Mountain and Northern Land roads, was about to attack the capi- ;th rnore than fifty thousand horsemen. Ever since last year, the Heike een proclaiming their intention to give battle "when the horses are fed

g grass next year"; and warriors had been pouring in like clouds from ountain Shade, Mountain Sun, Southern Sea, and Western Sea roads.

had arrived from the provinces of Omi, Mino, and Hida on the Eastern Road, but none had come from Totomi or anywhere farther east. se in the west all came.) Nobody came from Wakasa or farther north

he Northern Land Road. had been decided that a punitive force would be sent to the Northern a Road to defeat Yoshinaka, and that it would go on to attack Yoritomo.

''·ng the first quarter of the hour of the dragon [7:00 A.M.-9:00 A.M.] on eventeenth of the fourth month in the second year of Juei (1183], a

;bined total of more than a hundred thousand horsemen headed north- d from the. capital. They were led by six commanders-in-chief, and by fe than thrti~ hundred and forty principal samurai commanders.

The commanders-in-chief: Komatsu Middle Captain of Third Rank Koremori Echizen Governor of Third Rank Michimori Tajima Governor Tsunemasa Satsuma Governor Tadanori Mikawa Governor Tomonori Awaji Governor Kiyofusa

The main samurai commanders: Etchii no Zenji Moritoshi Kazusa no Taifu no Hangan Tadatsuna Hida no Taifu no Hangan Kagetaka Takahashi no Hangan Nagatsuna Kawachi no Hangan Hidekuni Musashi no Saburozaemon Arikuni Etchii no Jirobyoe Moritsugi Kazusa no Gorobyoe Tadamitsu Akushichibyoe Kagekiyo

;I'he army had received authorization to live off the provinces, and it .zed everything in its path from Osaka Barrier onward, even rice and other cial tax commodities levied from powerful landowners and great houses. e common people all scattered into the mountains and fields, driven be- nd endurance, as the host gradually looted its way through Shiga, Kara- i, Mitsukawajiri, Mano, Takashima, Shiotsu, and Kaizu.1

1. All places near Lake Biwa.

I 1/

i

The Tale of the Heike

7.3. The Visit to Chikubushima

The commanders-in-chief, Koremori and Michimori, had pressed ah but the deputy commanders, Tsunemasa, Tomonori, and Kiyofusa, halted at Shiatsu and Kaizu in 6mi Province. Tsunemasa was an expert p and musician. Ignoring the turmoil around him, he cleansed his min · impure thoughts and went down to the shore to look at an island in lake. He asked an attendant, Tobyoe Arinori, to tell him its name, and nori said, "That's the famous Chikubushima." 2

"It is? I've heard of it, of course. Let's go over there." He crossed i small boat, accompanied by Arinori, An'emon Morinori, and three or fo other samurai. ··

It was the eighteenth day of the fourth month. A touch of spring s seemed to linger on the green branches, the songs of the warblers in t valleys had lost their freshness, and the cuckoos everywhere were raisi" their long-awaited voices to herald the new season. Tsunemasa sprang fr the boat and gazed in delight at the scene, which was beautiful beyo imagination or description. Very similar must have been the appearance. Mount Penglai, the unattained goal of the youths, maidens, and magicia who had been sent out by Emperors Shihuangdi and Wudi to seek the elii of immortality, and had frittered away their lives in ships on the vast dee pledged not to return without reaching their destination. A sutra says, " the world of men, there is a lake, and in that lake, sprung from the bowe of the earth, there is a crystal isle where heavenly maidens dwell." 3 This w that very island. ' ·

Tsunemasa knelt in front of the shrine. "Daibenkudokuten is the same . Sakyamuni Buddha; she is a bodhisattva who manifests the absolute natu of the buddha-mind. Two are the names Benzai and Myoorl;'one is the tr form of this divinity, the bringer of salvation for sentient beings. It is sa that those who worship here even once will have every wish granted: thus face the future with hope," he said. For a time, he recited sacred texts.

The evening shadows gradually gathered, and the eighteen-day-old moq rose. The broad expanse of the lake shone; the shrine glittered ever mo. brightly. Charmed by the scene, the resident monks brought Tsunemasa o of the shrine's lutes. "We know of your skill," they told him.

He began to finger the strings. Then he played two secret compositiol! "Heaven" and "On the Rock," and the clear tones, echoing inside the shri!l moved the goddess to manifest herself above his sleeve in the form of a wh! dragon. Shedding tears of awed joy, he expressed his emotions in verse.

chihayaburu kami ni inori no

2. In the northern part of Lake Biwa. 3. The sutra has not been identified.

That she has appeared in form plainly visible-

kanc: shiruku arawarc

There could ed-no doul mensely che

While hew, ronghold at 1 ore than six insuke, Saiti i, Tsuchida, sition was e ountains in J om1gawa an

am at their c ake barricac st and west,

Blue a Reda•

g waters, cc Since the 1: my of the l r side. Now there mpathies la ountains, p

amp when r e lake; the

ers will soor e dam. Th, e defenders The comm ldiers, and

4• From a pc · hangan capita'

s. In Buddhi •mbu-dvipa), ti

d pressed ah d Kiyofusa

' as an expert 1sed his min an island in/ s name, and .

He crossed i md three or£.

:h of spring warblers in

.ere were rais 1asa sprang fr· ,eautiful beyo 1e appearanc ,, and magici to seek the el m the vast d \ su tra says, l from the bow well." 3 This .

1; one is the tr beings. It is s'1 1 granted: thu. acred texts. · ,n-day-old mo :tered ever mq : Tsunemasa o 1.

et compositio ,nside the shrin : form of a wh· Jns in verse.

kanaeba ya shiruku mo iro no arawarenikeru

Chapter Seven

might it signify the goddess's acceptance of my prayers at her shrine?

347

here could be no doubt that the detested enemy would soon be sub- d-no doubt that the rebel forces would soon be attacked and crushed. ensely cheered, he returned to the boat and left the island.

7.4. The Battle at Hiuchi

hile he was still based in Shinano Province, Kiso no Yoshinaka built a onghold at Hiuchi in Echizen Province and provided it with a garrison of re than six thousand horsemen-the Heizenji abbot Saimei, Inazu no

;nsuke, Saitoda, Hayashi no Rokuro Mitsuakira, the Togashi novice Bus- . Tsuchida, Takebe, Miyazaki, Ishiguro, Nyiizen, Sarni, and others. The iition was a formidable one, surrounded by lofty rocks and peaks, with · untains in front and behind. There were also two rivers in front of it, the "migawa and the Shindogawa, and the defenders had built an elaborate m .at their ~onfluence, felling great trees and dragging them into place to

e barricaiie's. Thus waters lapped at the base of the mountains on the ~t and west, just as if the stronghold had been facing a lake.

Blue and v,:ist, the surface steeped the southern mountains; Red and patterned, the waves engulfed the westering sun. 4

/On the bottom of the heatless lake, there is gold and silver sand; 5 by the ore at Kunming Lake, there were the boats of virtuous government; and this artificial lake near the Hiuchi stronghold, there was a dam with roil- waters, constructed to deceive an enemy. ince the lake could not very well be crossed without boats, the great y of the Heike idled away the days at camps in the mountains on the side. ow there was one member of the garrison, Abbot Saimei, whose secret pathies lay entirely with the Taira. Saimei went out along the base of the

untains, put a letter inside a whizzing arrow, and shot it into the Heike · p when nobody was watching. "There is no natural depression under lake; the people here have merely blocked a mountain stream. The wa-

s will soon subside if you send out some foot soldiers at night to destroy dam. The footing for horses is good; cross quickly. I'll shoot arrows at defenders from the rear. Heizenji Abbot Saimei."

;fhe commanders-in-chief were delighted. They hastened to send out foot Jdiers, and the soldiers cut the dam away. In spite of the lake's impressive

.4· From a poem by Bo Juyi about Kunming Lake, a body of water created southwest of the ~ngan capital for naval maneuvers during the reign of Emperor Wu (Wudi) of Han. 5,-In Buddhist cosmology, the heatless lake is said to lie at the center of Enbudai (Skt. bu-dvipa), the world in which we live.

The Tale of the Heike

appearance, it was nothing but a mountain stream. Its waters soon ebb~ and the great Heike force surged across. The warriors inside the strongho held out for a while, but there seemed little chance that so few could prev; against so many.

Saimei declared allegiance to the Heike and became their loyal man .. S defiant, Shinsuke, Saitoda, Mitsuakira, and Bussei abandoned the stro hold, retreated to Kaga Province, and dug in at Shirayama and Kawac but the seemingly invincible Heike followed hard on their heels into Ka and burned the two strongholds defended by Mitsuakira and Bussei. Th from nearby post stations, the victorious host sent couriers to the capi{ where their news was received with extravagant relief and rejoicing by M nemori and the other members of the Heike clan who had stayed behil

On the eighth of the fifth month, the Heike mustered at Shinohara, ' Kaga Province, and divided their hundred thousand horsemen into front and rear assault forces. The frontal force, seventy thousand strong, set o, toward Tonamiyama, on the border between Kaga and Echizen, with Kor mori and Michimori as commanders-in-chief and Etchii no Zenji Moritos as the main samurai commander. The rear force, thirty thousand horsemeC proceeded toward Shio-no-yama on the border between Noto and Etch~ with Tadanori and Tomonori as commanders-in-chief and Arikuni as th foremost samurai commmander. 6

While staying in the capital of Echigo Province, Yoshinaka learned of th Taira movements. He made hasty preparations to confront the enemy wit fifty thousand horsemen. In the belief that his earlier ca,mpaign had set a auspicious precedent, he divided his army into seven groups. 7 His uncle Y kiie went to meet the Taira at Shio-no-yama with ten thousand men. shina, Takanashi, and Yamada no Jira were sent toward Kitagurosaka wit seven thousand men as a rear assault force, and Higuchi no'Jlro Kanemits and Ochiai no Gora Kaneyuki were sent toward Minamigurosaka wit seven thousand men. 8 Ten thousand men were stationed in ambush at th. entrance to Tonamiyama, at the base of Kurosaka, at Yanagihara in the are· of Matsunaga, and at Gumi-no-kinbayashi. Imai no Shiro Kanehira cross the Washinose shallows with six thousand men to take up positions at ff

6. Tonamiyama is a mountainous area on the boundary between the present town of Ts~ bata in Kahoku District, Ishikawa Prefecture, and the city of Oyabe in Toyama Prefecture. T~ old Hokurikudo (Northern Land Road) crossed it at Kurikara Pass. Shio-no-yama, the dest1

nation of the Taira rear force, is thought to have been in the vicinity of the present town 2 Shio in Hakui District, Ishikawa Prefecture.

7. An earlier episode (Sec. 6. 12; not translated) tells how Yoshinaka won a victory in n 8 at Yokotagawara, in Shinano Province, by outwitting a much larger enemy force. He dividr his men into seven groups, who rode slowly toward the enemy, displaying red Taira banner At the last minute, the groups merged, whipped up white Minamoto banners, and charge Caught off guard, the Taira warriors suffered total defeat.

8. The objectives of these and the other Minamoto forces named below have not all be identified, but all appear to have been in the general area of Tonamiyama and the approach. to it.

"The Heike ; ontal attack ~ \ numbers th 'eir size. But i em and stay . 'Their arrr ey'll surrou1

ese rugged rr rses rest aw em, and then urikara Valle

iyama called e Genji vang e terrain and s long as we be good fot

st awhile." Looking ou ce and a sl

n the summe new the pro' ipped there, "Hachiman Yoshinaka,

now I'm goi1 s a prayer an "That soun

o Write. Kakumei w

ather lacing nd scabbard rrows, fledg rapped boV1

00 k a small . 0 rd Kiso, ar 10n of the ch

!rs soon ebb the strongh

w could Pre

loyal man. ned the stro t and Kawac 1eels into K d Bussei. Th '. t~ ~he capi ~101cmg by stayed behi

t Shinohara • ) C

ten mto fron strong, set

ien, with Ko> ~enji Morito ,and horsem oto and Etc· Arikuni as t

1 learned of the enemy wi 1ign had set 7 His uncle y tsand men. 1gurosaka w Jiro Kanemit igurosaka w ambush at t

esent town of T

Chapter Seven 349

iyabayashi, and Yoshinaka himself crossed the river at Oyabe-no-watari camped with ten thousand men at Hanyu, just north of Tonamiyama.

7.5. The Petition

fhe Heike must intend to cross Tonamiyama to the plains and stage a tal attack with their huge army," Yoshinaka said. "In a battle like that,

numbers that determine victory. We won't win if we let them exploit ir size. But if we send standard bearers ahead with white flags, they'll see

and stay in the mountains. 'Here comes the Genji vanguard!' they'll . 'Their army must be enormous! They know the terrain and we don't. liy'll surround us if we burst out onto the plains. As long as we stay in 'se rugged mountains, our rear is safe; we'd better dismount and let the ses rest awhile.' In the meantime, I'll pretend to be trying to engage m, and then as soon as it gets dark, I'll drive their whole army down into tikara Valley.'' He ordered his men to plant thirty white banners on top

.Kurosaka Hill. · hen the Heike spotted the banners, they dismounted at a place in Tona-

ama called ~aru-no-baba, just as Yoshinaka had foreseen. "Here comes Genji vanguard!" they said. "Their army must be enormous! They know

'.terrain and we don't. They'll surround us if we burst out onto the plains. long as we stay in these rugged mountains, our rear is safe. There seems

·be good forage and water here; we'd better dismount and let the horses t awhile." ooking out from his camp at Hanyu, Yoshinaka descried a sacred red ce and a shrine with beveled crossbeams nestled among the green trees the summer peaks. There was a torii in front. He called for a man who

):w the province. "What shrine is that?" he asked. "What deity is wor- '(pped there?" 'Hachiman. This is Hachiman's land," the man said. · oshinaka was delighted. He summoned Taifubo Kakumei, whom he had <ught along to serve as his scribe. "This is a great stroke of luck! It's my 'nee to visit a shrine dedicated to Hachiman before the battle. Now I w I'm going to win! How would it be if I offered a written petition, both prayer and as something for posterity?"

'That sounds very suitable," Kakumei said. He dismounted and prepared ,write. 'Kakumei was wearing a dark blue tunic and a suit of armor with black .ther lacing. At his waist, he wore a sword with a black lacquered hilt d scabbard, and on his back there was a quiver containing twenty-four ows, fledged with black hawk's-wing feathers. His lacquered, rattan- apped bow was at his side; his helmet hung from his shoulder-cord. He ;k a small inkstone and some paper from the quiver, knelt in front of fd Kiso, and began to write out the petition. What a splendid combina-

, n of the civil and military arts he seemed!

350 The Tale of the Heike

This Kakumei belonged to a family of Confucian scholars. After servi at the Kangakuin, where he was known as Chamberlain Michihiro, he ·· came a monk and took the name Saijobo Shingyii.9 He paid frequent vis to Nara, and it was he whom the monks of Nara had commissioned to re; for them when letters were sent to Mount Hiei and Nara after Prince chihito's arrival at the Onjoji. Kiyomori took violent exception to one of sentences-the one that said, "The novice Kiyomori is the dregs of the Ta clan, the scum of the warrior class."

"Why does that renegade Shingyii think he can get away with calling .. the dregs of the Taira clan and the scum of the warrior class? Arrest hi and execute him!" he said. So Shingyii had fled from Nara to the northe,. provinces, and there he became Lord Kiso's scribe and adopted the na Taifubo Kakumei.

This was the petition:

All hail! I touch my head to the ground in obeisance. The Great Bodhisattva Hachiman is the lord of the Japanese court, the ancestof

our generations of illustrious sovereigns. To guard the imperial throne and ber!' mankind, he manifests himself as the three august divinities and assumes the te porary guise of the three deities.10 ,

For some years now, a person called the Taira Chancellor has dominated the fo seas and distressed the populace. He has been a foe to the Buddhist doctrine and: enemy to the imperial law. Though humble, I spring from warrior stock; thou .. inadequate, I pursue my father's calling. The thought of the Taira Chancellor's fo deeds prohibits selfish calculation: I entrust my fate to heaven and dedicate my If to the nation. ·

I have mustered warriors to suppress the evildoers. But although our two opposi forces are now face to face, my men have yet to display martial spirit, and I ha been fearful of defections. At this juncture, here on this field of ba~tle where.Ir. my banners, I suddenly behold a shrine where the true essence 6fthe three dei diffuses his tempered radiance. It is clear that my prayers will be heeded; it is beyq; doubt that the evildoers will be put to death. My tears of joy overflow; my gratitt1 is profound.

Ever since my great-grandfather, the former governor of Mutsu Yoshiie, dedica,. himself to Hachiman's service and took the name Hachiman Taro, all of his desc dants have worshipped at Hachiman's shrines. Many years have passed since I bowed my head before the god as one of their number. In undertaking this great t, now, I am like a child measuring the vast ocean with a seashell, like a praying ma_ opposing a mighty chariot with its forelimbs.11 But I act for nation and sovere1, not for family or self. My sincerity is apparent to the divine eyes. Great is my fai great my joy! Prostrate, I beseech the unseen and seen Buddhas to lend their strell

9. On the Kangakuin, see Chap. 5, n. 31. ..· ro. "Three august divinities" is probably a reference to Amida and his chief attend~

Kannon and Seishi, who were regarded as the true forms (honji) of the "three deities"- is, Emperor Ojin, Empress Jingil, and Himeokami, the principal objects of worship at ti{ man shrines.

r 1. Similes from Han shu and Zhuangzi.

d the holy gods k in every dire f this prayer ht sk to be shown

Yoshinaka an presented ti

ognize the s ee wild dove: the Genji. WhileEmpre en the weak m impossibl peared in fro cestor of the

weak and· ition. "This that instant o's headqua er on, and S:

.With these I lmet. Then I ernatural d,

eanwhile, e two sides not advanc

.. · he Genji c fensive shiel ike. The m s from fifo ot; the H,

lbs. The Ge1 nt out a hur ~h side had .rriors on l ained their such encot

. htfall so ti lley.

8 the even

rs. After ser [ichihiro, h/ d frequent vi issioned to re' 1fter Prince ion to one of regs of the Ta

with calling ass? Arrest to the north opted the na

rt, the ancestor 1rone and bene assumes the te

iminated the f it doctrine and . or stock; tho Chancellor's 1 dedicate my l[

our two opposi spirit, and I ha 1ttle where I ra' f the three deiti eded; it is beyo low; my gratitu

ing this great ta , a praying mant in and sovereig Great is my fait end their streng

,is chief attendan :hree deities"-th f worship at Hach,

Chapter Seven 35I

the holy gods to exert their powers. Secure my victory at once! Drive the enemy k in every direction! this prayer has been accepted, if the visible and invisible powers will protect me, ~ to be shown a sign.

Eleventh day, fifth month, second year ofJuei [u83] Minamoto no Yoshinaka

, oshinaka and twelve of his men took the top arrows from their quivers ti presented them to the shrine with the petition. Did the great bodhisattva ognize the suppliant's peerless sincerity from afar? Most reassuringly, ee wild doves flew out of the clouds and fluttered above the white banners he Genji. hile Empress Jingii was attacking Silla once in the past, there was a time

en the weakness of her army and the strength of the foe made victory impossible. The empress prayed to heaven, three supernatural doves

peared in front of her shields, and she defeated the enemy. Also, when the 'cest:or of these Genji, Yoriyoshi, attacked Sadato and Muneto, his force sweak and the rebel army was strong. He lit a fire in front of the enemy

'sition. "Thif. ip not in any sense a private blaze; it is a divine fire," he said. :I . . .

"that instant; a wind engulfed the enemy in flames and burned down Sa- o's headquarters, the Kuriyagawa stronghold. The rebels were defeated

ter on, and Sadato and Muneto were destroyed . With these prece·dents in mind, Lord Kiso dismounted and took off his !met. Then he washed his hands, rinsed his mouth, and bowed to the

ernatural doves with confidence in his heart.

7.6. The Descent into Kurikara

eanwhile, the Genji and the Heike took up positions facing each other. e two sides were barely three hundred and fifty yards apart. The Genji

d not advance closer, nor did the Heike. )fhe Genji ordered fifteen strong archers to ride out from behind their 'fensive shields and shoot humming-bulb arrows into the ranks of the

ike. The unsuspecting Heike retaliated with fifteen humming-bulb ar- 'yvs from fifteen of their horsemen. The Genji sent out thirty horsemen to .oot; the Heike responded with thirty horsemen and thirty humming- .lbs. The Genji sent out fifty; the Heike matched them with fifty. The Genji t .out a hundred, and the Heike matched them with a hundred, so that

i;h side had a hundred horsemen in front of its lines. But although the arriors on both forces were eager to fight, the Genji commanders re- ained their men. It was too bad for the Heike that they let the day slip by

·· such encounters, never dreaming that the Genji meant to delay until ghtfall so that they could drive their huge army down into Kurikara lley.

/'fu the evening shadows gradually lengthened, the ten thousand men in

352 The Tale of the Heike

the rear came forward from the north and south to assemble near the K kara Hall. 12 They began to yell battle cries, beating on their quivers.

When the Heike looked back, they saw clouds of white banners be them. "What's happening?" they shouted. "How could they get behin with all these cliffs here?"

Yoshinaka's frontal attack force chimed in with battle cries of their o and there were simultaneous shouts from the ten thousand Genji !yin wait at Matsunaga-no-yanagihara and Gumi-no-kinbayashi, and from r no Shiro Kanehira's six thousand men at Hinomiyabayashi. To the menw heard the roar of those forty thousand voices from the front and rea · seemed that the very mountains and rivers must disintegrate.

As Yoshinaka had planned, the Heike began to waver, unnerved by'" growing darkness and the attackers' yells. There were plenty of men w cried, "Don't disgrace yourselves! Come back!" But the retreat could n9 reversed, once started, and the warriors galloped pell-mell into Kuri • Valley. Unable to see the vanguard, they took it for granted that there , a road at the bottom. Sons followed fathers in the descent, younger brat older brothers, kinsmen and retainers lords. Men piled onto horses . horses onto men, layer upon layer. Deep though the valley was, the seve thousand Heike riders filled it to the top. Streams of blood flowed f( rocks; corpses mounted into hills. People say arrow gouges and sw marks can be seen in that valley to this very day.

Three of the clan's most valued retainers died in the avalanche of bodl Kazusa no Taifu no Hangan Tadatsuna, Hida no Taifo no Hangan K:1- taka, and Kawachi no Hangan Hidekuni. A Genji warrior, Jira Nagaz of Kaga Province, captured Sena no Taro Kaneyasu of Bitchii Provine warrior renowned for his strength. The Genji also captured Saimei, the zenji abbot who had switched loyalties at the Hiuchi stronghold in Echi. "Kill that damned monk before you do anything else!" Yoshinaka s They put him to the sword. Commanders-in-Chief Koremori and Michi retreated to Kaga Province, fortunate to escape with their lives. Only thousand of their seventy thousand horsemen remained. .•

On the following day, the twelfth, two superb horses reached Yoshina a gift from Hidehira in Michinoku Province. He promptly fitted thern with gold-mounted saddles and presented them to the Hakusan Shrine.1

"Everything's all right here," Yoshinaka said, "but I don't feel easy a_b the battle Yukiie is fighting at Shio. I think I'd better see how he's doi

After picking and choosing from among his forty thousand men and t

r 2. At the summit of Kurikara Pass. The hall was dedicated to the worship of Fudo., rear forces sent to the north (Kitagurosaka) and the south (Minamigurosaka) were earlier to number I4,ooo riders. , 1

13. Fujiwara no Hidehira (d. u87; not related to the clan of that name in the capita) the quasi-independent lord of Oshu (Michinoku Province). Other Heike texts say that~; naka had prayed to Shirayamahime, the goddess worshipped at the Hakusan Shrine, for VIC in the approaching battle.

unts, he hurri e tide happen nato, and the: e animals rea, the saddles d1 usand strong

'},.s it turned , ting his horsE rs galloped ir g their horse

t up a brief re d as well, er

onori, fell i perished.

oshinaka er, ulus called 1

[ This episode · onth. Yoshir pohara, and h

Ven though ori of Musi

t up a def ens ic, a suit of self with a ged with bl mounted

.d.14 One of l good oppo

0w who sta· e," he said.

Who are ye Tezuka no· 'We're well Y I'd rather anemori Sf

,m the rear, , d as he cou·

4, His "plan" 5• A standard anent to the g1

le near the : quivers banner; b

ey get behi

ies of their _d Genji lyi 1, and from To the men ·ont and re e. unnerved by nty of men ·eat could no 11 into Kuri d that there ounger brot >nto horses was, the sev od flowed f .. 1ges and sw

mche of bodr > Hangan K<1 , Jiro Nagaz :chii Province Saimei, the hold in Echiz Yoshinaka s i andMichim lives. Only

:hed Yoshina fitted them o

1san Shrine.13 .. : feel easy abo. ow he's doing d men and the

>rship of Fuda. T ca) were earlier s

, in the capital) w exts say that Yos n Shrine, for victo

Chapter Seven 353

s, he hurried toward Shio-no-yama with twenty thousand horsemen. de happened to be full when they reached the crossing at Hibi-no- 0 and they drove ten saddled horses into the water to test its depth. nimals reached the opposite shore in safety, the pommels and cantles saddles dry except at the lower edges. "It's shallow! Cross!" Twenty

and strong, the great force plunged across. it turned out, Yukiie had been beaten back. Yoshinaka found him g his horses. "I thought so," he said. His twenty thousand fresh war- galloped into the middle of the thirty thousand Heike, yelling, whip-

Jheir horses, and attacking until the sparks flew. The Heike warriors p a brief resistance, but they finally went down to defeat on that battle-

• as well, crushed by the Genji assault. A Heike commander-in-chief, onori, fell in battle. He was Kiyomori's youngest son. Many samurai perished. . shinaka crossed Shio-no-yama Mountain and camped in front of the

'ulus called Shin'o-no-tsuka, at Odanaka in Noto Province.

7.8. Sanemori

,This episode takes place nine days later, on the twenty-first of the fifth onth. Yoshinaka has again attacked the Heike, who had withdrawn to Shi-

pohara, and he has-.again won. )

.. ven though all the others were running away, Nagai no Saito Betto Sa- ori of Musashi Province kept turning back alone to meet the enemy and up a defense. With a special plan in mind, he had donned a red brocade

· ic, a suit of armor with green lacing, and a horned helmet, had armed self with a gilt sword with bronze fittings, a quiver containing arrows ged with black-banded eagle feathers, and a rattan-wrapped bow, and

·•·· mounted a white-dappled reddish horse with a saddle trimmed in d.14 One of Lord Kiso's men, Tezuka no Taro Mitsumori, singled him out good opponent. "You're putting on quite a show! Who is this hero, this

ow who stays behind after all his friends have run away? Let's hear your !Ile," he said. ·:•who are you?" Sanemori asked. "Tezuka no Taro Kanezashi no Mitsumori of Shinano Province."

··"We're well matched! I don't mean to be insulting, but there's a reason ,hy I'd rather not give you my name. Come on, Tezuka! Let's wrestle!" 15

<Sanemori spurred forward. One of Mitsumori's retainers galloped up .· m the rear, pressed ahead to protect his master, and gripped Sanemori as rd as he could.

I4. His "plan11 was to pass for a young man. Older men favored a more sober appearance. I 5. A standard tactic in mounted combat. As indicated below, the object was to wrestle the ponent to the ground, pin and kill him, and take his head.

354 The Tale of the Heike

"Congratulations! You want to wrestle with the strongest man in Japa said Sanemori. He grabbed the warrior, pulled him against the pomme his saddle, cut off his head, and tossed it away. ·

After seeing his man killed, Mitsumori got around to Sanemori's 1 lifted the skirt of his armor, stabbed him twice, and wrestled him to ground as he staggered. Sanemori was still full of fight, but he was t( from all his earlier engagements. Also, he was no longer young. In thee' Mitsumori pinned him.

Mitsumori turned over Sanemori's head to another retainer, a man had galloped up later, and hurried to report to Lord Kiso. "I've just ki an odd sort of fellow in a wrestling match. He might have been a sam except that he was wearing a tunic made of brocade. Yet where were men if he was a commander? I kept asking for his name, but he woul give it. He talked like an easterner," he said.

"This looks to me like the face of Saito no Sanemori," said Lord Kiso saw him in Kozuke Province when I visited there as a child, but his hair · already turning gray. It would have to be white by now. How can he hav black beard and black hair? Higuchi no Jiro Kanemitsu has known hi long time; he ought to recognize him. Tell Kanemitsu I want him." 16

One look was enough for Kanemitsu. "Poor fellow! Yes, that's Sanemo he said.

"Then he must be over seventy. He ought to have white hair. How is that his hair and beard are black?" Lord Kiso said.

Kanemitsu broke down in tears. "I meant to explain that, but I felt} sorry for him that I couldn't help crying. Even on trivial occasions, a warr ought to say things people will remember. Saito always used to tell me, '. fight a battle after I'm past sixty, I'll dye my hair and beard so I'll I young. I know it's childish to try to compete with the young tellows for place, but I couldn't face the humiliation of having them write me off· because of my age.' Sure enough, he did dye his hair. Have. it washed; for yourself." .···

"You may be right," Lord Kiso said. He had the hair washed, an. turned white. .'

Here is how Sanemori happened to be wearing a tunic made of broc:!- When he went to take his final leave of Palace Minister Munemori, he s "Even though I wasn't the only one, it's the shame of my old age that Id' fire a single arrow when we marched toward the east that year-that I ran back to the capital from Kanbara in Suruga, scared to death bee

16. Kanemitsu was the brother of Imai no Shiro Kanehira, Yoshinaka's foster-brother •• notogo) and best friend. A typical name of a provincial warrior, such as Imai no Shiro . hira, consisted of what we may call a surname, derived from the locality in which the ma~ (in this case, Imai), a sobriquet indicating his order of birth within a male sibling group ( fourth son), and a given name (Kanehira). The particle no ("from," "of") appears to have used inconsistently. Brothers who lived in different localities, like Kanemitsu and Kan. might have different surnames.

e birds flapp, d during this 1 e lived at Nag r properties.

Uid you please try, Munemo1 n fame on no ijishan long : vived, impen e one with t he Heike arr

n set out fror bered scare,

any next yea 're hunting,

11 to reserve s

vmce, enter, d others-a ing the rebel ce in Chinz

nhern provi1 round midi

the vicinity c • pie took ti med that an

The next mo sturbance a

' nji, had cap ke of his sic .. ard, he ha, Utenant in tl d proceeded d started bee d had anno th an army tern base o

·i7, The Chine e after having

1 know you are di and went h,

,t man inJap st the pomm

1 Sanemori's ~stied him to but he was f oung. In the

,mer, a man • "I've just ki e been a sam t where were but he woul

aid Lord Kiso. , but his hair :iw can he hav tas known hi ; r1t him." 16 that's Sanemor

e hair. How j

asions, a warr· :d to tell me, 'I eard so I'll lo: g fellows for write me off j re it washed;

nade of broca memori, he sa I age that I die! year-that I j :o death beca

s foster-brother ( Imai no Shiro K which the man Ii

sibling group (Sh\ appears to have nitsu and Kanehi

Chapter Seven 355

e birds flapped their wings. I've made up my mind to die on the battle- during this northern campaign. I was born in Echizen Province, though

'lived at Nagai in Musashi these past few years as an official on one of r properties. There's a saying, 'Wear brocade when you go home,' so ld you please let me wear a tunic made of brocade?" Moved by his gal- rY, Munemori granted the request. Might we say that Sanemori had now fame on northern soil, just as Zhu Maichen waved brocade sleeves at

ijishan long ago? 17 How pitiful that his empty name alone should have ived, impervious to corporeal decay, while his mortal remains have be- e one with the northern soil!

he Heike army had seemed invincible when its hundred thousand horse- set out from the capital on the seventeenth of the fourth month, but it bered scarcely more than twenty thousand on its return late in the fifth

nth. "You can catch a lot of fish if you fish out a stream, but there won't any next year. You can capture a lot of game if you burn a forest while 're hunting, but there won't be any next year. They would have done 1 to reserve some men for the future," people said.

7.f3'. · The Emperor's Flight from the Capital

On the fourteenth of the seventh month, Sadayoshi, the governor of Higo vince, entered the capital with Kikuchi, Harada, the Matsura League,

cl others-a total of more than three thousand horsemen-after subju- ing the rebels in Chinzei. But although the Heike had managed to restore

ace in Chinzei, they were unable to end the fighting in the eastern and fthern provinces. Around midnight on the twenty-second, there was a tremendous uproar the vicinity of Rokuhara. Horses were saddled, girths were tightened, and bple took their belongings off to hiding places in every direction. It med that an enemy invasion must be imminent. he next morning, people learned what had happened. During the Hogen

'sturbance, a certain Sado no Emon-no-jo Shigesada, one of the Mino riji, had captured Chinzei no Hachiro Tametomo, who had fled in the

Jike of his side's defeat, and had turned him over to the authorities. As a Ward, he had been promoted from lieutenant in the military guards to utenant in the gate guards. Ostracized by his relatives for his conduct, he d proceeded to ingratiate himself with the Heike. And the commotion .cl started because he had galloped to Rokuhara in the middle of the night, .d had announced that Kiso no Yoshinaka had invaded from the north }th an army of fifty thousand horsemen. "They're swarming all over the ;;stern base of Mount Hiei," he said. "One of Yoshinaka's retainers, Tate

i7. The Chinese general Xiang Yu is said to have remarked, "Not to return to one's old Orne after having become rich and famous is like going out at night dressed in brocade. Who

1 know you are wearing it?" Zhu Maichen, originally a poor man, rose in the service of Han udi and went home in brocade.

The Tale of the Heike

no Rokuro Chikatada, and his scribe, Kakumei, have rushed to the the mountain with six thousand men, and the three thousand mon gone over to their side. The combined force is ready to invade the ci

In great agitation, the Heike dispatched warriors in all directions. manders-in-Chief Tomomori and Shigehira left the capital, leading of three thousand horsemen, and occupied quarters at Yamashina. mori and Noritsune garrisoned the Uji Bridge with two thousand ho and Yukimori and Tadanori guarded the Yodo Road with a thousand men. But then there were rumors that Yukiie of the Genji was goi invade by way of the Uji Bridge with several thousand horsemen, tha ' no Hangandai Yoshikiyo was advancing on the capital from Oeyam that untold numbers of Genji from Settsu and Kawachi were about scend on the city like clouds.

The Heike called all their men back. "Now that it's come to this, your last stand together," they said. ,

"The capital is a place where men compete for fame and fortune;:' cockcrow, there is no rest." 18 If that can be said of a peaceful society,' much more must it apply to troubled times! The Heike would have lik~ retire to the innermost recesses of the Yoshino mountains, but all the p inces and the seven circuits had risen against them. Where could they found a tranquil shore? "There is no safety in the three worlds; the semble a burning house." That is the miraculous language of the Latu tra, the scripture containing the Buddha's golden words, so how could i. even a tiny bit wrong?

In the dead of night on the twenty-fourth day of the seventh month, • nen:i6ri went to the Rokuhara Mansion, the place where Kenreimon'in ... staying. "I thought we could manage this situation somehow, but th' look hopeless now," he said. "The others want to make a' last stand in capital, but I can't bear to expose you to distress here; I've decided to you, the retired emperor, and the emperor to the western provinces." .

"Whatever happens, I'll do as you think best." She could not restrain tears that overflowed her sleeve, and the minister also wept until his sl dripped.

Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa may have heard that the Heike were cretly planning to flee from the capital that night, and that they intendeg. take him with them, for he stole away from his mansion and went to rama, attended only by Major Counselor Sukekata's son Suketoki. Nob else knew about his departure.

Now there was a Heike samurai named Kichinaizaemon-no-jo Sueyas bright fellow whom the retired emperor also made use of. This Suey happened to be on duty at the Hojiiji Mansion that night. He noticed rn . agitated whispering near the former sovereign's private apartments, and. also observed that the ladies-in-waiting were sobbing quietly. He prickedc

r8. Paraphrased from a poem by Bo Juyi.

ars, and pre y vanished!, rt to Munem · here must b shed to the l

·· ed nowhere 1 s also seeme

at's happ1 at the palac

ent." andemonium eror's disapJ

re upset if en, a limit to wl , busy with J sovereign ofJ grained on

Well, let's t: a travel pal:

young to UI ned him. he Mirror,

e official seal: 'njo and Suzi sions were It peror's Dayt court attire- obumoto, an The imperial zaku, escort lders who w The new daJ d brightenec aks to the e: eir busy voic scene. When

capital, tt as happenin! The regent,

1 9, The imper lo, Kenjo (Ar,

ents. 11 • "River of I

,hed to the t sand monks 1a1e the city! directions.

11, leading a amashina. !vi, msand horse·· a thousand h. :nji was goi '• :sem~n, that om Oeyama <

'': ;vere about tcj

•me to this ,

md fortune· a :eful socie~, · mid have like , but all the p e could they worlds; they

: of the Lotus o how could i

enth month, Cenreimon'in ehow, but th' t last stand in' e decided to t Jrovinces." d not restrain pt until his slJ

1e Heike were:. : they intende and went to, uketoki. Nob

-no-jo Sueyas of. This Suey He noticed m artments, and ly. He pricked

Chapter Seven 357

ars, and presently he heard someone say, "His Majesty has just sud- y vanished! Wh~re can he be?" In great perturbation, he galloped off to rt to Munemon at Rokuhara. here must be some mistake!" Munemori said. Without another word, shed to the Hojiiji Mansion to see for himself. The retired emperor was

ed nowhere to be found, and Lady Tango and his other personal atten- ts also seemed to be missing.

hat's happened? What's going on here?" Munemori asked. But every- y at the palace seemed flabbergasted. Not one voice said, "I know where

,,, " ent.

andemonium broke out in the city when people learned of the retired peror's d!sappearance .. It seemed th~t the _Heike ~ould not have b~en any Je upset 1f enemy soldiers had been mvadmg their homes. (There 1s, after ±a limit to what can happen on such occasions.) For the members of the ll, busy with preparations to take both the retired emperor and the reign- sovereign off with them to the western provinces, this desertion was like grained on under a tree where they had sought shelter.

ell, let's ,take the emperor, at least," the Heike said. They brought · a travel paia'nquin early in the morning, during the hour of the hare

;)Jo A,M.-7:00 A.M.], and the six-year-old emperor got blithely inside, 6 young to understand what was happening. His mother, Kenreimon'in, 'ned him.

he Mirror, the Bead Strand, and the Sword were brought out. 19 "Take official seals, the treasury keys, and the clock from the Seiryoden, also

njo and Suzuka," Major Counselor Tokitada ordered. 20 But many pas- sions were left behind in the confusion, among them the sword from the

'peror's Daytime Chamber. His Majesty's only attendants were three men 'court attire-Tokitada himself, Director of the Palace Storehouse Bureau bumoto, and Sanuki Middle Captain Tokizane. he imperial palanquin proceeded west on Shichijo Avenue and south on aku, escorted by members of the bodyguards and by palanquin-cord

lders who wore armor and carried bows and arrows. he new day was the twenty-fifth of the seventh month. Already, the sky

d brightened where the river of heaven flowed. 21 Clouds trailed from the ks to the east, the dawn moon shone white and cold, and cocks raised

ir busy voices. Not even in a dream could anyone have envisioned such ·· cene. When people remembered the turmoil caused by the move to the w capital, they recognized that those earlier events were portents of what as happening now. :The regent, Motomichi, had set out to accompany the imperial proces-

19. The imperial regalia, or Three Treasures. See Glossary. ,20. Kenj6 (Arcane Supremacy), a lute, and Suzuka (Hind), a koto, were heirloom instru· :,nts. 21. "River of heaven" was a name for the Milky Way.

The Tale of the Heike

sion, but a young boy, his hair looped on the sides, suddenly dashed the front of his carriage at Shichijo-Omiya, and Motomichi saw that hi sleeve bore the legend, "Springtime Sun." He was immensely hearte "The graphs for 'Springtime Sun' can also be read 'Kasuga.' This musf nify that the Kasuga god, the protector of the Hosso doctrines, is watc over Kamatari's descendants," he thought. Just then, he heard the wor a poem, chanted by someone whom he presumed to be the boy:· ·

ika ni sen fuji no sueba no

kareyuku o tada haru no hi ni makasete ya min

Nothing can be done to save the wisteria tip

from autumn's decay. It must simply place its trust in the warm sun of springtime. 22

He called an attendant close to the carriage, a man named Shindosaem no-jo Takanao. "I've been going over the matter in my mind. The empf is making this trip, but the retired emperor isn't. It seems to me that Heike face a dubious future. What do you think?" he said. Takanao sig to the ox-driver with his eyes, and the man, in instant understanding, tur}' the carriage and sent it flying northward on Omiya Avenue.

The regent went into the Chisokuin, in the vicinity of the northern hil(

7.r6. Tadanori's Flight from the Capital Somewhere along the way, Satsuma Governor Tadanori turned back

Shunzei's house on Gojo Avenue, attended by five samurni and a page.24

gate was locked. "It's Tadanori," he announced. There was agitation inside. "One of the fugitives is back!" voices said. Tadanori dismou11ted. "It's nothing special, Shunzej/' J:'ie': shouted. "l

just come back to speak to you. Come out here if you'd rather not o · the gate."

"I think I know what he wants," Shunzei said. "He won't make trouble. Let him in." They opened the gate and Shunzei received him. It a movmg scene. .,

"I haven't meant to be neglectful since you accepted me as a pupil sev~ years ago," Tadanori said, "but my clan has had to bear the brunt of unrest in the city and the rebellions in the provinces. During the last tW three years, I haven't been able to pay you regular visits, even though poe is still very close to my heart. Now the emperor has left the capital, and. clan's good luck has come to an end. I had heard people say there was t9

22. Puns yield another meaning: "Why are you going away, scion of the Fujiwara? Will not simply trust the Kasuga god?" ,

2 3. The Chisokuin was a Buddhist establishment to which Mo to mi chi had family tieS-c conjectured to have been located in the area of Murasakino.

24. Fujiwara no Shunzei (ru4-1204) was the most prestigious poet of the day.

ew imperial a y life if you oil, no com

" en he was d recorded he had co1

rmhole in

rs," he said. adanori wai

ves or leavini to this trans

d his helmet ,

Distant My tho,

r a Thousan, danori had le he scroll, bt t the author s "Blossoms

saza shiga m

aren mukasl yamaza

'fadanori wa • 11, the story •

unemori a wives anc

d be take1

ddenly dashed • chi saw that hi mensely hearte 1ga.' This musf ctrines, is watc heard the wor :he boy:

.one :ip ,cay. its trust pringtime.22

aed Shindosae mind. The emp ems to me that, tid. Takanao si derstanding, tu

ipital

tori turned ba ai and a page. 24

ck!" voices sai " he shouted. ' 1' d rather not

[e won't make received him. I.

1e as a pupil se :ar the brunt o .. iring the last even though p the capital, an say there was ,,

,ichi had family ti

oet of the day.

Chapter Seven 359

W irnperial anthology, and I had thought it would be the greatest honor ; y life if you might include even one of my poems. What with all this

oil, no commission has been handed down, but there's sure to be one peace is restored. If this scrnH contains one suitable poem, and if you

•· Id see fit to mclude 1t, I'd re101ce m my grave and act as your guardian 't." hen he was about to leave home, he had snatched up a scroll in which ad recorded more than a hundred poems-to his mind the best of the y he had composed and saved over the years. Now he withdrew it from arrnhole in his armor and gave it to Shunzei. Shunzei opened it and · ed inside. "I couldn't possibly consider this a keepsake of no impor- e. Please don't have any fears about that. Your coming here at a time .this shows how much the art of poetry means to you; it moves me to s,'' he said. danori was delighted. "Now I won't mind drowning in the western s or leaving my bones to bleach in the wilds. Nothing remains to bind

0 this transitory existence. Goodbye!" he said. He mounted his horse, his helmet cords, and rode off toward the west. Shunzei watched until gure rec~ded far into the distance. Someone was chanting a roei in a

nant voice that sounded like his:

Distant lie~ the way ahead; My thoughts run on to the evening clouds at Yanshan.25

oved again by the sorrow of parting, Shunzei had to restrain tears as he t inside. Later, after the restoration of peace, he compiled the Collection a Thousand Years; and then, with a full heart, he remembered how · nori had looked and what he had said. There were many eligible poems .e scroll, but he limited his choice to one, taking cognizance of the fact the author was someone who had suffered imperial censure. Its topic «Blossoms at the Old Capital." He labeled it "Anonymous.''

sazanam1 ya shiga no miyako wa

arenishi o mukashi nagara no yamazakura ka na

It lies in ruins now- the old capital at Shiga

of rippling wavelets- but the cherries at Nagara bloom as they bloomed long ago.

danori was an enemy of the throne, so there's nothing more to be said. the story is a pathetic one.

7.20. The Flight from Fukuhara \lnemori and all the other Heike nobles except Koremori had brought .wives and children, but there was a limit to the number of people who ~. be taken along, and the men of lower rank had had to leave their

'Lines from a poem in Chinese by the literatus 6e no Asatsuna (WKRES 63 2).

360 The Tale of the Heike

families behind, with no idea of when they might be reunited. A separaf seems long enough when the day and hour of the traveler's return are fii but these had been final goodbyes-eternal farewells-and those who and those who stayed had all wept until their sleeves were drenched.

For the hereditary Taira retainers, obligated to the clan for many years• unforgettable favors, there was no question of refusing to follow their lot But all of them, the old and the young alike, looked back again and ag unable to progress as they should have. Some of them slept on the wa near rocky shores and spent their days on boundless sea paths; ot crossed the vast plains and braved the perils of rugged mountains. Each m fled as he thought best, some raising whips to horses and others work' poles on boats.

When they reached Fukuhara, Munemori summoned his principal sa rai of all ages, a total of several hundred men. "The prosperity of accu lated merit has come to an end; the calamity of accumulated evil has fa on us," he told them. "We have left the capital to lead wanderers' Ii repudiated by the gods and abandoned by the retired emperor. There see to be nowhere for us to turn. But a powerful karmic tie from a previ •· existence binds those who merely take shelter under the same tree; a fi link from another world connects those who merely scoop water from t same stream. What must be the nature of the bond that unites us?

"You didn't declare allegiance to our house yesterday for some tempor gain; you are hereditary retainers, serving as your fathers did before y Some of you share our blood; others have received our favors for gen~ tions. You lived by our bounty while we prospered; cari it be that you d · need to honor your obligations now? And can it be that you wouldn't w to travel to the end of any plain, or to the innermost recesses of any md tains, in attendance on His Majesty the Emperor, who beal:s with him sacred regalia?"

All the old and young samurai answered in the same way, with t streaming down their faces. "Even the humble birds and beasts know I! to requite favors and repay kindnesses. How could men be ignorant oft . duty? It was solely because of your beneficence that we were able to sup our families and look after our retainers for more than twenty years. loyalty shames a warrior. We'll go with His Majesty to the death, whet the destination is inside or outside of Japan-whether it's Silla, Paek<, Koguryo, Bohai, the farthest reaches of the clouds, or the farthest reac of the sea," they said. 26 ·

The Taira nobles seemed reassured. They spent a night in the old capital at Fukuhara. It was late in the .

month of autumn, the time of the crescent moon. As the lonely, still n,

26. Silla, Paekche, and Koguryii were early kingdoms on the Korean peninsula; Bohai, a Tungusic state that occupied parts of eastern Manchuria, the former Soviet Maritirne P: ince, and northern Korea between 700 and 926.

ore on, dew ar eir surroundin ·yomori had e ain. Within tl lace designed wing the moc ade, the racet1 ewing snow, t istocracy, the d been comm d the fine pa, mn grasses cb nces. Only th, ht entered the

e emperor ar rewell, even tl

leaving the , twilight, the

aves murmuri e cricket chc

und pierced t · Yesterday, th the foot of tl tying their n ercast, the VI

,ne islands, th Cleaving the e boats seem e passing of · ers and the ci ey had reach Ve their endlt

; pathetic sp, !th the nost: iver," they th It was on th, ei [n83) the

2.7. Ariwara nc 0 tnou hito wa I

. ill put to you, Jd to have been ida R' 1ver (now i dori ("capital-b

nited. A separ r's return are nd those who · :e drenched. 1 for many Yea • follow their JO :k again and ag slept on the w sea paths; ot

mntains. Each nd others wor ·

~is principal sa sperity of accu ated evil has fa :I wanderers' Jr peror. Therese' ie from a previ : same tree; a fi ,op water from mites us? or some tempor '.rs did before y' favors for gene t be that you d you wouldn't w :sses of any mo Jears with him

1e way, with te .. I beasts know h ,e ignorant of th ere able to supp twenty years. Q the death, whet it's Silla, Paek 1e farthest reac

vas late in the fi e lonely, still ni

n peninsula; Bohai Soviet Maritime Pr'

Chapter Seven

eon, dew and tears mingled on the travelers' pillows, and everything in i' surroundings seemed a source of misery. They looked at the buildings ornori had erected, wondering if they would ever return to see them in, Within the space of three years, all had fallen into decay-the hill ce designed for viewing blossoms in the spring, the beach palace for ing the moon in the fall, the hall of the bubbling spring, the hall of pine

'de, the racetrack hall, the two-storied viewing-stand hall, the palace for wing snow, the reed-thatched palace, the residences of members of the rocracy, the temporary imperial palace that Major Counselor Kunitsuna

·· been commanded to build, the roof tiles shaped like mandarin ducks, the fine pavements made of stone. Thick moss covered the roads; au- n grasses choked the gates. Ferns sprouted from roof tiles; ivy overran

ces. Only the pine wind visited the sagging, mossy halls; only the moon- . t entered the exposed bedchambers with their tattered blinds. he next morning, they set fire to the imperial palace at Fukuhara, and . emperor and all the others boarded boats. This was another painful ewell, even though the grief was less sharp than the anguish they had felt leaving th,e capital. The smoke plumes where fisherfolk boiled seaweed

'twilight, the' cry of a deer on a mountaintop as dawn approached, the ves murmuring toward beaches, the moonbeams reflected in wet sleeves,

· cricket choruses in the grass-every sight evoked melancholy, every nd pierced the fugitives' hearts.

Yesterday, they were a hundred thousand horsemen aligning their bridles the foot of the eastern barrier. Today, they were but seven thousand men tying their mooring lines on the waves of the western sea. The sky was rcast, the water calm, the day nearing its end. Evening mist shrouded eislands, the moon's reflection floated on the sea. leaving the waves of the distant horizon, drawn ever onward by the tide, boats seemed to climb higher and higher into the cloudy sky. Already, passing of time had interposed mountains and rivers between the trav-

rs and the capital, which now lay far behind the clouds. It was as though ey had reached the limits of the earth, the point at which all had ended 'ye their endless tears. A flock of white birds resting on the waves gave rise ; pathetic speculations. "They're probably capital-birds, the waterfowl 'th the nostalgic name-the ones Narihira questioned at the Sumida ver," they thought.27 Jt was on the twenty-fifth day of the seventh month in the second year of ei [n83] that the Heike withdrew completely from the capital.

.17. Ariwara no Narihira (KKS 4rr): na ni shi owaba / iza koto towamu / miyakodori / wa omou hito wa / ari ya nashi ya to ("If you are in truth what your name seems to make you, ill put to you, capital-bird, this question: do things go well with my love?"). The poem is

.d to have been composed when the author, traveling in self-imposed exile, reached the Su- .a River (now in Tokyo), where a ferryman identified an unfamiliar bird by the name miya- ori ("capital-bird").

Chapter 8

Time: late months of u83 Principal subjects: difficulties of the Taira in western Japan; the contrasting¥

characters of Yoritomo and Yoshinaka · Principal characters:

Go-Shirakawa, Retired Emperor. Head of the imperial clan Kanehira (Imai). Yoshinaka's foster-brother and chief lieutenant Koreyoshi (Okata). Powerful local warrior in Kyushu Munemori (Taira). Son of Kiyomori; now head of clan Shigeyoshi (Ki). A powerful local figure Sukemori (Taira). Second son of Shigemori (Kiyomori's son and original

heir, now deceased) .· Tokitada (Taira). Member of a branch family; brother of Kiyomori's c;

widow Tomomori (Taira). Son of Kiyomori Yoritomo (Minamoto). Heir to the chieftainship of the Minamoto clan;

leader of anti-Taira forces in the east Yoshinaka (Minamoto). Cousin of Yoritomo; leader of an!i-Taira forces

in the north Yukiie (Minamoto). Uncle of Yoritomo and Yoshinaka; presently allied·~

with Yoshinaka

[ Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa has returned to the capital, escorted by Yoshinaka. Initially welcomed as saviors, Yoshinaka and his uncle, Yukiie, have begun to behave with the arrogance of conquerors. Yoritomo is still a\,. his headquarters, the town of Kamakura in eastern Japan. The Heike are in•' Kyushu, where a local figure, Okata no Koreyoshi, has just mustered all the principal warriors of the island against them. ]

8.4- The Flight from the Dazaifu

The news of Koreyoshi's revolt was a devastating blow to the Heike, wF had been planning to establish a capital and build the emperor a palace. the Dazaifu. 1 "Koreyoshi used to be Shigemori's retainer," Major Counsel'

r. A special government office in Kyushu. See Glossary.

kitada said. "I s to see him:

'ri took five ·sed him back

.take you pris th trifles w he1 u do, anyway dhim. After that, K< jiri no J iro K

d bear a corr ff my helmet posal. But tl

pel you imme okitada wet

ur master is .n goddess in 1 hsu and Ha< ·yomori even e disturbance u obey an or ose rebels in e idea that y< t language nly large no

Koremura tc aid. "The pas1 e'll chase the1 Upon learni1 endayii no H ousand hors

's insolence ey attacked

t his disposal, . Then the H, irty thousarn om the Daza enj in, the dei 1 e onion-floV1 Peror had 1

2 • As the nam ren) was surmo

as long-lived. T

clan ieutenant

er of Kiyomori's'

Minamoto clan;

,ta!, escorted by is uncle, Yukiie, ritomo is still at rhe Heike are in , mustered all the

to the Heike, w 1peror a palace Major Counsel

Chapter Eight

·tada said. "I wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea for one of Shigemori's to see him and try to talk him around." The others agreed, and Suke-

i wok five hundred horsemen into Bungo Province. But Koreyoshi ed him back the way he had come, unmoved by his arguments. "I ought ke you prisoner here and now, but I'll let you go. I can't be bothered trifles when I have important matters to take care of. What harm can

do, anyway? Get on back to the Dazaifu and die with your friends," he him. fter that, Koreyoshi sent a message to the Dazaifu by his second son, iri no Jiro Koremura. "I have enjoyed the bounty of the house of Taira bear a correspondingly heavy obligation; it would be fitting for me to my helmet as your vassal, unstring my bow, and place myself at your

· osal. But the fact is that the retired emperor has commanded me to el you immediately. You'd better leave while you can." okitada went out to receive Koremura, wearing a formal tunic with ' e-red wrist cords, a divided skirt made of kudzu cloth, and a high cap. ur master is the eighty-first human mikado, a direct descendant of the goddess in.the forty-ninth generation. There can be no doubt that Ama- su and Hachiman watch over him. Furthermore, the late Chancellor

'omori even brought men from Chinzei into court service after he ended disturbances of the Hogen and Heiji eras. You'll be making a mistake if

.h obey an order from old Big Nose, the governor of Bungo, just because se rebels in the east and north, Yoritomo and Yoshinaka, have sold you idea that you'll get provinces and estates if we lose," he said. (He used t language because Yorisuke, the governor of Bungo, had an uncom- nly large nose.) oremura took the message back to his father. "Forget it!" Koreyoshi

'd. "The past is the past; the present is the present. If that's their attitude, 'll chase them away right now." pon learning that Koreyoshi was recruiting allies, two Heike samurai,

ndayii no Hangan Suesada and Settsu no Hangan Morizumi, took three usand horsemen to Takano-no-honjo in Chikugo Province. "That fel- 's insolence is setting a bad example. We'll take care of him," they said.

ey attacked for a day and a night, but Koreyoshi had an immense force is disposal, and they were forced to retreat. hen the Heike learned that Koreyoshi was about to attack them with

'rty thousand horsemen. There was no alternative; they had to rush away · m the Dazaifu. Sick at heart, they bade farewell to the shrine of Tenman

jin, the deity on whom they had pinned their hopes. For lack of bearers, onion-flower and phoenix palanquins were now mere names, and the

,Peror had to ride in a hand-litter. 2 The imperial mother and the other •.·

; •· As the name suggests, the passenger compartment of the onion-flower palanquin (so- /en) was surmounted by a golden onion-flower, considered auspicious because the blossom ;s long-lived. The phoenix palanquin (horen), surmounted by a gilt phoenix, was used for

The Tale of the Heike

noble ladies tucked up their divided skirts, the minister of state and the ot senior nobles and courtiers hitched up their baggy trousers, and all of th. passed barefoot through the Mizuki portal, fleeing in desperate haste;.t ward the harbor at Hakozaki. 3

As it happened, the rain was pouring down and a wind was whippingcl the sand. Blinded by falling tears and falling rain, they worshipped at miyoshi, Hakozaki, Kashii, and Munakata, each time devoting all their ergies to prayers for the emperor's return to the capital. Then they strugg past Mount Tarumi, with its precipitous heights, and past Uzura Beach t vast expanse of sand. Because they were unused to walking, blood fr their feet stained the sand, their red skirts took on a deeper hue, and t white skirts turned red. The famous Xuanzhuang's torments in the dese and mountains could not have been more agonizing.4 But Xuanzhua amassed undoubted merit for himself and others by traveling in searc~ the sacred doctrines. Most pitifully, the Heike were merely being given advance taste of the suffering that awaited them in the next world, beca enmity was the motivation for their journey.

Much as they would have liked to flee to the farthest reaches of the do. or the farthest reaches of the sea-if need be, to Paekche, Koguryo, or B. hai-they were thwarted by the winds and waves. With Hyodoji Hideto escort, they sought refuge in the Yamaga stronghold. 5 Then they receiv; word of approaching enemies, and traveled nightlong in small boats to nagi-ga-ura in Buzen Province, where they had decided to build an impe · palace. But the site proved to be too small. Furtherm~re, there were n rumors of a Genji attack from Nagato Province, forcing them to hurry tj to sea in fishermen's boats.

Shigemori's third son, Middle Captain Kiyotsune, had always had a!~ dency to brood. "The Genji drove us out of the capital, arlcf: Koreyoshi pelled us from Chinzei," he said to himself. "We're like fish in a net; matter where we go, we can't escape. What chance do I have of living my life?" He calmed his mind in the moonlight and went to the side of cabin, where he played a melody on his flute and chanted a roei. The . intoned a sutra in a low voice, murmured the name of Amida Buddha a f times, and sank beneath the sea. Everyone wept and wailed, men women together, but it did no good.

great occasions of state. The hand-litter (tagoshi), which resembled a small raft with a, railing, was used for emergencies, such as evacuation in case of fire. It was carried at ~. length by four men; the palanquins were carried on the shoulders by larger groups. i

3. The Mizuki portal was the exit from a moat built in the 7th century to protect· Dazaifu against possible foreign invasion. It was about 15 km from the Dazaifu to Hakq. (now a part of the city of Fukuoka). d

4. Xuanzhuang (602-64) was a Tang monk who traveled through Central Asia to In .1

search of Buddhist instruction and scriptures. 5. The seat of a local clan, the Yamaga, on a hill near a river mouth, in what is no,

town of Ashiya, Fukuoka Prefecture.

Nagato was the or. Upon lear ernor, a man

th more than a ssed to Shikol ection, the loc fed house fo1 ntime, they c ould not verJ unemon anc

ermen's thatc arters, while tl vel palace. Th gile lives wen sandbars at ,

rs at midnight in distant pi

sed their banr mbled lest w; .brows and pi rs of longing tead of greer ubed hovels; · oldered in sl ich smeared ognizable. 6

eanwhile, I barbarian-su a. His messt

. he east on ti: 'I' Ve been un ecognizing rr nder," Yoritc it at the neV1 n built at Ts leries and a ty-six hund1 conference

tate and the 0

s, and all of t :sperate hast

was whippin rorshipped a oting all thei ,en they stru Uzura Beach dng, blood ,er hue, and t nts in the de But Xuanzhu ding in searc ly being give n world, bee

~hes of the cl Koguryo, or.

lyodoji Hidet 1en they recei mall boats to' build an imp , there were hem to hurry

1lways had a nd Koreyoshi fish in a net· 1ave of living to the side of i a ri5ei. The ida Buddha a wailed, men ·

,mall raft with a

;er groups. ,ntury to protec. Dazaifu to Hak

1, in what is no

Chapter Eight

gato was the province of which Middle Counselor Tomomori was gov- r. Upon learning that the Heike were afloat in small craft, the deputy nor, a man named Kii no Gyobu-no-tayii Michisuke, presented them

010re than a hundred large vessels. They transferred into the ships and ed to Shikoku; and at Yashima in Sanuki Province, under Shigeyoshi's don, the local inhabitants were pressed into service to build a shingle- . d house for the emperor-a palace in little more than name. In the · time, they designated a ship to serve as His Majesty's residence, since uld not very well stay in a crude commoner's dwelling.

'unemori and the other senior nobles and courtiers spent their days in rmen's thatched huts, and their nights in humble laborers' sleeping .ters, while the imperial vessel floated on the sea, an unquiet wave-borne ~l palace. Their gloom was as deep as the tides engulfing the moon; their He lives were as vulnerable as frost-stricken reeds. The cries of plovers sandbars at dawn intensified their wretchedness; the sound of nearby < at midnight shriveled their hearts. When they saw white herons flock- . . distant pine trees, they wondered fearfully if the Genji might have dtheir ban,ners; when they heard wild geese crying at sea by night, they bled lest wiifriors be rowing toward them in the darkness. Blackened rows and pink faces gradually faded as salt winds roughened their skin; s of longing for the far-off capital rose in eyes transfixed by blue waves. ead of green curtains in elegant chambers, reed blinds hung in mud- ed hovels; in place of smoke rising from incense burners, reed fires

'ldered in shacks. The miserable ladies could not restrain red tears, ich smeared their black eyebrow-paint and rendered them almost un- . gnizable. 6

8.5. The Retired Emperor Appoints a Barbarian- Subduing Commander

eanwhile, Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa decided to bestow the title arbarian-subduing commander on Yoritomo, who was still in Kama- . His messenger, the documents clerk Nakahara no Yasusada, arrived e east on the fourteenth of the tenth month. 've been under imperial censure for years, but now the retired emperor bgnizing my military exploits by naming me barbarian-subduing com-

der," Yoritomo said. "I can't accept his edict at a private residence; I'll ) at the new shrine." He went to the new Hachiman Shrine, which had · built at Tsurugaoka on a site exactly like the one at Iwashimizu, with ~ries and a two-story gate, overlooking a formal approach more than cy-six hundred feet long. conference was held to decide who should receive the edict. "Miura no

.. "Red [i.e., bloody] tears," a conventional term for tears of intense grief or indignation, d here to balance "black eyebrow-paint."

The Tale of the Heike

Suke Yoshizumi would be the right man," they concluded. "He claims•i scent from Miura no Heitaro Tametsugi, a warrior famous all over the el provinces. Also, the honor will be a comforting light in the black net regions for his father, Osuke Yoshiaki, who gave his life for Yoritomo."

The imperial envoy, Yasusada, brought with him two kinsmen and' other retainers. The bag containing the edict hung from a servant's n Yoshizumi also had with him two kinsmen and ten other retainers. The kinsmen were Wada no Sabur6 Munezane and Hiki no Tashiro Yoshika the other ten retainers had been requisitioned in haste from ten of the gi landholders. ·

That day, Yoshizumi wore a dark blue tunic and a suit of armor la with black silk. At his waist, he wore a magnificent sword; on his back,. carried a quiver containing twenty-four arrows fledged with black-ban white feathers. His rattan-wrapped bow was at his side; his helmet was t' to his shoulder-cord. He bowed to receive the edict.

"Who receives His Majesty's edict? Give your name," Yasusada sa Yoshizumi did not identify himself as Miura no Suke. Instead, he gave · true name, Miura no Arajiro Yoshizumi.7 He presented Yoritomo with edict, which had been placed in a wickerwork box. When the box was; turned after a short time, Yasusada was surprised by its weight. He ope it and discovered a hundred taels of gold dust.

Wine was offered to Yasusada in the oratory, with Saiin no Jikan Chi yoshi as the attendant. A man who held fifth court rank brought the fo

Three horses were led up, one of them saddled. Th,e saddled horse led by Kudo Ichiro Suketsune, who had once served Empress Tashi samurai. An old rush-thatched house had been prepared for Yasusada's ception. A clothing box, filled with two thickly padded sleeping gann and ten short-sleeved robes, had been placed in readiness'; ·'and a thous .. bolts of cloth had been stacked as a gift, some white and others with rub designs in different shades of blue. There was an abundance of food ij drink, presented with the utmost elegance and magnificence. . .•

On the following day, Yasusada went to Yoritomo's residence. There W quarters for the samurai both inside and outside the grounds, each six bays long. In the outer quarters, rows of kinsmen and other retainersc. cross-legged, shoulder to shoulder; in the inner ones, the lords of the Mi moto clan occupied the upper seats, and rows of large and small landhol the lower. Yasusada was given the seat of honor in the Minamoto sect

After a short interval, Yasusada proceeded to the main hall. They se ·· him in the eave-chamber, on matting edged with purple. The blinds raised to reveal an elevated seat, with matting edged in black and VI, damask, and Yoritomo entered the room, attired in an unfigured huit

7. Presumably because Miura no Suke was an informal name. Miura is a surname de from a locality; Suke, a courtesy title derived from a court office, ArajirO means "Valiao{ ond Son."

be and a higt ndsome, and "Yoshinaka a er ranks and c wn provmcei re, Hidehira

vernor of Mi; cause he's no and from Hii · "I'd give you · rial messengt other, Major

asusada said.

out receivin@ "he said. Yasusada ha,

. y, but Yorit, said. On the folio as given a co rattan-wrapJ em saddled. eeved robes, .ere the gifts t s of rice we1 om Kamaku alms.

When he re lace, presen

on of his ex fessed, and t . In contrast tso no Yoshi de and vulg 0wledge of

ho had livec 0 until he,

··A man knc ka to discu

d. "He clailt\ s all over the . the black n or Yoritomo ,: kinsmen a~d

. a servant's n. :etainers. The 5shiro Yoshik m ten of the g

it of armor 1 :l; on his back rith black-ban'° is helmet was t

," Yasusada s stead, he gavei r. . . ontomo with n the box was reight. He ope'

1 no Jikan Chi brought the fo addled horse npress Tashi i for Yasusada's; ;leeping garme ,; and a thousa thers with rub ance of food ce. :lence. There w mds, each sixt >ther retainers ords of the Mi small landhold [inamoto sectio hall. They sea The blinds w black and wh.

mfigured hunti

Chapter Eight

e and a high cap. His face was large, his figure small, his appearance dsome, and his speech unaccented. Yoshinaka and Yukiie have seized the chance to go in and claim what-r ranks and offices they happen to like, and they haven't hesitated to turn

kn provinces that didn't suit them. The situation is ridiculous. Further- . re, Hidehira in the north disobeys my orders because he's been made · ernor of Mutsu Province, and Satake no Shiro Takayoshi does the same ause he's now vice-governor of Hitachi Province. I'd like to have a com- nd from His Majesty to subjugate both of them immediately," he said.

/'I'd give you my name certificate now if I could, but I'm here as an im- ial messenger, so I'll present it as soon as I get back to the capital. 8 My

other, Major Recorder Shigeyoshi, tells me he wants to do the same," susada said. oritomo laughed. "As things stand at the moment, I'm not thinking

'out receiving name certificates. But I don't object if you really want to do 1' he said. Yasusada had announced that he would leave for the capital on that same y, but Yoritomo detained him. "By all means, stay just this one day," said. ,, ' On the following day, Yasusada went to Yoritomo's residence. There he

'as given a corselet laced with green silk, a sword with silver decorations, rattan-wrapped bow with hunting arrows, and thirteen horses, three of

hem saddled. His twelve kinsmen and other retainers received tunics, short- leeved robes, wide-mouthed divided skirts, and even saddles. So numerous · ere the gifts that thirty pack horses were needed to carry them. Fifty bush- s of rice were provided for the party at every post station, all the way om Kamakura to Kagami-so much too much that they gave away some s alms.

8.6. Nekoma

i When he returned to the capital, Yasusada went to the retired emperor's alace, presented himself in the inner courtyard, and gave a detailed descrip- .on of his experiences in the Kanto. The retired emperor was greatly im- 'ressed, and the senior nobles and courtiers all smiled in approval.

In contrast to Yoritomo's admirable conduct, the manners and speech of . iso no Yoshinaka, the present protector of the capital, were indescribably 'µde and vulgar. Of course, nothing else was to have been expected. What nowledge of civilized deportment could have come the way of someone ho had Hved at Kiso, in the mountains of Shinano, from the time he was o until he was thirty? A man known as Nekoma Middle Counselor Mitsutaka visited Yoshi-

aka to discuss a certain matter.

8. The name certificate (myobu) was a card listing a man's office, rank, name, and age. Its resentation was a symbolic act, pledging unlimited service in return for patronage.

368 The Tale of the Heike

"Lord Nekoma has arrived. He says he wants to see you about some.. thing," the retainers said.

Yoshinaka burst out laughing. "A cat wants to talk to a man?" 9

"This is a senior noble called the Nekoma middle counselor. Nekoma is probably the name of the place where he lives," someone said.

"In that case, I'll see him," Yoshinaka said. But instead of referring to thci visitor as Lord Nekoma, he said, "Lord Neko is treating us to a rare visiti Get some food ready."

"Please don't dream of bothering about that now," said the middle. counselor.

"You've come at mealtime, so naturally I'll feed you," Yoshinaka said. I the erroneous belief that the word "unsalted" might refer to any fresh food, he said to his people, "We have some 'unsalted' finger mushrooms. Hur · up and fix them." 10

Nenoi no Koyata acted as waiter. He presented the middle counselor wit .. three vegetable side dishes, some finger-mushroom soup, and a big, dee country-style bowl heaped with rice. Then he placed a similar repast in fron. of Yoshinaka. Yoshinaka seized his chopsticks and began to eat. Lord N koma hesitated, repelled by the squalid appearance of the bowl.

"That's the bowl I use for religious purposes." Yoshinaka told him. The visitor thought it would be worse to refuse the meal than to eat it, so.

he picked up his chopsticks and toyed with the food. "Lord Neko's a small eater," Yoshinaka said. "He's just like the cats

hear about who don't finish their dinners. Eat up!" Mortally offended, Lord Nekoma hurried away without mentioning hi

business. In the thought that a man who held office and rank could not go to cou

in a tunic, Yoshinaka put on a hunting robe and hunched 1himself into: carriage, unaware that his costume was devoid of taste from the fit of hi cap to the hem of his trousers. His appearance was dreadful-a far cry fro. the figure he cut on horseback, wearing armor and quiver and holding a bo

The carriage and the ox-driver had both belonged to Munemori, who W now at Yashima. Bowing to the changing times like everyone else, the o, driver had let himself be impressed into Yoshinaka's service, but not witho resentment. When the carriage left the gate, he whipped up the ox, a fin spirited beast, which had not been driven recently. As was only to h~; been expected, it lunged forward, and Yoshinaka fell flat on his back ... • struggled to right himself, his sleeves extended like butterfly wings. "fI. ox-boy!" he yelled, unable to think of the word "ox-driver." "Hey, ox-bo)'.'

The ox-driver chose to interpret "Hey!" as "Make him run!" 11 He k 9. The place-name Nekoma is partially homophonous with neko, "cat." 10. Buen, "unsalted," was a term properly used only of seafood. 11. Yare, the word translated as "Hey!," is homophonous with the imperative of the

yaru, "cause to run."

he ox gallopin rook them with ing him run lik1

"He was too o patch things andhold in th1 Yoshinaka g1

our idea or th, After the can

aka started to

is service. "Why shoul,

aid. He got OL Many other

o talk about ti

you about

man?" 9 selor. Neko :aid. Jf referring t us to a rare

oshinaka sa · o any fresh 1shrooms. H

le counselor and a big,

ar repast in ft to eat. Lord Jowl. a told him. than to eat i •

:i not go to co d himself int om the fit of .-a far cry fr .. d holding a 69 1emori, who~ Jne else, the ,:l but not withd

.p the ox, a firt ·as only to ha. on his back. fly wings. "H '"H 6 ey, ox- oy run!" 11 He ke ,,

Chapter Eight

galloping for another half mile, until Imai no Shiro Kanehira over- hem with flailing whip and flapping stirrups. "What's the idea of mak-

hn run like that?" Kanehira demanded. e was too strong for me," the driver said. Then, perhaps in an effort

tch things up with Yoshinaka, he said, "Your Excellency, please use the hold in there." •shinaka grabbed the handhold. "This is a great contraption! Was it idea or the minister's?" he asked. ter the carriage was unhitched at the retired emperor's residence, Yoshi- started to alight from the rear. "A carriage is supposed to be entered the rear and left from the front," said a city-dweller he had taken into

ervice. · hy should I bypass a place just because it's in a carriage?" Yoshinaka . I-le got out through the rear. · any other ridiculous things like this happened, but people were afraid lk about them.

Chapter 9

Time: first and second months of II 84 Principal subjects: the battle for control of the capital and the battle of Ichi-

no-tani Principal characters:

Atsumori (Taira). Son of Tsunemori; nephew of Kiyomori Go-Shirakawa, Retired Emperor. Head of the imperial clan Kanehira (Imai). Foster-brother of Yoshinaka Michimori (Taira). Son of Norimori; nephew of Kiyomori Munemori (Taira). Son of Kiyomori; head of the Taira clan Noritsune (Taira). Son of Norimori; nephew of Kiyomori Noriyori (Minamoto). Son of Yoshitomo; half-brother of Yoritomo Shigehira (Taira). Son of Kiyomori Tomomori (Taira). Son of Kiyomori Yoritomo (Minamoto). Heir to the chieftainship of the Minamoto clan;

leader of anti-Taira forces in the east Yoshinaka (Minamoto). Cousin of Yoritomo; controls capital as chapter

begins ' ;,, Yoshitsune (Minamoto). Son of Yoshitomo; half-brother of Yoritomo

Prominent Eastern warriors figuring in battle episodes: Kagesue (Kajiwara). Son of Kagetoki Kagetoki (Kajiwara). Trusted lieutenant of Yoritomo; presently with

Yoshitsune's army Naozane (Kumagae). Originally with Noriyori's army; later with

Yoshitsune's Sanehira (Toi). A subordinate commander in Yoshitsune's army Shigetada (Hatakeyama). With Yoshitsune's army Takatsuna (Sasaki). With Yoshitsune's army

(The Heike have twice defeated forces sent against them by Yoshinaka, and are gaining strength in the west. They are now holed up with the boy-emperor Antoku in Sanuki Province. Meanwhile, after a falling out and a clash of arms in the capital between Yoshinaka and Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa, Yoshi- naka has gone his own way and taken control of the city and the court, caus- ing Yoritomo to dispatch two of his brothers, Noriyori and Yoshitsune, to

"put an end to warring on the

At N aritada'i here Retired l ade it impossi ird year of J l

' ere were no fc ngratulations The Heike, fc e beach at Yai

i:st three days , ·· peror was th e four directi< om Kuzu in 'l

. Verdant spri1 ilder sunshin apped in eteri te in the capit: .es of how "t aves at the s anches open ith blossom-1

I. Retired Em, g the fighting be, re Was one tha aritada was the

2 • That is, at peror Takakur n of Emperor A

tired emperor's or's palace. 3, The obeisar med by the em

llagers played c ar's ceremonies

. 4, The kanku, day" when suff

5 · A slight var

ri an

ti

an I

: Yoritomo

,ital as chapter

of Yoritomo

presently with

1y; later with

; army

oshinaka, and e boy-emperor t clash of arms ·akawa, Yoshi- 1e court, caus- Yoshitsune, to

Chapter Nine 37I

an end to Yoshinaka's excesses." At this point, the Genji are effectively ing on themselves. ]

9.r. The Matter of Ikezuki

aritada's house near the junction of Rokujo and Nishi-no-toin, Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa was staying, the lack of amenities

it impossible to hold ceremonies on the first of the first month in the year of Juei [rr84]. 1 Thus there were no felicitations; and because ,were no felicitations at the retired emperor's residence, there were no atulations at the imperial palace. 2

•• Heike, for their part, saw out the old year and welcomed the new on ach at Yashima in Sanuki Province. The ceremonies prescribed for the ree days could not be performed in satisfactory fashion. Although the

ror was there with them, there were no banquets and no obeisances to ur directions. No trout were offered to the throne, nor did the villagers

'I(uzu in Yoshino present their music.3 "In spite of all the disruptions, s were never this bad in the capital," the Taira nobles said to one er. \ !-

rdant spring had come, with ever softer breezes from the shore and ever · r sunshine, but the Heike felt as though they were kankuchi5 birds ped in eternal ice. 4 They indulged in long, pathetic reminiscences about in the capital, and tried to while away the interminable days with memo- 'of how "the willows on the east and west banks did not put forth es at the same pace, nor the plum blossoms on the south and north 'ches open and fall together" 5-of how they had amused themselves

blossom-viewing in the morning and moon-viewing at night, and with try, music, kickball, small-bow competitions, and contests matching s; pictures, plants, and insects. ,, n the eleventh of the first month, Kiso no Yoshinaka visited the retired

( Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa's residence, the H6jiiji Mansion, had burned down dur- ~e fighting between Yoshinaka and the retired emperor's supporters. The house mentioned was one that had been put at Yoshinaka's disposal when he first entered the capital.

· ada was the head of the Palace Table Office. That is, at the residence of the young Emperor Go-Toba (n80-r239; r. rr83-98),

. eror Takakura's fourth son, whom Go-Shirakawa had put on the throne after the abduc- ofEmperor Antoku by his Taira relatives (Sec. 8.r; not translated). The felicitations at the

)!d emperor's residence were supposed to precede the congratulations at the reigning em- 1'1s palace. : The obeisances to the four directions (shihohai) was a calamity-averting ceremony per- _ed by the emperor on the first day of the year. The trout came from the Dazaifu; the Kuzu

. gers played old-fashioned flutes and sang their folksongs. For information about New 's ceremonies, see McCullough and McCullough, Tale of Flowering Fortunes, r: 380-85. • The kankuchi5 was a mythical Himalayan bird. It was reputed to cry, "I'll build a nest Y" when suffering from the cold at night, and to say, "I'll do it tomorrow" after sunrise.

'5 • A slight variation on a couplet by the literatus Yoshishige no Yasutane (WKRES r r ).

372 The Tale of the Heike

emperor to announce that he was ready to march westward and subduer Heike.

On the thirteenth, just as Yoshinaka was reported to be leaving, w ·· arrived that fifty to sixty thousand horsemen had already reached Mino~· Owari provinces, sent from the east by Yoritomo to put an end to his c sin's excesses.

In great consternation, Yoshinaka took out the bridges at Uji and S and divided his forces for defensive action. His strength was negligible the time. To the Seta Bridge, where the frontal assault would come, he s Imai no Kanehira with eight hundred horsemen. To the Uji Bridge, he s Nishina, Takanashi, and Yamada no Jira with five hundred horsemen; Imoarai, he sent his uncle Yoshinori with three hundred horsemen. It reported that the commanders-in-chief of the frontal and rear assault for: from the east were Gama no Onzashi Noriyori and Kura Onzashi Yos tsune; also that more than thirty great local landholders were marching them, and that their combined armies numbered more than sixty thous,{ horsemen.

In those days, the Lord of Kamakura, Yoritomo, had in his possessi two famous horses named Ikezuki [Ill-tempered Biter] and Surusumi [lg stick]. Kajiwara Kagesue asked for Ikezuki more than once, but Yorito gave him Surusumi instead. "I'm saving Ikezuki for the day when I mig need to put on armor and ride. Surusumi is an excellent horse too," he to him. Then, for some reason, he gave Ikezuki to Sasaki Takatsuna wh Takatsuna came to make his formal request for permission to leave. "Tl!. the horse in the knowledge that other people have want~d him," he said.

Takatsuna bowed. "I'll be the first man across the Uji River on this hor. If people tell you I died at the river, you'll know somebody got ahead of If they tell you I'm still alive, you can be sure I was the first,' 1: he said. T~ he withdrew.

"That was a rash boast," the assembled landholders whispered am0 . themselves.

Leaving Kamakura in independent parties, the easterners traveled toW the capital as they pleased, some by way of Ashigara and others by of Hakone. When Kajiwara Kagesue reached Ukishima-ga-hara in Sur Province, he reined in for a while on top of a hill, watching as thousand horses were led past by their mouth and bridle ropes, each with a colo crupper and a saddle to suit its owner's fancy. He congratulated himself; all that mighty procession, there was no better mount than Surusumi, . horse Yoritomo had given him. Just then, he spied a horse that looked { Ikezuki. It wore a saddle trimmed with gold and a crupper with a sh fringe, and it was champing white foam and prancing as several groo. struggled to control it. He rode down the hill.

"Whose horse is that?" he asked. "It's Lord Sasaki's," they told him. . He was outraged. "I was going to go to the capital and stake my life 1

restling match iguchi, Tate, a1

· sk death again osed to be as g this is how Hi

'ght here; thanl aited, mutterir All unsuspect

ated with him etter to hit hi1 eak first. "Well, Sasaki Sasaki remem

·ue's desire fort hat happened oshinaka wou hat could get n · ould be a was ive him to you

act and tak( . at night, I ca kezuki, and br

Kagesue coo ff with a laugl

9 The horse S,

nd brawny. J-1 ~ men appro, nary mount.

ery stout and oth were sup, In preparati,

rontal and re: _f the frontal Omi Province ng these men:

Taketa

Kagan

Ichijo Itagak Inage,

Hang,

•e leaving, Wo ached Mino a t end to his co

at Uji ands vas negligible Id come, hes i Bridge, he s ,d horsemen•

' orsemen. It w ar assault for Onzoshi Yos

·e marching wi 1 sixty thousa

n his possessi' l Surusumi (Ip. :e, but Yorito 1y when I mi rse too," he t fakatsuna wh 1 to leave. "Ta 1im," he said. rer on this ho got ahead of t," he said. Th

; traveled towl d others by w 1-hara in Suni : as thousands h with a color t!ated himself .. m Surusumi, t that looked If

per with a sh' , several groo·

,take my life i

Chapter Nine 373

restling match with one of Yoshinaka's famous Four Heavenly Kings, Imai, iguchi, Tate, and Nenoi. Either that, or I was going to head westward and sk death against one of the Heike samurai-those fellows who are sup- ased to be as good as a thousand ordinary warriors. But what's the point this is how His Lordship feels? I'll wrestle with Sasaki and draw on him ht here; thanks to me, His Lordship will lose two good men," he said. He

aited, muttering. 1 All unsuspecting, Takatsuna rode into view, taking his time. Kagesue de- "ated with himself. Should he ride alongside and grab him? Would it be 'etter to hit him head-on and knock him to the ground? He decided to eak first. "Well, Sasaki, I see His Lordship has made you a present of lkezuki !"

tSasaki remembered immediately that he had heard people talk about Kage- e's desire for the horse. "As a matter of fact," he answered, "that's not quite hat happened. When I was getting ready for this campaign, I realized that oshinaka would tear up the bridges at Uji and Seta. I didn't have a horse at could get me across the river. I wanted to ask for Ikezuki, but I knew it ,ould be a wa1ti: of time, because I'd heard that His Lordship wouldn't even ive him to you when you asked about it. I didn't have a prayer. So I decided

act and take the consequences. I was leaving just before dawn. Earlier at night, I came to a meeting of minds with a groom, stole his precious ezuki, and brought him with me. What do you think of that?" Kagesue cooled down. "Damn it! I wish I'd stolen him myself!" He rode

,ff with a laugh.

9.2. The First Man Across the Uji River

The horse Sasaki Takatsuna had received was a dark chestnut, very stout p.d brawny. He was named Ikezuki because he refused to let either horses · men approach him. People said he stood eight inches taller than an or- 'hary mount. Surusumi, the horse Kajiwara Kagesue had received, was also ery stout and brawny. He was named Surusumi because he was pure black. oth were superb animals, inferior to none. '1h preparation for the attack on the capital, the easterners broke up into

ntal and rear assault forces in Owari Province. The commander-in-chief the frontal assault force, Noriyori, advanced to Noji and Shinohara in

ini Province with a total of more than thirty-five thousand riders, includ- .. g these men:

Taketa no Taro Nobuyoshi

Kagami no Jiro Tomitsu

Ichijo no Jiro Tadayori

ltagaki no Saburo Kanenobu

Inage no Saburo Shigenari

Hangae no Shiro Shigetomo

374 The Tale of the Heike

Kumagae no Jiro Naozane lnomata no Koheiroku Noritsuna

The commander-in-chief of the rear assault force, Yoshitsune, swoop, down on the approach to the Uji Bridge, coming by way of Iga Provi with a total of more than twenty-five thousand riders, including these me

Yasuda no Saburo Yoshisada Ouchi no Taro Koreyoshi Hatakeyama no Shoji Jiro Shigetada Kajiwara Genda Kagesue Sasaki Shiro Takatsuna Kasuya no Toda Arisue Shibuya no Uma-no-jo Shigesuke Hirayama no Mushadokoro Sueshige

The bridges at Uji and Seta had both been pulled up, and there we barricades made of tree branches floating on the current, tied to ropes tween stakes driven at random in the riverbed. As was natural for the ti . of year, which was past the twentieth of the first month, the last of the snO had melted from the peaks of Hira, the Shiga Mountains, and Nagarayam The ice had melted in all the valleys, and the river was in full flood. An white waves raced downstream; rapids roared like waterfalls; former eddi had become whirlpools. Dawn was just breaking, but a dense fog had rise from the river, dimming the colors of the horses' coats and the lacings 0 the riders' armor.

The commander-in-chief, Yoshitsune, went to shore and looked out of the water. It may be that he wanted to find out what his men were thinkip for he said, "What shall we do? Would it be best to go arou~d to Yoda :( lmoarai? Should we wait for the river to subside?" ·

At that time, Hatakeyama Shigetada was only twenty-one. He came fef ward and spoke. "We used to hear lots of stories about this river in Kant kura. It's not some unknown body of water, looming up out of nowhere.\ the outlet of Lake Biwa, and it won't go down, no matter how long Y wait. Nobody can bridge it for you, either. Was Ashikaga Tadatsuna supe_ human when he rode across it during the battle in the Jish6 era? 6 I'll test for you!" His five hundred horsemen surged forward and lined up bridle bridle-members of the Tan League and others.

Just then, two warriors galloped into view from the tip of Tachibana- kojima, northeast of the Byodoin. One was Kagesue and the other was Ta tsuna. Neither of them had revealed his intentions, but each had secre made up his mind to be the first across the river. ..

Takatsuna hailed Kagesue, who was about thirty-five feet ahead of ht,.

6. See "The Battle at the Bridge" (Sec. 4.rr).

his is the bigg up!" Kagesue must

· ed his legs in t · e reins over tl hile, Takatsurn y feeling that r "Look out, S2 ere must be r, Takatsuna dn e after anoth, Ikezuki, the '

to a diagonal • Takatsuna st< ice. "The firs1 n of Sasaki S ror Uda ! If ar e!" He charge Shigetada da1

· site bank, Y: rehead of his w, Shigetada m to the othe aps from the r e rear. "Who's that? "Shigechika, "It's you, Ok '~That's right Okushi Jir6 ift for my he

· "You boys , ouble," Shig, d tossed him Shigechika s1

,e Uji River o Par of laughte Afterward, S essed in an < ather, and ric Old, advancec

"Who's this etada said. "I'm Nagase

itsune, swoo · of Iga Pro , d

. Vt 1 mg these Ill

and there w tied to ropes ural for the ti : last of the sn 11d Nagaraya .ull flood. An ls; former edd 1se fog had ri~ d the lacings :

looked out ov n were thinkiri md to Yodo a

1e. He came f s river in Kam : of nowhere. I r how long y adatsuna sup i era? 6 I'll test: ned up bridle

f Tachibana-n other was Tak 1ch had secred

Chapter Nine 375

5 is the biggest river in the west! Your saddle girth looks loose; tighten I"

·gesue must have feared that the girth really needed tightening. He stiff- his legs in the stirrups to hold them away from Surusumi's belly, tossed

·,reins over the horse's mane, undid the girth, and tightened it. Mean- ie, Takatsuna galloped past him into the river. Kagesue followed, possi-

;,feeling that he had been tricked. Look out, Sasaki!" Kagesue yelled. "Don't mess up trying to be a hero! ere must be ropes on the bottom." 'akatsuna drew his sword, cut the ropes as they touched the horse's legs, after another, and rode straight across the Uji River and up the bank kezuki, the best horse in the world. Kagesue's mount, Surusumi, forced a diagonal course at the halfway point, landed far downstream.

akatsuna stood in his stirrups and announced his name in a mighty 'Ce. "The first man across the Uji River is Sasaki Shiro Takatsuna, fourth •· of Sasaki Sabur6 Hideyoshi and ninth-generation descendant of Em- or Uda ! If anybody here thinks he's as good as I am, let him wrestle with !" He chargrd, yelling. higetada diisbed into the river with his five hundred men. From the op-

site bank, Yamada no Jiro released an arrow that sank deep into the ehead of his horse, and the animal began to falter. With the aid of his "w, Shigetada disinounted in midstream and made his way along the bot- in to the other shore, ignoring the white water leaping toward his helmet ps from the rocks. As he was about to climb up, he felt a sharp tug from rear.

''Who's that?" he asked. ''Shigechika," a voice answered. "It's you, Okushi?" '~That's right." Okushi Jir6 Shigechika was Shigetada's godson. "The current was too ift for my horse; it got swept away," he said. "l had to catch onto you."

."You boys are always expecting somebody like me to get you out of ,Buble," Shigetada said. He grabbed Shigechika, dangled him in the air, ]Id tossed him onto the bank. rCShigechika straightened up and identified himself. "The first man to cross e Uji River on foot is Okushi no Jiro Shigechika of Musashi Province!" A ar of laughter went up from both sides. Afterward, Shigetada mounted another horse and left the river. A warrior .essed in an olive-colored tunic and a suit of armor laced with flame-red ~ther, artd riding a white-dappled reddish horse with a saddle trimmed in Id, advanced to the forefront of the enemy ranks. "Who's this fellow galloping in my direction? Give me your name," Shi-

etada said. "I'm Nagase Shigetsuna, a relative of Lord Kiso."

The Tale of the Heike

"You'll serve as today's offering to the god of battle!" Shigetada alongside, seized the man in a powerful grip, pulled him down, and twi off his head. Then he gave the head to Honda no Jira to tie to Hon saddle rope. 7 ·

After this prelude, all the other easterners crossed and took up the at{ The men who were defending the bridge for Yoshinaka put up a brief f tance, but were routed and forced to flee toward Kohatayama and Fush\

Thanks to a plan devised by Inage Shigenari, the easterners at Seta· across the river at Kugonose, in the area of Tanakami.

9.3. The Battle at the Riverbed

After Yoshitsune had defeated Yoshinaka's forces, he sent a courie Kamakura with a written account of the battle. Yoritomo's first ques was about Takatsuna. The courier answered, "He led the way across the· River." And when Yoritomo opened the report, he read, "The first · across the Uji River was Sasaki Shiro Takatsuna; the second was Kaji~· Genda Kagesue."

When Yoshinaka learned about the defeats at Uji and Seta, he hurr toward the retired emperor's residence, the Rokujo Mansion, to make ma! announcement of his departure. The retired emperor, the senior nob] and the courtiers at the mansion were wringing their hands and making kinds of vows. "This is the end of everything!" they said. "What are going to do?"

Just as Yoshinaka got to the gate, he heard someone say that the easte .• ers had already reached the dry bed of the Kamo River. Without leaving a message worth mentioning, he turned away and paid a long farewell visit< a house near the intersection of Rokujo Avenue and Tak<}k,pra Street, .t home of a woman he had been seeing recently. One of the men with h was a new retainer named Echigo no Chuta Iemitsu. "Why are you wast/ so much time, Your Lordship?" this Iemitsu asked. "The invaders are ready at the riverbed. You'll die like a dog!" Yoshinaka still lingered insi4 "All right," Iemitsu said, "I'll wait for you at the Shide Mountains!" Be c open his belly and died. Then Lord Kiso rushed out of the house. "He kiff himself to put some fight in me," he said. .

Lord Kiso's force numbered no more than a hundred horsemen, ch among them Nawa Hirozumi from Kozuke Province. When they rode 0 ; onto the riverbed at the end of Rokujo Avenue, they saw thirty riders W • looked like easterners. Two of the thirty were riding in front, Shionoya J( rehiro and Teshigawara Arinao.

"Do you think we ought to wait for some reinforcements?" Korehiro s~ to Arinao.

"Now that their vanguard's been beaten, the ones in the rear must demoralized," Arinao said. "Charge!" He galloped forward with a yell.

7. Honda was Shigetada's right-hand man. He also appears in other military tales.

Yoshinaka m essed forwarc

•.Meanwhile, · lloped towan ng to mount fety. Naritada, th stern wall at ar, he saw a !loping towa mbat and th,

e said. Then the end! Bu

g a different asterners-th Even as he:

hd pounded, }>mo, has arri

In a transpc uttocks. The o mind. The pened immec That day, '

urple-shaded word with gi rrows fledge, er was worn ow, apparen hat day. The ehind a slatt ave them all

.as first, the c< Hatakeyama Shigesuke. Tl

.Jolors of thei • of the others

At the retir threshold of 1 the battle. Yo

8. During a 1 toward the back damage, not on' shield.

Shigetada' >wn, and l tie to Bo

}k up the at : up a brief na and Fus :ners at Seta

ent a courie" l's first ques ay across the "The first

td was Ka jiv.>

m, to make 1e senior nob , and making" • "What are ·

that the easte 1out leaving~ ; farewell visi .kura Street, ·. ~ men with hi are you wasti invaders are lingered insid

mtains!" He c. ouse. "He kill

horsemen, cht n they rode ci 1irty riders w t, Shionoya K

1e rear must b with a yell.

litary tales.

Chapter Nine 377

oshinaka met him in desperate combat, and all the rest of the easterners •sed forward, each hopeful of being the one to take his head. ·· eanwhile, Yoshitsune turned the fighting over to his subordinates and 6ped toward the Rokujo Mansion with five or six fully armed men, plan-

to mount guard over the retired emperor's residence and ensure its

cy. ··· atitada, the master of the Palace Table Office, had climbed onto the tern wall at the mansion. As he surveyed the surroundings, shaking with r he saw a white banner shoot up above five or six warriors who were !;ping toward him in a cloud of black dust, their helmets loose from bat and their bow-arm sleeves fluttering.• "Terrible news! Kiso's back!"

said. The retired emperor and his retinue despaired. This was bound to the end! But then Naritada informed them that the warriors were wear- a different kind of helmet badge. "I think they must be some of the

·terners-the ones coming into the city today," he said. Even as he spoke, Yoshitsune galloped up to the entrance, dismounted, d pounded on the gate. "Kuro Yoshitsune, the younger brother of Yori- mo, has arriye,d from the east. Open up!" he shouted. •In a transport of joy, Naritada jumped off the wall and landed on his • ttocks. The fall hurt, but he hobbled inside with the message, too happy

mind. The delighted retired emperor issued orders for the gate to be ened immediately. That day, Yoshitsune wore a red brocade tunic, a suit of armor with rple-shaded lacing, and a horned helmet. At his waist, he had fastened a

word with gilt bronze fittings; on his back, he carried a quiver containing 1rrows fledged with black-banded eagle feathers. An inch-wide strip of pa- er was wound leftwise around the left-hand grip of his rattan-wrapped ow, apparently as a sign that he was the commander-in-chief for the battle

.... at day. The retired emperor scrutinized him and his companions from ;ehind a slatted window in the middle gate. "They look like gallant lads. ··· ave them all give their names," he said. The warriors identified themselves s first, the commander-in-chief, Yoshitsune, and, next, Yasuda Yoshisada, atakeyama Shigetada, Kajiwara Kagesue, Sasaki Takatsuna, and Shibuya

higesuke. There were six of them, counting Yoshitsune, and although the olors of their armor-braid may have differed, not one was inferior to any

.of the others in bearing or character. At the retired emperor's direction, Naritada summoned Yoshitsune to the reshold of the eave-chamber. His Majesty asked for a full description of

!11.e battle. Yoshitsune bowed and reported in a matter-of-fact voice. "Yori- fomo was amazed when Yoshinaka revolted. He sent out sixty thousand 'horsemen against him, commanded by Noriyori and me and including more

8. During a battle, the weight of the plates gradually loosened a helmet's cords, forcing it ;toward the back of the head. The armor on the bow (left) arm was particularly susceptible to damage, not only because it was exposed during shooting, but also because it was used as a shield.

The Tale of the Heike

than thirty principal warriors. Noriyori is coming by way of Seta; he ls here yet. I defeated Yoshinaka's men at Uji and hurried along to defend t residence. Yoshinaka has fled north along the riverbed, but I've sent after him; they must have killed him by now."

The retired emperor was well pleased. "Excellent! But I'm afraid t stragglers from Yoshinaka's army might come here to cause trouble. Gu • us carefully," he said. Yoshitsune made respectful assent. He secured four gates. Meanwhile, warriors kept galloping up to join him, and his fo soon numbered more than ten thousand horsemen.

Yoshinaka had stationed twenty shaven-headed laborers at the retired e peror's residence,9 planning, if worst came to worst, to carry him off to t west and make common cause with the Heike. But now he learned. th Yoshitsune had already secured the mansion. Resigning himself to the sit!( tion, he galloped shouting into the midst of the thousands of enemy wf riors. Time after time, he hovered on the brink of death; time after time, managed to break through. .

"I'd never have sent Kanehira to Seta if I'd known things would turn o like this," he said in tears. "Ever since the days when we played together bamboo horses, we've always promised each other that if we had to die we-1 die together. I can't bear to think of the two of us going down in differe places. If only I could find out where he is!"

He galloped northward along the riverbed. Again and again, between R kujo and Sanjo, he turned to meet enemy attacks; five or six times, he dro back the foe's cloudlike host with his meager force. Then he crossed t · Kamo River and made his way to Awataguchi and Matsuzaka. Last ye~ when he departed from Shinano Province, he commanded fifty thousa horsemen; today, as he passed the Shinomiya riverbed, he and his compa .. ions numbered but seven riders. And how infinitely more' pitiful was t prospect of his solitary journey through the intermediate existence!

9.4. The Death of Kiso

Kiso no Yoshinaka had brought two female attendants, Tomoe and 11, mabuki, with him from Shinano Province. Yamabuki had fallen ill a·· stayed in the capital. Tomoe was the more beautiful of the two, with whl skin, long hair, and charming features. She was also a remarkably str0 I! archer, and with a sword she was a warrior equal to a thousand, ready t confront demon or god on horseback or on foot. She handled unbro~ horses with superb skill; she rode unscathed down perilous descents. Wh there was a battle to be fought, Yoshinaka sent her out to act as his fi, captain, equipped with stout armor, an especially long sword, and a st~o bow, and she performed more deeds of valor than any of his other warn° Now she was one of seven who remained after all their comrades had eit fled or perished.

9. "Shaven-headed laborers," or rikishi, were used as palanquin-bearers and porters.

There were ay of Nagasi ass. As a mat f finding Imai efenders at S, rled, wo!rie<

each in Otsu fty feet, and l Lord Kiso t,

'iverbed beyo ·• etreated beca

"It's a great ave died at S "I see that

he mountain them must be aka said. When Imai

ponded-m, om some ot

ast battle. W "They say: "What's hi: "He's supp "Then it's

ood men an erode forV1 That day,• ith thick C

trapped a n olding the 1 ith the tail

,and sat in a Demon], av

ounced his anja; take: Oto no Yos

of Iyo Provi1 good match! Ward, yellini

"That fell Tadayori sa: Kill them!"

The easte hers, each h

LY of Seta• h ' e

ong to defend but I've sent

Jt I'm afraid 1se trouble. G t. He secure him, and his f

; at the retired 1rry him off to N he learned mself to the si ds of enemy W :ime after tim

gs would turn >layed togethe 'le had to die down in diffe

gain, between ix times, he dr · en he crossed :uzaka. Last ye ed fifty thousa , and his comp re pitiful was :xistence!

;, Tomoe and 1ad fallen ill a e two, with wh emarkably stro 1ousand, ready andled unbrok 1s descents. Wh' to act as his fi ord, and a stro is other warrio nrades had eith

ers and porters.

Chapter Nine 379

ere were rumors that Yoshinaka was making for the Tanba Road by , of Nagasaka, and also that he was heading north through the Ryuge As a matter of fact, though, he was retreating toward Seta in the hope ding Imai Kanehira. Kanehira had lost all but fifty of his eight hundred ders at Seta, and had started back toward the capital with his banner

d, wo_rried about his master. The two arrived simultaneously at Uchide h in Otsu, recognized each other from a distance of three hundred and feet, and galloped together.

ord Kiso took Kanehira's hand. "By rights, I ought to have died on the ·rbed beyond Rokujo Avenue, but I broke through an enemy host and ated because I wanted to find you," he said. t's a great honor to hear you talk like that," Kanehira said. "I ought to died at Seta, but I've come this far because I was worried about you."

I see that our karmic bond still holds. My warriors scattered into mountains and woods after the enemy broke our ranks, but some of

In must be near here. Tell your man to raise that furled banner!" Yoshi- . a said.

hen Imai's banner was unfurled, more than three hundred riders re- nded-rri'~h who had fled from the capital or Seta, or who had come m some other place. Yoshinaka's spirits rose. "We have enough for one t battle. Who's the leader of that band I see over there?" he said. "They say it's Ichijo Tadayori from Kai Province," someone answered. ".What's his strength?" ''He's supposed to have six thousand riders." "Then it's just the right match! If we have to die, let's do it by attacking od men and going down because we're outnumbered," Yoshinaka said. e rode forward in the lead. That day, Lord Kiso wore a tunic of red brocade, a suit of armor laced 'th· thick Chinese damask, and a horned helmet. At his side, he had rapped a magnificent long sword; high on his back, there was a quiver !ding the few arrows that remained from his earlier battles, all fledged

ith the tail feathers of eagles. He grasped a bow wrapped with rattan nd sat in a gold-edged saddle astride his famous horse Oniashige [Roan emon], a very stout and brawny animal. Standing in the stirrups, he an- unced his name in a mighty shout. "You must have heard of Kiso no

anja; take a look at him now! I am the Morning Sun Commander, Mina- oto no Yoshinaka, director of the imperial stables of the left and governor

Hyo Province. They tell me you're Ichijo no Tadayori from Kai. We're a ood match! Cut off my head and show it to Yoritomo!" He galloped for- ard, yelling. "That fellow who's just named himself is their commander-in-chief,"

adayori said. "Wipe out the whole force, men! Get all of them, boys! '11 them!" · The easterners moved to surround Yoshinaka with their superior num-

,. ers, each hoping to be the one to take his head. Yoshinaka's three hun-

The Tale of the Heike

dred horsemen galloped lengthwise, sidewise, zigzag, and crosswise in t middle of the six thousand, and finally burst through to the rear. Only fif were left. .

As the fifty went on their way after breaking free, they came to a defens/ position manned by two thousand horsemen under the command of ] Sanehira. Again, they broke through and went on. Again, they gallop' through enemy bands-here four or five hundred, there two or three hu dred, or a hundred and forty or fifty, or a hundred-until only five of the were left. Even then, Tomoe remained alive. ·

"Hurry up, now!" Lord Kiso said to Tomoe. "You're a woman, so goo· off. Go wherever you please. I've made up my mind to die fighting, or els to kill myself if I get wounded, and it wouldn't be right to let people say kept a woman with me during my last battle."

At first, Tomoe refused to leave. When she could resist no longer, sh pulled up. "If I could find somebody worth bothering with, I'd fight one las battle-give His Lordship something to look at," she thought.

As she sat there, thirty horsemen came into view, led by Onda Mor shige, a man famous in Musashi Province for his prodigious strength Tomoe galloped in among them. She rode up alongside Moroshige, seize him in a powerful grip, and pulled him down against the pommel of he saddle. Holding him motionless, she twisted off his head and threw it awa Then she abandoned her armor and helmet and fled toward the easterll; provmces.

Tezuka Mitsumori died fighting and Tezuka no Betto fled. Only two riders: were left, Kanehira and Lord Kiso. '- j

"I've never noticed it before, but my armor feels heavy today," Lor~ Kiso said.

"You aren't tired yet, and your horse is still fresh. Why should the weigh of a suit of armor bother you? You're discouraged because there's nobod left on our side. But don't forget-I'm worth a thousand ordinary warriorsl I'll hold off the enemy awhile with my last seven or eight arrows. That placf over there is the Awazu Pinewoods. Kill yourself among the trees," Kane{ h~said. •

As the two rode on, whipping their horses, a new band of fifty warriors appeared. "Get into the pinewoods ! I'll hold these fellows off," Kane:;; hira said.

"By rights, I ought to have died in the capital. The only reason I ran °~; here was because I wanted to die with you. Let's not be killed in differell places; let's go down together," Lord Kiso said. He brought his horse alongt side Kanehira's, ready to gallop forward. ·

Kanehira jumped down and took Lord Kiso's horse by the bit. "No rnat· ter how glorious a warrior's earlier reputation may have been, a shamefu1 death is an eternal disgrace. You 're tired; you haven't got any followers. It you get isolated, and if somebody's no-account retainer drags you down tOc

0 ur death, pee iso, the man k )ease, go into t "Well, then . Kanehira das

nnounced his go; take a lool ira, aged thirt oritomo hims( e fired off his

;ight men on t hen he galloI nyone willing uncling easte

ut none of th( !ates, and he 1 Lord Kiso g2

rst of the first f ice had forn ent his horse tayed motion

!(iso glanced I: ho was hare

rhudding into bowl of his he

Two of Tan hisa impaled i mighty shout, man known ti

Kanehira h, 'now. Take a le ·suicide!" he s: from his hon Was no fightir

[ Earlier, d1 Yoshinaka, opponents, tsune. Then themselves, lished a fc Kobe). "Fl, position at

:rosswise in t rear. Only fi{

. e to a defensi ,mmand of 1, , they gallope Dor three hu r1ly five of the

Jman, so go 0 lighting, or els let people say

no longer, s 'd fight one las lt.

y Onda Moro g10us strength >roshige, seize pommel of he I threw it awa ·· ud the easter

inary warrior ,ws. That plac e trees," Kane

,f fifty warriors ws off," Kane . .°

·eason I ran off. led in differen ·•

: bit. "No mat3

,en, a shameful 1y followers. I ;s you down to

Chapter Nine

ur death, people will say, 'So-and-so's retainer killed the famous Lord ~o, the man known throughout Japan.' I'd hate to see that happen. Please, ·ase, go into the pinewoods," he said. ''Well, then ... " Lord Kiso galloped toward the woods . I(anehira dashed into the fifty riders alone. He stood in his stirrups and 'nounced his name in a mighty shout. "You must have heard of me long o; take a look at me now with your own eyes! I am Imai no Shiro Kane- ra, aged thirty-three, foster-brother to Lord Kiso. The Kamakura Lord 6ritomo himself must know that I exist. Kill me and show him my head!" ~ fired off his remaining eight arrows in a fast and furious barrage, felling ght men on the spot. (It's hard to say whether or not they were killed.) · en he galloped around, brandishing his drawn sword, without finding yone willing to face him. Many were the trophies he amassed! The sur- unding easterners released a hail of arrows, hoping to shoot him down,

'ut none of their shafts found a chink in his armor or penetrated the stout !ates, and he remained uninjured. · Lord Kiso galloped toward the pinewoods, a lone rider. It was the twenty- st of the first month. The evening shadows were gathering, and a thin film ice had forihed. Unaware that a deep paddy field lay in front of him, he

nt his horse plunging into the mire. The horse sank, head and all, and ayed motionless, despite furious flogging with stirrups and whip. Lord

'iso glanced back;-worried about Kanehira. As he did so, Ishida Tamehisa, · ho was hard on his heels, drew his bow to the full and sent an arrow 'hudding into his face. Mortally wounded, he sagged forward, with the owl of his helmet against the horse's neck. · Two of Tamehisa's retainers went up and took Lord Kiso's head. Tame- isa impaled it on the tip of his sword, raised it high, and announced in a ighty shout, "Miura no Ishida no Jiro Tamehisa has slain Lord Kiso, the an known throughout Japan!"

· Kanehira heard the shout as he fought. "I don't need to protect anybody ow. Take a look, easterners! This is how the bravest man in Japan commits icicle!" he said. He put the tip of his sword in his mouth, jumped headlong

tom his horse, and perished, run through. Thus, it turned out that there as no fighting worth mentioning at Awazu.

9.9. The Old Horse

[ Earlier, during u83, the Heike won a battle against forces dispatched by Yoshinaka, another against Yukiie, Yoshinaka's uncle, and others against local opponents, thanks in large part to the prowess of Kiyomori's nephew Nori- tsune. Then, during the first month of II 84, as the Genji forces fought among themselves, the Heike moved back to the old capital at Fukuhara and estab- lished a formidable stronghold nearby at lchi-no-tani (now in Suma-kn, Kobe). "Flanked by mountains to the north and by the sea to the south, the position at Ichi-no-tani was narrow at the entrance and wide in the interior.

The Tale of the Heike

High cliffs rose above it like folding screens. From the base of the mountains on the north to the shallow waters on the south, the defenders had erected a high wall of huge boulders, and had installed branch barricades made by fell, ing great trees. Where the sea deepened, a line of large vessels formed a rami> part. At the front of the stronghold, a cloudlike host of armored bowmen from Shikoku and Chinzei stood in rows on archery platforms, each of them re-.' pured to be worth a thousand men. Ten or twenty rows of saddled horses waited below the platforms, and there was a constant din of drums and battle cries. The drawn bows were like half-moons at the warriors' breasts; the glit- tering swords were like streaks of autumn frost across their hips. The countless red banners on the heights danced in the spring breeze like leaping flames"'· (Sec. 9. 5 ).

It is now early in the second month of II 84. Noriyori and Yoshitsune, Yoritomo's deputies, have marched westward, Noriyori toward the eastern front of the Taira stronghold, and Yoshitsune toward the rear; and Yoshitsune has just overrun an outlying Heike position at Mikusa, a mountainous area near the junction of Settsu, Tanba, and Harima provinces. ]

Munemori sent a message to the Taira lords by Yoshiyuki, the assista. director of the stables of the right. "I have received intelligence that Yosij' tsune has already routed the forces at Mikusa and penetrated our lines. T mountain sector is crucial; I want all of you to head for it." But every o of them asked to be excused. Then he dispatched a message to Noritsun the governor of Noto. "I know we've called on you time and again, bu won't you please go?" he asked.

Noritsune's answer was reassuring. "If a man wants to succeed in batt > he can't have anything else on his mind. He'll never win if he's like a hunte or fisherman, always thinking about his own comfort and avoiding incoi venience. I'm perfectly willing to have you send me into dap.ger as often.a you like. You can be sure there's one sector, at least, where the enemy wi be wiped out." Munemori was delighted. He sent him ten thousand hors. men under the command of Etchii no Zenji Moritoshi.

Noritsune took along his older brother Michimori, the governor of Ee~· zen, and established defensive positions in the hills (that is to say, the terra1 below the Hiyodorigoe Road). 10 ,

Michimori had somebody bring his wife to the camp so that he might bl her a final farewell. Noritsune gave him a tongue-lashing. "They sent met this front because they thought it was dangerous, and dangerous it certainl is. If the Genji dropped down out of those heights right now, there wou be no time to take up arms. Even if a man has a bow in his hand, he wol), get anywhere unless he fits an arrow to it; even if he fits the arrow, he won

IO, Hiyodorigoe appears to have been a road from Fukuhara across the Rokk6 Mount•! to Min6 District in Harima, too far north to have served as a point of departure for Yo , tsune's surprise attack (described below). According to some Heike texts, the Genji descen from a hill in the vicinity of Tekkaiyama, just above the coast at Ichi-no-tani. See TornikU Heike monogatari zenchushaku, 3(1): 145-48.

do any good un orth a damn!'

brew on his an At dusk on tl

kuta-no-mori J ikage-no-mat

he enemy had sembled stars i

otions of ligh roached, the J

>For the first tin The Genji w

pitching camp The Heike, the

At dawn on forces. He sen

ith seven th, . anba road at down from th<

"Everybody "We're ready , (here someboc

Hirayama S "You were 1

about mount2 "I don't thi

blossoms at Yi stronghold." l

The next p youth of eigh way in them during a hunt ahead of you.

"That's ex, when snow cc trimmed sadc

rr. lkuta-no- hold, about IO, 1 Yori had campeJ

12. Anonym( sumu kata no / , riverbank? Or , apparently kne~ reads "by the m

13. Unidenti

the mountains s had erected a :s made by fell- formed a ram-

[ bowmen from .ch of them re- saddled horses ·urns and battle reasts; the glit- ;, The countless eaping flames"

nd Yoshitsune , ud the eastern and Yoshitsune untainous area

1ki, the assistan ;ence that Yoshi ~d our lines. Th " B t . u every on

ge to Noritsune : and again, bii

ucceed in battl 1e's like a hunte avoiding inco ·

mger as often . e the enemy wl thousand hors

overnor of Ech·. o say, the terrai

hat he might bi They sent met ~rous it certain! ow, there woul , hand, he won' arrow, he won

,e Rokk6 Mountain departure for Yosh' the Genji descende -tani. See Tomikuc,

Chapter Nine

0 any good unless he pulls the bow. If he's as feckless as you, he won't be orth a damn!" Michimori may have felt the justice of the rebuke, for he

threw on his armor and sent his wife away. · .. At dusk on the fifth, Noriyori's Genji army began a slow advance toward

uta-no-mori from Koyano." Looking out toward Suzume-no-matsubara, ikage-no-matsu, and Koyano, the Heike could see places where groups of e enemy had bivouacked and lit beacons. As it grew darker, the fires re-

ernbled stars in a clear sky. Not to be outdone, they went through the otions of lighting beacons of their own at Ikuta-no-mori. When dawn ap-

roached, the fires in the distance were like the moon rising over the hills. .or the first time, they understood the old lines about fireflies in a marsh. 12

The Genji went about their work in businesslike, deliberate fashion, here pitching camp and resting horses, there pitching camp and feeding horses. •The Heike, their nerves on edge, expected an attack at any moment.

At dawn on the sixth, Yoshitsune divided his ten thousand riders into two orces. He sent Toi Sanehira toward the western approach to Ichi-no-tani ith seven thousand horsemen, and he himself circled around from the anba road at the head of three thousand horsemen, planning to swoop own from the' Hiyodorigoe Road onto the rear of the stronghold. "Everybody knows how dangerous Hiyodorigoe is," the warriors all said.

'We're ready to be killed in battle, but we don't want to die in a fall. Isn't here somebody around here who knows these mountains?"

Hirayama Sueshige of Musashi came forward. "I do," he said. "You were raised in the east," said Yoshitsune. "You can't know anything

about mountains in the west that you've never laid eyes on before today." f'J don't think you mean that," Sueshige answered. "Poets know about

'blossoms at Yoshino and Hatsuse; brave men know what's behind an enemy stronghold." It was an arrogant-sounding speech.

The next person to come forward was Beppu Kiyoshige of Musashi, a outh of eighteen. "My father, Yoshishige, told me, 'When you lose your

"'way in the mountains, whether it's because an enemy has attacked or just during a hunt, simply toss the reins over an old horse's neck and drive him ahead of you. You'll always come out onto a path.' "

"That's excellent advice," Yoshitsune said. "The classic tells us, 'Even when snow covers the plain, an old horse knows the way.' " 13 He put a gold- trimmed saddle and a polished bit on an old whitish roan, tossed the tied

rr. Ikuta-no-mori (now in Ikuta-ku, Kobe) was the eastern terminus of the Taira strong- , hold, about ro. 5 km from Ichi-no-tani, the western terminus. Koyano, the place where Nori- yori had camped, was in the area of the present city of ltami, Hy6go Prefecture.

12. Anonymous (SKKS 1591): haruru yo no/ hoshi ka kawabe no/ hotaru ka mo/ wa ga sumu kata no/ ama no taku hi ka ("Might they be stars in the clear night or fireflies by the iverbank? Or are they fires, kindled by the fisherfolk where I dwell?") The Heike author

,apparently knew the slightly different version recorded in a variant Shinkokinshii text, which ,reads "by the marsh" (sawabe no) instead of "by the riverbank" (kawabe no).

13. Unidentified.

The Tale of the Heike

reins over its neck, and drove it ahead of him into the depths of the unf miliar mountains. 0

As was to have been expected so early in the second month, there wJ: places where lingering patches of snow dappled the peaks like blosso i and others where the warriors heard warblers in the valley and made th way through thick haze. When they climbed, they were among do··· capped peaks; when they descended, they encountered rugged, fores slopes and towering cliffs. The snow had not melted from the pines; t narrow, mossy track was all but invisible. Snowflakes scattered like plu blossoms in the blustering wind. Darkness settled down over the mountai trail while they whipped their steeds this way and that, and they all di mounted to make camp.

Musashibo Benkei brought an old man to Yoshitsune. "Who's this?" Yoshitsune asked. "He goes hunting in these mountains." "Then you must know the area very well. Tell us the truth." "Yes, of course I know it." "I want to get down from here to the Heike stronghold at Ichi-no-tan

Can that be done?" "Absolutely not! There's no way for a man to get down the gorge; it'

three hundred feet long. Or the rock face, either; it's a hundred and fif feet. It would be out of the question on horseback."

"Do deer go through?" Yoshitsune asked. "Yes. When the weather turns warm, deer from Harima Province crot

into Tanba Province to lie in the deep grass, and when it\urns cold, deer from Tanba Province to Inamino in Harima Province to feed where t snow is shallow."

"Why, it sounds like a regular racetrack! A horse can cett~inly go whe a deer goes. All right, you'll be our guide."

The hunter protested that he was too old. "You must have a son?" Yoshitsune asked. "I have." He presented an eighteen-year-old youth called Kuma6. Th~

proceeded to put up the boy's hair, named him Washinoo no Saburo Yt shihisa (his father's name being Washinoo no Shoji Takehisa), and sent hi to the vanguard to guide them. When Yoshitsune met his end in 6shii, e tranged from Yoritomo after the defeat of the Heike, it was that same Yi shihisa who died at his side.

9.ro. First and Second Attackers

Kumagae Naozane and Hirayama Sueshige stayed with Yoshitsune's re;, assault force until around midnight on the sixth. Then Naozane summon~, his son, Kojiro Naoie. "Nobody will be able to get out in front when th force rides down the mountain. Let's head for Toi's route, the Harima Roa so we can be the first to attack Ichi-no-tani," he said.

"That's a grec ing. Let's start "Come to thi1 man who doe: is men to checl Just as he ha

Others can do tep behind." A nimal. "How 1 aid. "Don't trc st time tonigh Naozane's m, id. He too lef Naozane wai cing, and a r hestnut Gorn

.£ water-plant, : atterned lea th ower]. Their s rmor laced v, lond chestnut ' rving on thei escent, and ca ailed Tai-no-h Because it w

is seven thorn ast him in th« e !chi-no-tar

nemy camp a ane's party. Naozane cal e honor of le

'on that we're ere for morn is horse to th hour. "The fr f Musashi Pr, The Heike 1

'.Let them we, Meanwhile,

ane asked. "Sueshige. , "N aozane." "K umagae,

nhs of the

onth, there s like bloss 'and made e among clci rugged, fore n the pines• ttered like ; 1 er the mount tnd they all d

h."

1 the gorge; i mdred and fif

. Province er ns cold, deer feed where

I Kumao. Th no Saburo Yi .), and sent hi 1d in Oshii, es : that same Yo.

ane summone ront when this Harima Road,:

Chapter Nine

hat's a great idea," Naoie said. "I've been wanting to suggest the same Let's start right away."

~me to think of it, Hirayama Sueshige is marching with this force. He's Jl who doesn't care to fight in a crowd," Naozane said. He told one of en to check on Sueshige's activities and report back.

·st. as he had suspected, Sueshige was already getting ready to leave. hers can do as they please," he was muttering. "I'm not going to fall one ·,behind." A subordinate who was feeding his master's horse cuffed the ·· al. "How much longer are you going to keep eating, you big slob?" he . "Don't treat him like that," Sueshige said. "You're seeing him for the .time tonight." He rode off.

·, aozane's man ran back and blurted out the news. "All right!" Naozane d. He too left at once. · aozane was wearing a dark blue tunic, a suit of armor with red leather illg, and a red cape, and he was riding his famous steed Gondakurige estnut Gonda]. Naoie was wearing a tunic decorated with a faint design

,water-plantains, and a suit of armor laced with blue-and-white rope- 1terned leath~r,, and he was riding a whitish horse named Seiro [White )wer). Their standard-bearer was wearing an olive-gray tunic and a suit of ·inor laced with re-dyed cherry-patterned leather, and he was riding a ond chestnut horse. The three proceeded at a walk toward the right, ob- rving on their left ·rhe gorge where the others were planning to make their scent, and came out onto the beach at Ichi-no-tani by way of an old path lied Tai-no-hata, which had not been used for years . )3ecause it was still only around midnight, Toi Sanehira had halted with

' .seven thousand horsemen at Shioya, near Ichi-no-tani. Naozane slipped ast him in the dark, following the beach, and rode to the western gate of ·e Ichi-no-tani stronghold. Not a sound was to be heard in the peaceful emy camp at that hour, nor was a single Genji warrior following Nao- ne's party.

,Naozane called Naoie over. "There must be plenty of fellows who want e honor of leading the attack," he told him. "We can't leap to the conclu-

··on that we're the only ones. Some others are probably waiting around near ere for morning to come. We'd better announce our names." He walked ·is horse to the barricade of shields and announced their names in a mighty .hout. "The first men to attack Ichi-no-tani are Kumagae no Jiro Naozane ) Musashi Province and his son Kojiro Naoie!"

The Heike refused to answer. "Just keep quiet," they told one another. 'Let them wear out their horses and use up their arrows."

Meanwhile, a warrior came up behind Naozane. "Who's there?" Nao- ane asked. "Sueshige. Who wants to know?" ~'N aozane." "Kumagae, is it? How long have you been here?"

The Tale of the Heike

"I got here during the night." "I ought to have been right on your heels, but I was delayed beca½.

Narida Goro tricked me. Narida said he wanted to die wherever I did, s · took him along, but he tried to slow me down after we started. 'Don't bi 1 a hurry to attack first, Hirayama,' he said. 'Nobody will know how welly fought unless you have friends watching behind you. What would be the of dashing into the middle of a lot of enemies and getting killed?' I thou he had a point, so I went ahead of him to the top of a little rise, turned 111. horse's head downhill, and waited for some of our men to show up. Whe Narida came along behind me, I expected him to bring his horse up besi . mine and talk about the battle, but he galloped on past with an unfriendl look. 'Damn it!' I thought, 'that fellow's tricked me so he can take the lea He was about two hundred feet ahead. I saw that his horse seemed weak than mine, so I whipped after him. I overtook him and yelled, 'You have lot of nerve to think you can fool somebody like me!' Then I came on alotj to attack the enemy. He must have fallen way back; I'm sure he could@ keep me in sight." ·

Naozane, Sueshige, and the others waited, a party of five. When the fir light appeared at last, Naozane again walked his horse to the barricade· shields and called out in a mighty shout. (He had already announced h' name, but he may have wanted Sueshige to hear.) "Kumagae no Jiro Nao zane of Musashi Province and his son Kojiro Naoie, the men who ah nounced their names earlier, are the first to attack Ichi-no-tani ! If any Heik samurai thinks he's as good as I am, come on out and face me!"

"Come on! Let's drag those two off their horses! They've been yellin their names all night long." Who were the Heike samurai who came £of, ward with those words? They were Etch ii no Jirobyoe Moritsugi, Kazusa i( Gorobyoe Tadamitsu, Akushichibyoe Kagekiyo, Gotonai Sadatsune, ait other prominent warriors. They opened the gate and galloped out, rnor than twenty strong.

Sueshige was wearing a tie-dyed tunic with white spots, a suit of arnil\ with flame-red lacing, and a cape with a design of two bars, and he w~. riding his famous steed Mekasuge [Gray-ringed Eyes]. His standard-bear· was wearing a suit of armor with black leather lacing and a helmet with t neck-guard well down, and he was riding a rust-brown horse.

Sueshige announced his name. "I am Hirayama no Mushadokoro Sue..: shige, the man from Musashi who led the attacks in the Hogen and Hei' eras!" He galloped forward, shouting, side by side with the standard-beare

Where Naozane galloped, Sueshige followed; where Sueshige gallope. Naozane followed. Neither was willing to be outdone, and they took turJ at dashing in, whipping their mounts and attacking until the sparks fle ·, The hard-pressed Heike samurai must have decided that they were 0\ 1~ matched, for they hurried back inside the stronghold to fight from 1

shelter.

An arrow hit ismounted by wod beside hi1 s sixteen and arricade. "Are you wo "Yes," Naoif "Keep pushi1

eek-guard loVI Naozane pul

nd scowled at ast winter det ones at Ichi-n id at Muroya yoe and Aku ho you fight

. long. Come o · Etchii no Jir

hite tunic an n a whitish r,

anced at a stf ay have thou "Isn't that E

"No, thank1 "Coward!"

ane, but Mo ord Noritsm

he said. Afterward,

followed by S ..and Naoie fou on the archery hut the numb escaped harm Grapple!" car

ere exhausti in boats for l, nourished be, them flat, and

An arrow I his life. Sues! swiftly, and c:

delayed b erever I di . ·ted. 'Don't JWhowwe would bet ;ilJed?' I th· : rise, turne' show up. horse up b

th an unfrj m take the l : seemed w led, 'You h I came on a

sure he cou/

' announced ae no Jiro e men who mi! If any B net" 've been ye! who came

:sugi, Kazus · Sadatsune, oped out, m

a suit of ar trs, and he standard-bea helmet with :e. ,hadokoro S !ogen and H tandard-bear :shige gallope they took tur :he sparks /le :hey were ove

fight from L

Chapter Nine

arrow hit Naozane's horse in the belly. The horse reared, and Naozane ounted by swinging his leg over its back. Naoie jumped down and

beside him, wounded in· the bow arm, after he had announced his age teen and had fought until his horse's nose touched the shields of the

cade. re you wounded, Kojiro?" Naozane asked. es," Naoie said. eej:, pushing your armor up. Don't let an arrow get through. Keep your guard low. Don't get hit in the face." ozane pulled out the arrows stuck in his own armor, tossed them aside,

scowled at the stronghold. "I am Naozane, the man who left Kamakura winter determined to give his life for Lord Yoritomo and bleach his es at Ichi-no-tani ! Where's Etch ii no Jirobyoe, who brags about what he lat Muroyama and Mizushima? What's happened to Kazusa no Goro- e and Akushichibyoe? Isn't Lord Noritsune there? Fame depends on

you fight; it doesn't come from meeting just anybody who happens

11g. Come out and face me!" he yelled. · tchii no Jiro,byoe Moritsugi was wearing his favorite garb, a blue-and- 'ire tunic and''a'suit of armor laced with red leather. He advanced slowly • a whitish roan horse, staring at Naozane. Naozane and his son did not e an inch. Instead, they raised their swords to their foreheads and ad-

heed at a steady pace, staying side by side to avoid separation. Moritsugi · y have thought he was overmatched, for he turned back. 'Isn't that Etchii no Jirobyoe?" asked Naozane. "What's wrong with me an adversary? Come on! Let's wrestle!"

'l'No, thanks," said Moritsugi. He withdrew. "Coward!" Kagekiyo said. He started to gallop out to grapple with Nao- e, but Moritsugi seized his shoulder-guard. "This isn't the only battle

rd Noritsune has to think about. Don't throw away your life here," said. l

Afterward, Naozane got a fresh mount and galloped forward, yelling, !lowed by Sueshige, who had been letting his horse rest while Naozane d Naoie fought. Not many of the Heike warriors were mounted. The men

n the archery platforms aligned their bows and released showers of arrows, l1tthe numbers of the Genji were far fewer, and Naozane and the others ,caped harm, lost in the melee. "Ride alongside and grapple with them! rapple!" came the orders from the platforms. But the horses of the Heike ere exhausted from having been overriden, underfed, and made to stand boats for long periods of time. One collision with N aozane's big, well-

·· .. urished beast, or Sueshige's, would have been enough to knock any of em flat, and nobody tried to wrestle with either warrior. An arrow pierced Sueshige's standard-bearer, a man he valued as he did s 'life. Sueshige burst through the enemy ranks, took the slayer's head · iftly, and came out again. Naozane also amassed many trophies.

I ~ f,)

388 The Tale of the Heike

Naozane, the first to arrive on the scene, had been kept outside beca the gate was closed; Sueshige, the second, had been able to gallop in because the gate was open. So each claimed to have led the attack.

9.II. The Double Charge Meanwhile, Narida Gora arrived. Toi Sanehira galloped forward at the head of his seven thousand ho{

men, and the whole force attacked, yelling, with their colored standa raised.

The fifty thousand Genji horsemen under Noriyori had taken up positi on the main front, at Ikuta-no-mori. Among them, there were two men fr•· Musashi Province named Kawara Taro Takanao and Kawara Jira Morin Takanao called over his brother, Morinao. "A great landholder wins gl through his vassals' exploits, even though he may not do anything him but people like us have to earn their own reputations," he said. "It galls to wait around like this, without even shooting an arrow, when we have . enemy in front of us. I'm going to sneak inside the stronghold and shoo haven't got a chance in a thousand of getting back here, so you'll have stay; otherwise there won't be anybody to testify later."

Tears ran down Morinao's cheeks. "I can't listen when you talk that w Do you think a younger brother would prosper if he stayed behind and an older brother be killed? Let's not die in different places; let's face thee together," he said.

The two told their subordinates to carry word of their last moments their wives and children. Then they went forward on foot, shod in str sandals. With their bows as staffs, they clambered over the barricade : branches at Ikuta-no-mori and got inside the strongholq. ;Jn the dim st~ light, even the color of their armor-lacing was invisible. Takanao announc their names in a mighty shout. "Kawara Taro Kisaichi no Takanao a Kawara Jira Morinao of Musashi: the first men from the frontal assa force of the Genji to attack at Ikuta-no-mori !"

None of the Heike warriors felt like fighting. "Nothing is as fearsome an eastern warrior," they said. "They're just two men in the middle of 0 huge force. What harm can they do? Let's humor them awhile."

The brothers were first-rate archers, and they let fly a fast and furio. barrage of arrows.

"We can't put up with this! Kill them!" somebody shouted. There were two brothers from the west who were famous archers,

nabe no Shiro and Manabe no Gora from Bitchii Province. Shiro was lchi-no-tani; Gora was at Ikuta-no-mori. Gora quickly drew his bow to full and sent an arrow whizzing off. The shaft drove straight through breastplate of Takanao's armor to his back. Takanao stood paralyzed, di ing to his bow for support. Morinao rushed up, slung Takanao over shoulder, and started to climb the barricade. Goro's second arrow pen

ated a gap in t ne of Goro's rr When New 1v ere brave fello ousand. I wisl

·.• At that point, ve just becom "If the Shi Lt

·ued," said Ka en shouted a 1 e fifty thousa

ranches, and I Kagetoki saw o far ahead.

· nounced tha1 ith nobody bt Kagetaka pul

mon toritsut,

azus hiite w, kaeru n

hen he gallop "Don't let I-

truck down!" e and Saburc The five hun,

"What's beci "He must h

illed," someb · "My sons a• enda's been ~ nnounced his arrior worth oro Kagemas ersary with a

Jhe top layer c Jet him kill me

"Kajiwara i: et him escape tacked Kageto

With no reg

pt outside b !e to gallop 1e attack.

taken up posi rere two men ara Jiro Mor' holder wins anything hi

, said. "It gall when weha

;hold and sho so you'll ha ·

you talk that ed behind an ; let's face the

· last moment ot, shod in st the barricad

. In the dims kanao announ no Takanao 1e frontal assa

is as fearsome' the middle of o ·hile." fast and furio

ted. ous archers, ice. Shiro was :w his bow to t tight through t paralyzed, din

rakanao over h ond arrow pen

Chapter Nine

a gap in the skirt of Morinao's armor, and the brothers fell together. of Goro's men went over and decapitated them. hen New Middle Counselor Tomomori saw the heads, he said, "They ·· brave fellows! Each of them deserved to be called a warrior worth a and. I wish they could have been spared."

t that point, the brothers' subordinates shouted, "The Kawara brothers · just become the first men to die in battle against the stronghold!" f the Shi League hadn't been negligent, those two wouldn't have been

id," said Kajiwara Kagetoki. "The time has come. Attack!" He and his •~ shouted a mighty battle cry, which was taken up at once by the rest of ;fifty thousand horsemen. Foot soldiers were ordered to dear away the ·· ches, and Kagetoki and his five hundred horsemen charged, shouting. agetoki saw that his second son, Heiji Kagetaka, seemed inclined to get far ahead. He sent a messenger to say, "The commander-in-chief has ounced that there will be no reward for any man who gallops ahead nobody behind him."

agetaka pulled up for a minute. "Tell my father this," he said.

mon:onofu no toritsutaetaru

azusayum1 hiite wa hitq no kaeru mono'ka wa

en he galloped on wiili a shout.

I can no more turn back than can an arrow in flight,

shot when a warrior extends the bow of birchwood handed down from his fathers.

;''Don't let Heiji be struck down! Follow, men! Don't let Kagetaka be ck down!" Kagetaka's father, Kagetoki, and his brothers, Genda Kage- and Saburo Kageie, rode after him . he five hundred horsemen of the Kajiwara galloped into the great enemy

,rce, pressed it without mercy, and beat a swift retreat, their number re- ced to a mere fifty. Kagesue had somehow dropped out of sight.

:;"What's become of Genda?" Kagetoki asked the retainers. "He must have penetrated too deep. It looks like he might have been led," somebody said. "My sons are ilie only things I have to live for. Why should I go on if enda's been killed? I'm going back!" Kagetoki said. He turned around and nnounced his name in a mighty shout. "I am Kajiwara Heizo Kagetoki, a arrior worth a thousand men! I claim descent from Kamakura no Gon- oro Kagemasa, the same who earned everlasting renown by felling an ad- rsary with a return shot, after an arrow had gone through his left eye to e top layer of his neck-guard! If anyone here thinks he's as good as I am, t him kill me and show his commander my head!" He charged, shouting. "Kajiwara is a warrior famous all over the east," Tomomori said. "Don't

t him escape! Don't miss him! Kill him!" The Heike surrounded and at- tacked Kagetoki wiili their great numbers.

With no regard for his own fate, Kagetoki galloped through and around

390 The Tale of the Heike

the innumerable enemies in search of Kagesue, using sidewise, lengthw' zigzag, and crosswise maneuvers. Meanwhile, Kagesue had fought until helmet sagged. Then, having lost his horse to an arrow, he had dismoun and backed against a twenty-foot cliff, where he and two retainers, one either side, were fighting a desperate defensive battle, with their eyes strai · ahead, hemmed in by five adversaries.

Kagetoki caught sight of him. "You haven't been killed!" he shout "Here I am! Don't show the enemy your back, Genda-· not if it costs y your life!" Together, father and son killed three of the five enemies a wounded two. ·

"There's a time for a warrior to advance and a time for him to withdra Kagetoki said. "Come on, Genda!" He took Kagesue on his horse retreated.

That's what people mean when they talk about "Kajiwara's dou charge."

9.r2. The Assault from the Cliff

Other eastern warriors advanced after those encounters-the Chichib the Ashikaga, the Miura, the Kamakura, and, among the leagues, the In mata, the Kodama, the Noiyo, the Yokoyama, the Nishito, the Tsuzukit and the Shinoto. The massed armies of the Genji and the Heike mingled combat, their riders charging in turn and competing to announce the/ names. Their shouts and yells made the mountains ring; the hoofbeats their galloping horses reverberated like thunder; the arrows they exchange fell like rain. Some men retired to the rear, carrying wounded comrades O their shoulders; some sustained light injuries and fought on; some suffere. mortal blows and perished. There were those who rode al9qgside enemie grappled with them, fell, and died in dagger fights; there were those wh seized others, held them down, and cut off their heads; there were tho. who had their heads cut off. Neither side revealed a weakness for the oth to exploit, and the main Genji force seemed unlikely to win without help valiant though it was. i

Now Yoshitsune had circled around to the rear, and had climbed to th Hiyodorigoe Road, behind Ichi-no-tani, toward dawn on the seventh. Ash was getting ready for the descent, two stags and a doe ran down to th; fortifications of the Heike, probably because they had been frightened h. his men. Their appearance caused consternation in the stronghold. "E~e the deer that live neat here ought to be fleeing way back into the mountal to get away from us," they said. "It's very odd for these three to come doW into the middle of a big army like this. The Genji must be going to dro down from those mountains up there." .·

Takechi no Kiyonori of Iyo Province stepped forward. "Whether they' up there or not, we can't ignore anything that comes from a hostile dire tion," he said. He shot the two stags and let the doe go.

Etchii no Zen • r. You could sted precious

Yoshitsune st rses down," h imals broke t e roof of Mor "The horses ' II right, take thirty horsen e edges of the en in front. A: rough a mixt uge mossy era t aghast, read

• Sawara no J aces like that cetrack!" he 1 "Ei! Ei!" Tht r the terrifyin pacity, somet Even before 1 us battle cry ade them sou Murakami n

nd camps oft f black smoke nd galloped ir There were: hat good coi

.Ven a thousar efore the onlc fty yards fron ome on board Ven though ti essels from v orearms, and chi-no-tani.

Noto Gover Without sufferi his charger, U Shore in Hari Province.

r4. Buddhist d

vise, lengthwis fought until

had dismount etainers, one .

. 0 1e1r eyes straig

cl!" he shoute >t if it costs y ve enemies a

n to withdraw 1 his horse a~

-the Chichib eagues, the In , the Tsuzukit~ [eike mingled i announce thei he hoofbeats o they exchange ed comrades o" t; some suffere· ngside enemie · .vere those wh 1ere were thos' :ss for the oth ·· n without he!

m down to th n frightened b. :mghold. "Ev~. > the mountai11 e to come dow. : going to dro

Whether they'[ a hostile dire

Chapter Nine 391

rchii no Zenji Moritoshi reprimanded him. "It was foolish to shoot the r; You could have held off ten enemies with one of those arrows. You ted precious arrows in order to commit a sin." 14

oshitsune surveyed the distant stronghold. "Let's try sending some rses down," he said. They chased some saddled horses down. Some of the iOlals broke their legs and fell, but others arrived safely. Three reached •· roof of Moritoshi's quarters and stood trembling. "The horses won't get hurt if the riders pay attention," Yoshitsune said. II right, take them down! Do as I do!" He galloped forward at the head thirty horsemen, and all the others followed, down a slope so steep that

e edges of the rear riders' stirrups touched the armor and helmets of the en in front. After slipping and sliding at great speed for seven hundred feet rough a mixture of sand and pebbles, they pulled up on a ledge above a ge mossy crag, a vertical drop of a hundred and forty or fifty feet. They

.t aghast, ready to give up. zSawara no Jiiro Yoshitsura came forward. "In Miura, we gallop over

ces like that all day long, even if we're only chasing birds. This is a Miura cetrack !" he ,said. He dashed ahead, and all the others followed. ,."Ei ! Ei !" Th~y encouraged the horses in muffled voices, their eyes closed 'r the terrifying descent. What they were attempting seemed beyond mortal pacity, something demons might do. Even before the last man reached the bottom, the party shouted a tremen-

. us battle cry. There were only three thousand of them, but the echoes ade them sound like a hundred thousand. Murakami no Yasukuni's men put the torch to all the sleeping quarters d camps of the Heike. As luck would have it, a gale was blowing. Clouds black smoke billowed up, and great numbers of Heike warriors panicked d galloped into the sea, desperate to save themselves . There were many vessels ready to receive them at the water's edge, but hat good could come of it when four or five hundred men in armor-or en a thousand-tried to crowd into a single ship? Three big ships sank

· fore the onlookers' eyes when they were no more than three hundred and . ty yards from the shore. After that, orders were issued to let men of quality ., me on board, but to fend off those of lesser worth with swords and spears. ven though they knew what to expect, the ordinary soldiers clung to the ssels from which they were barred. Some lost whole arms and others rearms, and they ended as rows of corpses, reddening the water's edge at

'hi-no-tani. Noto Governor Noritsune was a man who had fought time and again ithout suffering a defeat, but now, for some reason, he fled westward on · charger, Usuguro [Dusky Black]. He got on board a ship at Akashi hare in Harima Province and made the crossing to Yashima in Sanuki

14, Buddhist doctrine proscribes the taking of life.

39 2 The Tale of the Heike

9.r3. The Death of Etchii no Zenji

In reckless disregard of their lives, the warriors from Musashi and Sag took the offensive on both the main front and the seaward side. 15 The <lama League sent a messenger from the mountainside to Tomomori, was fighting with his face toward the east. "The men of the Kodama Lea tell you this because you once governed Musashi Province. Look heh' you!" Tomomori looked, and he and the others saw a cloud of black sm bearing down on them. Without even waiting to exclaim about the def on the west, they all took to their heels in desperate haste.

Etchii no Zenji Moritoshi, the samurai commander on the cliffward si halted his mount and sat motionless, possibly because he thought it was · late to try to escape. Inomata no Koheiroku Noritsuna marked him a worthy adversary, galloped forward with flailing whip and flapping stirru and rode alongside him. Then he gripped him as hard as he could ll' crashed to the ground with him. Noritsuna was a man famous in the eig eastern provinces for his great strength, a warrior who was reputed to ha torn apart a deer's double-branched antlers with ease. Moritoshi let oth people think he was merely as strong as twenty or thirty ordinary fello but he could actually haul up or send down a ship that needed a crew sixty or seventy. Thus, Moritoshi succeeded in gripping Noritsuna and hoJ ing him fast. Lying underneath, Noritsuna tried to draw his dagger If could not grasp the hilt with his splayed fingers, tried to speak but ·· pinned too tight to get out a word. But although his h~ad was about to cut off, and despite his physical inferiority, he kept his ·valiant spirit. A · collecting his breath for a few seconds, he spoke in an offhand manner.

"Did you hear me announce my name? When a man kills an enemy} doesn't mean much unless he waits until he's identified hiiliself and ma the other fellow do the same. What are you going to gain by taking· anonymous head?" he said.

Moritoshi may have thought that he had a point. "I am Etchii no Ze Moritoshi, born a Taira, but now become a samurai because of my ina quacies. Who are you? Announce your name; I'd like to hear it," he sa

"I am Inomata no Koheiroku Noritsuna of Musashi Province," Norits said. He continued, "If we look at the way things stand now, it seems r. the Genji have the upper hand-that you on the Heike side are going to lo out. Unless your masters prosper, you aren't going to get any rewards taking heads to show to them. How about stretching a point and lettingC go? I'll use my exploits to save the lives of any number of Heike meJl, dozens, if you like." 16 · ..

Moritoshi was outraged. "Unworthy or not, I'm still a Taira. I have

r 5. That is, both at lkuta-no-mori and at Ichi-no-tani. r 6. A warrior with documented exploits could expect appropriate rewards. NoritSun•,

fers to ask for the lives of captured Heike in lieu of material rewards.

ntention of loo elping one of t ff Noritsuna's I "You're disgr.

[ready surrend, "All right, th1

ght, and the t 3ked field and Presently, a VI ping toward t "Don't worr} e must have , ith this felloVI o." He bided Meanwhile, t

rst, Moritoshi ngaged his ful oritsuna. No1

ell, dealt a po' oppled him be itsuna clampe, aist, and lifte

imes, hilt, fist, In the meant

ring on dispu word, held it • o Koheiroku amurai know1 f exploits.

Middle Cap, been deserted blue tunic, em! urple-shaded Child Deerski ic with white iding Shigehii

Recognizing ue and Shon

17. A horse wi lo run well at nigh Ye. Shigehira's he

t

sashi and Sa d side. u The Tomomori

: Kodama L~a ce. Look beh d of black srn about the de

he cliffward si¾ 10ught it was f narked him a flapping stirru as he could a nous in the ei ; reputed to h Jritoshi let ot Jrdinary fello 1eeded a crew' ritsuna and ho , his dagger J speak but w was about to<

liant spirit. A£ and manner. :ills an enemy; imself and m tin by taking

use of my ina 1ear it," he sa· ince," Noritsu JW, it seems tl:f are going to 1 any rewards

1t and letting of Heike men ··

Taira. I have n Hards. Noritsuna

Chapter Nine 393

ention of looking to the Genji for help, and no intention whatsoever of }ing_one o,f them. Your proposal is dishonorable!" He got ready to cut iNontsuna s head. /!You're disgracing yourself! How can you take the head of a man who's eady surrendered?" Noritsuna said. •All right, then, I'll spare you," Moritoshi said. He pulled Noritsuna up-

.ht, and the two sat down to rest on a footpath that ran between a sun- 'ked field and a deep, muddy rice paddy. 'presently, a warrior in a suit of armor with black leather lacing came gal- ping toward them on a white horse. Moritoshi eyed him with suspicion. "Don't worry," Noritsuna said. "That's Hitomi no Shiro, a friend of mine. e must have seen me." But he thought to himself, "If I begin wrestling th this fellow after Shiro gets close, Shiro will be bound to attack him,

." He bided his time. 'Meanwhile, the rider advanced until he was only thirty-five feet away. At 'st, Moritoshi tried to keep an eye on both men, but the one on horseback "gaged his full attention as he gradually approached, and he lost track of · ritsuna. Noritsuna seized his opportunity. He sprang to his feet with a ll, dealt a p6werful blow to Moritoshi's breastplate with both hands, and ppled him backwards into the paddy. As Moritoshi tried to get up, No-

·rsuna clamped him between his legs, snatched the dagger from Moritoshi's aist, and lifted his skirt. Then he plunged the weapon into his flesh three mes, hilt, fist, and all, and took his head. In the meantime, Hitomi no Shiro had come up. "It's cases like this that

ring on disputes," Noritsuna thought. He stuck the head on the tip of his ord, held it high, and announced his name in a mighty shout. "Inomata

o Koheiroku Noritsuna has slain Etchii no Zenji Moritoshi, the Heike amurai known in these days as a demon god!" His name led that day's list · f exploits.

9.r5. The Capture of Shigehira

Middle Captain Shigehira, the deputy commander at lkuta-no-mori, had een deserted by all of his men but one. That day, he was wearing a dark lue tunic, embroidered with bright yellow plovers, and a suit of armor with urple-shaded lacing, and he was riding a famous charger named Doji Kage

>[Child Deerskin]. His foster-brother, Morinaga, was wearing a tie-dyed tu- hie with white spots and a suit of armor with flame-red lacing, and he was 'iding Shigehira's prized horse Yomenashi Tsukige [Night-eyeless White].17

Recognizing Shigehira as a commander-in-chief, Kajiwara Genda Kage- ue and Sho no Shiro Takaie pursued him with flailing whips and flapping

17, A horse with a white node (yome, "night-eye") behind its front knee was said to be able [o run well at night, the reason being (according to one theory) that the node served as an extra €ye. Shigehira's horse, which was white all over, could presumably do even better.

394 The Tale of the Heike

stirrups. Too hard-pressed to escape to one of the many rescue vessels at water's edge, Shigehira crossed the Minato and Karumo rivers, gallop between Hasu Pond on the right and Koma Woods on the left, passed I yado and Suma, and fled westward. His splendid mount forged farther farther ahead, until there seemed little chance that the battle-weary G horses could overtake him. But Kagesue stood in his stirrups, drew his b to the full, and sent off an arrow, hoping for a lucky hit. The arrow sa:' shaft-deep into Doji Kage's rump. When the horse faltered, Morinaga rai~ his whip and fled, possibly because he feared that Shigehira would take .. horse.

"What are you doing, Morinaga? This isn't the way you always swore act! Where will you go after you desert me?" Shigehira asked. Morin,i pretended not to hear. He got rid of his red armor-badge and rode awayJ fast as he could.

The enemy was approaching and the horse was weakening. Shigeh rode into the sea, but the water was shoaling, too shallow to drown in. · dismounted, slashed his belt, and unfastened his shoulder-cord. Then, took off his armor and helmet and got ready to cut open his belly.

Takaie came up ahead of Kagesue, galloping with flailing whip and fla, ping stirrups. He jumped down. "It would be a mistake to kill yourself," said. "I'll attend you wherever you go." He mounted Shigehira on his o horse, tied him to the pommel, and escorted him back, riding a remountO;

Thanks to his splendid, long-winded steed, Morinaga got away witho:• any trouble. Later, he sought refuge with a Kumano monk, the Ona~ Dharma Bridge. After the monk's death, he went to the capital with widow, a nun who was prosecuting a lawsuit, and everybody recogni him as Shigehira's foster-brother. "He's a shameless rascal!" people s "Shigehira thought the world of him, but he refused to face death at master's side. Instead, the wretch turns up with a nun, of all things!" We told that the criticism seems to have embarrassed even so dishonorabl man, and that Morinaga hid his face with a fan.

9.r6. The Death of Atsumori

After the defeat of the Heike, Kumagae no Naozane walked his ho. toward the beach. "The Taira nobles will be fleeing to the shore to get board the rescue vessels," he thought. "I wish I could wrestle with on~ their high-ranking commanders-in-chief!" Just then, he saw a lone r\; splash into the sea, bound for a vessel offshore. The enemy was weariQ silk tunic embroidered with cranes, a suit of armor with shaded green ing, and a horned helmet. At his waist, there was a sword with gilt br fittings; on his back, he carried a quiver containing arrows fledged black-banded white eagle feathers. He held a rattan-wrapped bow and[. a white-dappled reddish horse, with a saddle trimmed in gold. When;

orse had swum ckoned with h "I see that yo1 ck to an enem The warrior c

·m, gripped hin olding him mo ad, and saw tl wdered face a

on Naoie, and: "Who are yo1 "Who are yo1 "Nobody of : shi Province." "Then I don'1 ant. Ask abou en if I don't tt "He's bound 1s one persor ange victory

. st a little wot 'el if he heard swift glance ong with fifty "I'd like to : arriors every, ne to kill you, · "Just take m Overwhelme nses reeled, 1 is surroundin ok the head. "No life is a ilitary house

..one!" He pre But matters

outh's tunic, ! ,rocade bag n

e people I he ns of thousa ot one of the1 f refinement,'

l8, Court nob

c~e vessels at rivers, gall

: left, passed >rged farther 1ttle-weary G ps, drew his. The arrow 8 Morinaga ra' ·a would tak

always swot asked. Morin md rode awa

:ening. Shige to drown in.

:r-cord. The is belly. ,g whip and fl kill yourself, '1 ehira on his ~•· ing a remoun : ;ot away with ,onk, the On ' capital with body recogni al!" people s face death at

saw a loner' 1y was wear! . ,haded green . with gilt bro >ws fledged •ed bow andr , gold. When

Chapter Nine 395

e had swum out a hundred and fifty or two hundred feet, Naozane oned with his fan. see that you're a commander-in-chief! It's dishonorable to show your to an enemy! Come on back!" he shouted.

be warrior came back. As he left the water, Naozane rode up beside gripped him as hard as he could, and crashed with him to the ground.

Jding him motionless, he pushed aside his helmet, intending to cut off his d, and saw that he was only sixteen or seventeen years old, with a lightly dered face and blackened teeth 18-a boy just the age of Naozane's own Naoie, and so handsome that he could find no place to strike. Who are you? Announce your name. I'll spare you," Naozane said. 'Who are you?" the youth asked. 'Nobody of any special importance: Kumagae no Jiro Naozane of Mu- 'hi Province." 'Then I don't need to give you my name. I'm the kind of opponent you nt. Ask about me after you take my head. Somebody will recognize me,

5[1 if I don't tell you." ''He's boung to be a commander-in-chief," Naozane thought. "Killing I one persoh 'won't change defeat into victory, and sparing him won't nge victory into defeat. When I think of how I grieved when Naoie got

.ta little wound, it's easy to imagine how this young lord's father would · if he heard that•he'd been killed. I have a notion to let him go." Casting

• wift glance to the rear, he discovered Sanehira and Kagetoki coming ng with fifty riders. 'I'd like to spare you," he said, restraining tears, "but there are Genji rriors everywhere. You can't possibly escape. It will be better if I'm the e to kill you, because I'll offer prayers for you." !'Just take my head; don't waste time," the boy said. .• verwhelmed by compassion, Naozane could find no place to strike. His ses reeled, his brain seemed paralyzed, and he was scarcely conscious of surroundings. But matters could not go on like that forever. In tears, he

.k the head. }'No life is as miserable as a warrior's. It's only because I was born into a t)itary house that I've had this terrible experience. W&at a cruel thing I've '.!}e!" He pressed his sleeve to his face and wept . . But matters could not go on like that forever. He started to remove the uth's tunic, preparatory to wrapping the head in it, and found a flute in a pcade bag tucked in at the waist. "Poor fellow! He must have been one of · people I heard playing inside the stronghold just before dawn. There are s of thousands of riders in our eastern armies, but I'd be willing to bet

tone of them carried a flute to the battlefield. Those court nobles are men refinement," he thought.

r8. Court nobles began to blacken their teeth early in the 12th century.

The Tale of the Heike

When Naozane's trophies were presented to Yoshitsune for inspec they brought tears to everyone's eyes. It was learned later that the youth was Atsumori, aged seventeen, a son of Tsunemori, the head 0 Palace Repairs Office.

After that, Naozane thought increasingly of becoming a monk. The flute in question is supposed to have been a present from Re

Emperor Toba to Atsumori's grandfather Tadamori, who was an exct! musician. I believe I have heard that Tsunemori inherited it, and th turned it over to Atsumori because the boy played so well. Saeda (Li Branch] was its name. It is deeply moving that music, a profane enter( ment, should have led a warrior to a life of religion.

9.I8. The Flight

Shigemori's youngest son, Moromori, the governor of Bitchii, got in small boat with six companions. As they were starting off, one of To mori's samurai came galloping up, a warrior named Seiemon Kinn~ "Isn't that Lord Moromori's boat?" he asked. "Let me go with you." "

They went back to the beach. But what good could come of it whe.; huge man dressed in full armor tried to jump from a horse into a boat? · tiny vessel veered and capsized, and one of Hatakeyama's retainers, Ho no Jiro, galloped up with thirteen or fourteen men, raked Moromori fr. the water where he was struggling, and cut off his head. Moromori · fourteen.

Michimori, the governor of Echizen, had been one of the commanders chief in the hills. That day, he was wearing a tunic of red brocade and.a of armor laced with thick Chinese damask, and he was riding a blond ch

✓ nut horse with a saddle trimmed in silver. Wounded in thf :face and se rated from his brother, Noritsune, he was fleeing eastward,' looking fCJ quiet spot where he could commit suicide, when he was surrounded killed by a party of seven riders led by Sasaki no Naritsuna of Omi Provi and Tamanoi no Sukekage of Musashi Province. One of his retainers stayed with him, but even he fled at the last.

The fighting at the eastern and western entrances continued for an ho claiming the lives of countless Genji and Heike. Piles of dead horses dead men rose like clustered hills in front of the archery platforms and un the branch barricades; the green bamboo-grass in the meadows at Ichi- tani turned pale red. Quite aside from those who were felled by arrows swords at Ichi-no-tani and Ikuta-no-mori, or in the mountains or on beaches, more than two thousand heads of the Heike were taken by ~ Genji to be exposed. Among the Taira dead were Michimori; his youn brother Narimori; Tadanori; Tomoakira; Moromori; Kiyosada; Kiyofu Tsunemori's heir, Tsunemasa; and Tsunemasa's younger brothers, Tsu toshi and Atsumori.

wed down b: ·ng the emper vince, driven 1 'iya, there to st from Suma s, bedewed th n with griev

ted off Eshim: ing faintly ov< itated in the o tination. hus, drawn b ard many dif he others. Tht of fourteen p

itself only a < ; ry heart despa

ne for inspec 1ter that the ri, the head 0

a monk. sent from Re ) was an exce ed it, and tha well. Saeda [Ui profane enter

Bitchii, got iri off, one of To ~eiemon Kin , with you." :ome of it wh' e into a boat? , retainers, Ho d Moromori f d. Moromori

1e commander brocade and a ling a blond c the face and ard, looking ,s surrounded .a of Omi Pro; f his retainers

inued for an h f dead horses atforms and u. :adows at Ichf lied by arrows' ,untains or OJ): were taken by mori; his you yosada; Kiyo r brothers, Ts

Chapter Nine 397

ed down by grief, the defeated Heike embarked in boats and set out, g the emperor with them. Some of their vessels headed toward Kii ince, driven by the tides and winds; some rowed to the offing beyond ' a, there to toss on the waves. Others voyaged aimlessly along the

from Suma toward Akashi, while those on board used oars for pil- bedewed their lonely beds with tears, and gazed at the misty spring

~ with grieving eyes. Others passed through the Awaji Straits and · d off Eshima Shore, their passengers comparing themselves to plovers g faintly over the waves by night in search of lost comrades. Others ated in the offing beyond Ichi-no-tani, as though unable to decide on a ·nation. us, drawn by the tides and blown by the winds, the fugitives drifted rd many different shores and islands, each group ignorant of the fate e others. They had held high hopes for the future when they were mas-

:of fourteen provinces and a hundred thousand horsemen, with the capi- 'tself only a day's journey away, but now Ichi-no-tani had fallen, and

heart despaired.