Biographies LXX: Minamoto-no-Yoriyoshi, Yoshitsuna, Yoshimitsu, Yoshiie, Yoshikuni, Tameyoshi, Tametomo, and Taira-no-Kagemasa

Minamoto-no-Yoriyoshi

¶Minamoto-no-Yoriyoshi was the eldest son of Minamoto-no-Yorinobu, Chinjufu-shōgun, Commander of the Defense Headquarters (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku, the Ogasawara Keizu, and the Mutsu Waki). His childhood name was Ōyomaru (Note: Ogasawara Keizu). He was composed and thoughtful, rich in martial strategy, endowed with the capacity of a commanding general, and excelled at riding and archery. In the Chōgen years he followed his father and won merit in the suppression of Taira-no-Tadatsune, and many of the warriors of the Bandō inclined their hearts toward him (Note: Mutsu Waki). He became Hangandai, Secretary, to the Retired Emperor Koichijō-in (Note: Mutsu Waki and Sonpi Bunmyaku). The Retired Emperor loved hunting, and Yoriyoshi always attended him. He liked to shoot fierce beasts with a weak bow; when he loosed an arrow it always pierced through to the fletching, and there was no quarry that did not fall at the sound of the string. Taira-no-Naokata, Kōzuke-no-suke, Assistant Governor of Kōzuke, saw his riding and archery and marveled, saying, "Unworthy as I am, I come of a line of famous generals and have loved the martial arts, yet I have never seen anyone as skilled with the bow as you. I wish to offer you my daughter as a secondary wife." Yoriyoshi accepted (Note: Mutsu Waki). Before long he became Sagami-no-kami, Governor of Sagami (Note: Mutsu Waki, Sonpi Bunmyaku, and Ogasawara Keizu). The custom of Sagami honored valor, and during his tenure Yoriyoshi loved his men and delighted in giving, so that his prestige spread greatly. Even the rough and violent all obeyed him like servants. The mounted archers and horsemen throughout the Bandō vied to become his retainers. When his term was complete he returned to the capital (Note: Mutsu Waki).

¶Earlier, there had been in Mutsu a man named Abe-no-Yoritoki, who for generations had been chief of a powerful house and, relying on his might, had grown arrogant. In the Eishō years, Fujiwara-no-Naritō, Mutsu-no-kami, Governor of Mutsu, led the soldiers of Mutsu and Dewa against him but could not prevail. When this matter reached the court (Note: Mutsu Waki and Konjaku Monogatari), the court council resolved to appoint Yoriyoshi Governor of Mutsu (Note: Mutsu Waki, Konjaku Monogatari, Sonpi Bunmyaku, and Ogasawara Keizu) and to have him lead troops to subdue Yoritoki. Just as Yoriyoshi arrived in Mutsu, a general amnesty was proclaimed. Yoritoki was overjoyed and submitted in all sincerity (Note: Mutsu Waki and Konjaku Monogatari). Before long Yoriyoshi concurrently became Chinjufu-shōgun (Note: Fusō Ryakki, Teiō Hennenki, Hyakurenshō, Mutsu Waki, Konjaku Monogatari, Sonpi Bunmyaku, and Ogasawara Keizu. Note: "before long concurrently" follows the memorial in the Honchō Zoku Monzui; the Mutsu Waki says he took the post at the same time as his appointment as Governor of Mutsu). The province was at peace and quiet. As his term drew to a close, he entered the Defense Headquarters, took up the business of government, and remained several tens of days. Yoritoki served him respectfully and gave generous gifts to his troops. Then, on his way back to the provincial office, Yoriyoshi encamped at the Akuri River. That night someone attacked the camp of Fujiwara-no-Mitsusada. When Yoriyoshi had the matter investigated, the culprit proved to be Sadatō, a son of Yoritoki. Yoriyoshi was enraged and said, "This is as good as shooting at me; it was not Mitsusada who was shot at." He sought to seize Sadatō and call him to account. When Yoritoki heard this, he gathered his sons and nephews, took up a position at the Koromo River, closed the barrier, and raised the banner of revolt (Note: Mutsu Waki and Konjaku Monogatari).

¶In the seventh month of the fourth year of Tengi, the court ordered Yoriyoshi to carry out the punitive campaign (Note: Teiō Hennenki. Note: none of the sources gives the year and month of Yoritoki's rebellion, but probably Yoritoki raised the banner of revolt in the second year of Tengi, about the time Yoriyoshi's term ended. Judging from the circumstances of the time, since Yoriyoshi did not return to the capital for three years after his term ended, he could not have failed to report his reasons, and the court likewise could not have failed to issue an edict of punitive campaign, yet this was delayed until this year. Probably an attempt had already been made earlier without success, and at this point Yoriyoshi again requested troops and the court again issued an edict. Moreover, Fujiwara-no-Tsunekiyo and others seem to have gone over to Yoritoki at the time Yoritoki raised his banner, so that event would have occurred before the fourth year of Tengi. However, it is likewise not clear when Kon-no-Tametoki and others summoned and instructed the Fushū, the pacified barbarians, so it is set down here for the time being, to be kept for reference). Yoriyoshi then dispatched the soldiers of the Bandō and attacked; he gathered tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry, and the province answered his call.

¶At that time Fujiwara-no-Tsunekiyo and Taira-no-Nagahira, sons-in-law of Yoritoki, had come over to Yoriyoshi with their troops. Nagahira wore a silver helmet, and someone argued to Yoriyoshi, "Nagahira at first served the previous provincial governor, Naritō, and was treated generously. But once he allied himself by marriage with Yoritoki, he came to harbor a divided heart toward the governor. When battle comes he will turn against his former lord and side with Yoritoki; his character is unrighteous by nature. Now he shows sincerity outwardly, but inwardly he nurses treacherous schemes, and I fear he will secretly report the army's movements to the enemy. Moreover, his helmet differs from everyone else's; is this not so that the men on Yoritoki's side will not shoot him alone? You should swiftly cut him down and destroy the seed of collusion from within." Yoriyoshi thought this reasonable, seized Nagahira and four of his confidants, and had them beheaded on the spot. Tsunekiyo was inwardly uneasy and spread a rumor through the army that "Yoritoki is sending light cavalry to attack the provincial office." At that time the wives and children of Yoriyoshi and his followers were all in the provincial office, and many soldiers urged Yoriyoshi to return there. So he had Kon-no-Tametoki, Gunji, District Magistrate of Kesen, and others attack Yoritoki at the Koromo River, while he himself led several thousand scorched horses (Note: so the source) and galloped back to the provincial office. Tsunekiyo then simply fled back.

¶Yoritoki and Yoriyoshi each had Kon-no-Tametoki and Shimotsukeno-no-Okishige and others summon and instruct the Fushū of the province. Abe-no-Tomitada, chief of the Fushū, raised troops and answered the call. In the seventh month of the fifth year of Tengi, there was a great battle of two days with Yoritoki, and Yoritoki was defeated and killed (Note: that this was the seventh month follows the Hyakurenshō). The remnants were not yet pacified, and Sadatō's military strength grew greater day by day. At that time, on top of the warfare, poor harvests had piled up; army provisions did not last, and the soldiers scattered and did not gather again. Yoriyoshi was troubled by this (Note: set down with reference to the Mutsu Waki and Konjaku Monogatari).

¶In the eighth month Yoriyoshi submitted a memorial asking that official orders be sent down to the provinces of the Tōsandō and Tōkaidō to have grain provisions transported (Note: Fusō Ryakki). In the ninth month he again reported on the defeat of the rebels and asked that official orders be granted to levy soldiers from the provinces and have provisions delivered (Note: Fusō Ryakki and Mutsu Waki. Note: the request of the eighth month was probably submitted while Yoritoki was not yet dead, and the report of the ninth month was submitted after Yoritoki's death and reached the capital only at this time).

¶In the eleventh month Yoriyoshi himself led more than 1,800 soldiers (Note: the Fusō Ryakki and the Jikkinshō give more than 1,300, the Konjaku Monogatari more than 3,100, and the Ichidai Yōki more than 3,000) and attacked Sadatō at the Kawasaki palisade. A great wind and snow struck at that moment, and men and horses alike were frozen and starving. Sadatō led more than 4,000 picked troops out to Torinoumi (Note: Torinoumi follows the Mutsu Waki) and fought. Yoriyoshi was badly defeated, his soldiers were nearly annihilated, and only six horsemen remained. The rebels swiftly surrounded them and shot arrows like rain (Note: Fusō Ryakki, Mutsu Waki, and Konjaku Monogatari). Yoriyoshi's son Yoshiie, together with Fujiwara-no-Kagemichi, Muyake-no-Mitsutō, Kiyohara-no-Sadahiro, Fujiwara-no-Suenori, and Fujiwara-no-Noriaki, all fought with valor. When Yoriyoshi's horse was struck by an arrow and fell, Kagemichi gave him his own horse. Yoshiie, Mitsutō, and the others fought to the death. Kagemichi's eldest son Kagesue, a man of some twenty years, galloped into the rebel ranks and cut down several of their commanders, but was in the end killed in battle. Wake-no-Munesuke, Ki-no-Tamekiyo, and others also fought hard and were killed (Note: Wake-no-Munesuke and Ki-no-Tamekiyo follow the Mutsu Waki). The rebel troops finally withdrew, and Yoriyoshi barely managed to escape.

¶Saeki-no-Tsunenori, a man of Sagami, had long been generously treated by Yoriyoshi. When the battle was lost, Yoriyoshi's whereabouts were unknown, and someone asked the soldiers who had fled back; they answered, "The general is surrounded by the rebels, the soldiers following him are no more than a few horsemen, and he surely cannot escape." Tsunenori said, "I have served the general for thirty years, I am nearly sixty, and the general too is approaching old age. Now, at this moment of ruin, how could I fail to accompany him to the world below?" and galloped straight into the rebels. The two or three horsemen who followed him also said to one another, "Our lord has already died for the sake of the general; how could we alone live on?" and charged into the enemy lines together and died. That Yoriyoshi had won the hearts of his men was shown by instances like this (Note: Mutsu Waki and Konjaku Monogatari).

¶In the twelfth month Yoriyoshi submitted a memorial: "As for the soldiers and army provisions from the provinces, orders for their levy have been issued, but there is no record of their actually arriving. The people of this province have all fled and hidden, and do not take up military service. Minamoto-no-Kanenaga, Governor of Dewa, has no intention of attacking the rebels. Without the Emperor's decision, how can we carry out the campaign?" (Note: Fusō Ryakki and Mutsu Waki). Earlier, the court, holding that Yoriyoshi's term was over, had replaced the provincial governor (Note: Fusō Ryakki and Hyakurenshō). But on the ground that the rebels had not yet been pacified, Yoriyoshi declined and did not go to his new post (Note: Mutsu Waki). In this month the court issued an edict ordering Yoriyoshi reappointed (Note: the Hyakurenshō places this in the twelfth month of the previous year, but here the Fusō Ryakki is followed). Kanenaga was dismissed and Minamoto-no-Nariyori was made his successor. Official orders were sent to the provinces to levy army provisions. But Nariyori dawdled and did not send troops, and the provision convoys did not arrive. Sadatō's strength grew ever greater; he ranged across the districts and plundered the people (Note: Fusō Ryakki and Mutsu Waki). The rebel commander Tsunekiyo led troops out through the Koromo River barrier and seized government supplies (Note: Mutsu Waki).

¶In the spring of the fifth year of Kōhei, the court, holding that Yoriyoshi's term had again expired, ordered Takashina-no-Tsuneshige to replace him. The people of the province had long admired Yoriyoshi's reputation and did not obey Tsuneshige's command. Tsuneshige had no choice but to return to the capital (Note: Fusō Ryakki and Mutsu Waki). Yoriyoshi, set on suppressing the rebels, sent envoys to summon Kiyohara-no-Mitsuyori, chief of the Fushū of Dewa, and his younger brother Takenori, to serve as reinforcements. Mitsuyori and his party hesitated and could not decide, but Yoriyoshi repeatedly lured them with gifts of rare treasures. In the seventh month Takenori came with more than 10,000 sons, younger kinsmen, and followers. Yoriyoshi, leading more than 3,000 troops, met Takenori at Eioka in Kurihara District, and they held a council of war. Just then doves flew over the encampment, and the men took this as an auspicious sign. Yoriyoshi and all the rest bowed to them in worship (Note: Fusō Ryakki, Mutsu Waki, and Konjaku Monogatari).

¶Thereupon he divided the army into seven divisions: Kiyohara-no-Takesada took the first division, Tachibana-no-Sadayori the second, Kimiko-no-Hidetake the third, Tachibana-no-Yoriyoshi the fourth, and Yoriyoshi himself led the fifth (Note: according to this book, the fifth division was further divided into three parts, one under the general (Yoriyoshi), one under Takenori, and one made up of the provincial officials), Kimiko-no-Taketada the sixth, and Kiyohara-no-Takemichi the seventh (Note: Mutsu Waki). Advancing to Ogibaba in Iwai District, they were about to attack the Komatsu palisade, held by Sadatō's uncle, the monk Ryōshō. Night was falling, and it was moreover an inauspicious day, so they did not sally forth. While Takesada, Sadayori, and others were advancing to scout the lie of the land, a soldier of the retinue set fire to a house outside the palisade. The rebels were alarmed and raised an uproar, loosing arrows and stones in quick succession. Yoriyoshi said to Takenori, "In war one prizes seizing the opportunity, and there is no need to be bound by days and hours," and had his cavalry attack and surround the place. Fukae-no-Korenori and Ōtomo-no-Kazuhide led more than twenty desperate men up the cliff, broke into the palisade, and burst in. Hand-to-hand fighting began, and the inside of the palisade fell into great confusion. Sadatō's younger brother Munetō sallied out with more than 800 horsemen, but Yoriyoshi's valiant cavalry Taira-no-Saneshira, Sugawara-no-Yukimoto, and others fought hard and defeated them (Note: Mutsu Waki and Konjaku Monogatari).

¶Kiyohara-no-Takemichi was holding a strategic position when Munetō attacked him with more than thirty picked horsemen. Takemichi met them, suffered many dead and wounded, but almost wiped out the enemy; the rebel troops then abandoned the palisade and fled, setting fire to it and burning it. Yoriyoshi rested his troops and deliberately did not pursue. Long rains then set in, and the army stayed in place eighteen days, so that it ran short of provisions. The merchants of Iwai had all gone over to Munetō, and the official army's baggage train was seized. Yoriyoshi was troubled by this; he assigned more than 1,000 soldiers to guard against them and sent more than 3,000 separately to Nakamura to reap rice for provisions. Those who remained in the camp numbered more than 6,500 (Note: Mutsu Waki).

¶In the ninth month, Sadatō, seeing that the official army's troops were few, led 8,000 picked soldiers himself and came to attack (Note: Fusō Ryakki and Mutsu Waki). Yoriyoshi drew up his army in the "long serpent" formation and met them, and the battle cries shook heaven and earth. They fought from the hour of the Horse to the hour of the Rooster, and at last won a great victory (Note: Mutsu Waki). Pressing their advantage, they pursued the fleeing enemy to the Iwai River, killed more than 100 rebel soldiers, and captured more than 300 horses (Note: Fusō Ryakki and Mutsu Waki). Yoriyoshi said to Takenori, "If we let the rebels escape today, tomorrow they will regain their strength," and had Takenori lead 800 picked troops in pursuit by night. Yoriyoshi returned to the camp and comforted his officers and men, personally visiting those who were wounded; all were moved and gladly vied to work for him. Takenori attacked Sadatō by a side road, defeated him, and inflicted many dead and wounded (Note: Mutsu Waki).

¶Sadatō withdrew and held the Koromo River barrier, and Yoriyoshi himself led troops and attacked it. The road was steep and narrow, and moreover the long rains had made the waters overflow, so that the army struggled. Takenori secretly sent troops to burn the palisade of the rebel commander Fujiwara-no-Narichika. Sadatō saw the flames from afar, was greatly alarmed, abandoned the barrier, and shut himself up in the Torinoumi palisade (Note: Mutsu Waki and Konjaku Monogatari). Yoriyoshi advanced and attacked two palisades, Ōasano and Sehara, and took them (Note: Mutsu Waki). He then attacked the Torinoumi palisade, and Sadatō, unable to hold it, withdrew and shut himself up in the Kuriyagawa palisade. When Yoriyoshi entered the Torinoumi palisade he found several tens of jars of sake there, and his soldiers vied to drink it. Yoriyoshi stopped them, saying, "Perhaps the rebels have laced it with poison to bring us to grief." But when one man secretly drank some and came to no harm, he let everyone drink, and the whole army was glad and at ease.

¶Yoriyoshi advanced and took the Kurosawajiri palisade, and went on to break the Tsurunosune and Hiyodori palisades, and at last surrounded the Kuriyagawa and Ubuto palisades (Note: Mutsu Waki and Konjaku Monogatari). Sadatō built towers and held firm; arrows and stones fell like rain, and the official army's dead numbered several hundred. Yoriyoshi ordered his soldiers to tear down the houses of the people and fill the moat with the timber, and had grass cut and piled along the riverbank (Note: Fusō Ryakki and Mutsu Waki). Then he dismounted, bowed in worship from afar toward the imperial palace, prayed to the god Hachiman, took fire himself, proclaimed "This is divine fire," and hurled it. Suddenly a violent wind arose, smoke and flames filled the sky, and in an instant the towers and palisades were reduced to ashes, and the inside of the palisade fell into confusion. As the official army pressed the attack, several hundred rebel soldiers fought desperately to break through the encirclement. Takenori loosened their line of retreat, and the rebels all fled. Yoriyoshi pursued and annihilated them, and along the way killed Sadatō, his younger brother Shigetō, and Fujiwara-no-Tsunekiyo (Note: Fusō Ryakki, Mutsu Waki, and Konjaku Monogatari). Inside the palisade were several tens of beautiful women, all in robes of figured silk and gauze, adorned with gold, silver, and kingfisher feathers. Yoriyoshi distributed them all among his officers and men (Note: Mutsu Waki).

¶Soon afterwards, Sadatō's uncle Tamemoto and his younger brothers Ietō and Munetō and others came out and surrendered, and the remnants were all pacified. In the second month of the sixth year of Kōhei, Fujiwara-no-Suetoshi and Mononobe-no-Nagayori were sent to carry the heads of Sadatō, Shigetō, and Tsunekiyo to the capital in boxes (Note: Fusō Ryakki, Mutsu Waki, and Konjaku Monogatari). The court rewarded his merit, conferring on Yoriyoshi Senior Fourth Rank Lower and appointing him Iyo-no-kami, Governor of Iyo. Yoshiie and the others were each granted office and rank according to their merit (Note: Fusō Ryakki and Mutsu Waki). In the eighth month, Yoriyoshi at his own expense founded the Hachiman shrine at Tsurugaoka in Kamakura to repay the favor of the god (Note: Azuma Kagami, the year Jishō 4).

¶In the third year of Jiryaku (the seventh year, as the source has it) he returned to the capital from Mutsu accompanied by many surrendered Fushū (Note: Hyakurenshō and Rekidai Kōki) and petitioned for rewards for those who had won merit. The court council was slow to decide. The next year Yoriyoshi submitted a memorial stating as follows. "That rewards are granted for meritorious service has many precedents from ancient times, in our country and in foreign lands. Some have risen from the status of slaves to the high rank of the gold seal and purple cord, and some have come from the ranks of common soldiers to the high positions of general and minister. Yoriyoshi, as a descendant of meritorious subjects, has kept the loyalty of serving the public. In the past, in Ōshū, barbarian rebels rose up, occupied the districts and counties and made them foreign ground, and drove the people about like slaves of the barbarians. For several decades the six districts did not submit to the affairs of the province, as though they had forgotten the might of the court. In recent years especially their violence had been extreme. In the sixth year of Eishō the court appointed Yoriyoshi Governor of Mutsu and entrusted the punitive campaign to him alone. In the first year of Tengi he concurrently became Chinjufu-shōgun. Yoriyoshi, receiving the sovereign's edict, went to a land of tiger-and-wolf barbarian customs, put on armor and traveled a thousand ri, braved arrows and stones, and bore his duty prepared to die ten thousand deaths. The rebel chieftains Abe-no-Sadatō and Shigetō, and the unemployed official Fujiwara-no-Tsunekiyo and others, were all put to death through the strategy employed. Some had their heads sent to the capital, and some were exposed on the road to Long. The other rebels, five including Abe-no-Munetō, surrendered of their own accord. The lands where the barbarians dwelt are already directly held by the court, and the rebellious throng are all subjects of the Emperor. For this achievement I was appointed Governor of Iyo in the sixth year of Kōhei last. That year Yoriyoshi remained in Ōshū to pacify the remnants. Only in the second month of last year did I enter the capital, and I ought at once to have gone to Iyo province, but during the war there were more than ten men who had won distinction in arms, and although they sought rewards, these have not yet been approved. I wait only for your decision and cannot go to my province. Moreover, since the writ of appointment was granted only in the ninth month of last year, it is only natural that I was delayed on the road. Of my four-year term, two years have been spent in vain, and I have not been able to collect and deliver the official goods of that province. Yet demands for delivery to the fief-holding houses press in like clouds. Therefore I have for the time made up the shortfall from my private means. Now the officials of that province say that drought damage has struck repeatedly, the rice has not ripened, there is no autumn harvest throughout the province, and the people show the pallor of hunger. To devise a plan of recovery and to fulfill the duty of repayment, precedents must once more be examined. Some have been considered by counting the years of their tenure, and some have been reappointed because of the exhaustion of their province. From ancient times to the present there are many such examples. All the more, having achieved a great merit rarely seen in any age, how can there be no especially generous reward? In ancient times Ban Chao pacified the Western Regions and was early enfeoffed as a marquis of a thousand households. Now Yoriyoshi has subdued the eastern barbarians; how can he not be granted the reward of reappointment? Ban Chao took thirty years to make his merit manifest, while I have established my merit after thirteen years. Though they differ in slowness and speed, the superiority is already clear, and in choosing, how could one not show compassion? I humbly beg that, by the Emperor's grace, in accordance with the merit of the campaign against the barbarians, an imperial decree of reappointment be swiftly issued, so that I may devise a plan of recovery and fulfill my duty of repayment" (Note: following the Honchō Zoku Monzui. Note: it is known that Yoriyoshi petitioned for reappointment in this way, but how the court ruled on it is not found in any of the sources).

¶In the second year of Jōhō he shaved his head and soon afterwards died (Note: following the Suisaki. Note: the Sonpi Bunmyaku says that he shaved his head in the second year of Eihō, died soon afterward, and was eighty-eight). He was known in the world as the Iyo Nyūdō, the lay monk of Iyo.

¶Yoriyoshi was skilled at painting. When he was a child, he playfully drew an image of Fudō Myōō on the wall of the corridor at the middle gate; a guest who knew painting saw it, was greatly astonished, and asked his father Yorinobu about it. Yorinobu answered, "My son drew this. He is always fond of drawing, but I think it is of no use." The guest said, "This is what is called a gift from Heaven; it is not something people can reach by effort. You must not forbid it" (Note: Kokon Chomonjū). Yoriyoshi had deep faith in Buddhism (Note: Zoku Ōjōden), and once built a hall north of Rokujō Bōmon, where he buried the remaining heads of enemies taken in the campaign in Mutsu, and named it the Mimi-osame-dō, the Hall of the Interred Ears (Note: Kojidan, Tōsai Zuihitsu, and Sonpi Bunmyaku). His sons were Yoshitsuna and Yoshimitsu (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku), and Yoshiie has a separate biography (Note: according to the Genpei Seisuiki, Yoriyoshi's youngest son Yoritoshi followed Yoriyoshi in attacking Sadatō, fought bravely, but was struck by a stray arrow and died. Yoriyoshi grieved deeply. When the Emperor Go-Reizei heard of this, he himself wrote words wishing the dead man salvation and had them placed in his coffin. But according to the various genealogies, Yoritoshi was a grandson of Yorichika and so a cousin's son to Yoriyoshi. The account of the Genpei Seisuiki is not adopted here).

Minamoto-no-Yoshitsuna

¶Minamoto-no-Yoshitsuna was called Kamo-no-Jirō because he came of age at the Kamo shrine (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku). In the Kōhei years he followed his father in attacking Sadatō, and for that merit was appointed Saemon-no-shōjō, Junior Lieutenant of the Left Gate Guards (Note: Hyakurenshō, Fusō Ryakki, Ichidai Yōki, and Mutsu Waki). He served successively as governor of Mutsu, Ise, Kai, Mino, and other provinces (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku). In the seventh year of Kanji, Taira-no-Morotae, Morosue, and others committed outrages in Dewa, burned the residence of the provincial governor Nobuaki, and plundered his goods (Note: Chūyūki. Note: Nobuaki's surname is not known). At that time Yoshitsuna was Governor of Mutsu, and he received an imperial order, attacked them, and pacified the region (Note: Chūyūki and Hyakurenshō). In the third month of the following year, he presented their heads in boxes (Note: Chūyūki). He came to the capital leading surrendered Fushū (Note: Chūyūki and Hyakurenshō) and for this merit was granted Junior Fourth Rank Upper (Note: Chūyūki. Note: the Sonpi Bunmyaku says that Yoshitsuna ended at Senior Fifth Rank Lower, but this is probably an error).

¶In the second year of Tennin, his nephew Yoshitada was killed by some unknown person. The court council regarded this as the work of Yoshitsuna's son Yoshiaki and others, and had the Kebiishi, Police Commissioner, Minamoto-no-Shigetoki attack Yoshiaki (Note: Hyakurenshō, Rekidai Kōki, and Teiō Hennenki). Yoshiaki died in battle (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku). Yoshitsuna believed him innocent, fled, and shut himself up in the Kōga mountains of Ōmi. The court ordered Yoshitsuna's nephew Tameyoshi to attack him. Yoshitsuna shaved his head and begged to surrender (Note: Hyakurenshō and Sonpi Bunmyaku). His sons Yoshihiro, Yoshitoshi, Yoshinaka, and Yoshinori all killed themselves (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku). Tameyoshi brought Yoshitsuna back to the capital, and the court issued an edict commuting his death sentence and exiled him to Sado (Note: Hyakurenshō and Sonpi Bunmyaku). In the third year of Chōshō he was again censured and in the end killed himself (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Minamoto-no-Yoshimitsu

¶Minamoto-no-Yoshimitsu was called Shinra-no-Saburō because he came of age at the Shinra Myōjin shrine (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku). He was also called Tachi-no-Saburō (Note: Jikkinshō). From childhood he excelled at archery and horsemanship. When he grew up he was brave and resourceful. He became Sahyōe-no-jō, Lieutenant of the Left Gate Guards, and was on night guard duty in the capital. When he heard that his elder brother Yoshiie was attacking Kiyohara-no-Takehira and that Iehira was at a disadvantage, he petitioned to be allowed to go as reinforcement, but was not permitted, and so resigned his office and went to Mutsu regardless (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku and Kokon Chomonjū). Yoshiie was overjoyed and said with tears of gratitude, "To meet you today is as though our late father had appeared in this world again. If we join our strength and attack the rebels, we will surely defeat them."

¶Yoshiie's army was surrounding the Kanazawa palisade held by the rebels. Takehira asked Yoshimitsu to accept his surrender, but Yoshiie would not listen. Takehira begged again, saying, "If you will come into the palisade yourself, I will surrender at once." Yoshimitsu told Yoshiie of this and wished to enter the palisade and accept the surrender, but Yoshiie firmly stopped him (Note: Ōshū Gosannen Gunki). So he sent his retainer Fujiwara-no-Suekata. Takehira had his troops posted in strict array and waited, but Suekata showed hardly any sign of fear. Takehira tried to buy him off with gold, but Suekata would not accept it and said, "This fortress will fall sooner or later. All those things will soon come into our hands anyway," and, sword in hand, left (Note: Jikkinshō and Ōshū Gosannen Gunki).

¶When the fortress fell, Yoshimitsu shielded Takehira and asked that his life be spared, but Yoshiie would not listen. Soon he returned to the capital following Yoshiie (Note: Ōshū Gosannen Gunki). He was appointed Gyōbu-no-jō, Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, served successively as Hitachi-no-suke, Assistant Governor of Hitachi, and Kai-no-kami, Governor of Kai, was granted Junior Fifth Rank Upper, and rose to Gyōbu-no-shōyū, Junior Assistant Minister of Justice. He died in the second year of Daiji (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku. Note: the printed edition of the Sonpi Bunmyaku says he died in the sixth year of Daiji at the age of seventy-three).

¶From his youth Yoshimitsu loved music and mastered its inner secrets. He once studied the shō, the mouth organ, under Toyohara-no-Tokimoto. When Tokimoto died, his son Tokiaki was still young and had not been given the secret pieces, and Yoshimitsu had been taught the Daishikichō Nyūchō, the entry piece in the Daishiki mode. When Yoshimitsu set out for Mutsu, Tokiaki followed him as far as the Kagami post station in Ōmi and begged to go with him. Yoshimitsu tried several times to turn him back, but he would not listen. When they reached Mount Ashigara, Yoshimitsu halted his horse and said, "I am deeply moved by your devotion. But this mountain has a barrier, and passing without permission is strictly forbidden. I have already resolved to die, and I intend to cut my way through the barrier. It would profit nothing if you were caught up in it and died. Go back quickly." Tokiaki still kept begging to follow, but Yoshimitsu understood his heart, dismounted, spread two shields, and sat down with him. He took out of his quiver the score of the Daishiki Nyūchō that he had received from Tokimoto and showed it to him. Then he asked whether he had his shō with him, and Tokiaki took the shō from his bosom. Yoshimitsu said, "You followed me, I think, for this. I am now going to war and cannot tell whether I will return alive. You have your duties in office. Go back and perfect your art." He transmitted all the secret pieces to him, and they parted and went their ways (Note: Kokon Chomonjū).

¶Yoshimitsu once contested an estate with Fujiwara-no-Akisue. Akisue thought he was in the right and believed he would surely win. But the suit went undecided for a long time, and Akisue found this suspicious. The Retired Emperor Shirakawa asked Akisue, "Do you resent that the suit over the estate has gone so long undecided?" Akisue then described in detail Yoshimitsu's unreasonable claims. The Retired Emperor said, "You should let him have the estate." Akisue was silent and did not answer. The Retired Emperor quietly counseled him, "Your domains have room to spare, and whether you gain or lose one estate makes no great difference to you. Yoshimitsu does not have many domains and relies on that bit of land, so what he would lose is truly great. Therefore you should yield it. Moreover, Yoshimitsu is a rough and fierce warrior. If by any chance he sought to avenge his resentment on you, the disaster would be beyond measure. I know well the rights and wrongs of the suit. But I have deliberately not given judgment because I value you." Akisue was moved, shed tears, rose and bowed in thanks, withdrew, invited Yoshimitsu, and gave him the estate they had been contesting. Yoshimitsu was greatly pleased and wrote out a meibo, a register of allegiance, and handed it over. Afterwards, whenever Akisue went out, several soldiers in armor always accompanied him as guards. When Akisue asked the reason, they answered, "We are retainers of the Lord of Gyōbu (Yoshimitsu)." Akisue is said to have felt the more grateful for the sovereign's kindness (Note: Jikkinshō and Kojidan). The court government of that time was makeshift, and warriors wielded power in much this manner.

¶His son Yoshinari was called Gyōbu-no-Tarō and became Saemon-no-jō, Lieutenant of the Left Gate Guards, and Kebiishi. His great-grandson Satake-no-Hidemasa has a separate biography. Yoshikiyo was called Gyōbu-no-Saburō. His grandsons Takeda-no-Nobuyoshi and Yasuda-no-Yoshisada, and his great-grandson Ogasawara-no-Nagakiyo, have separate biographies. Moriyoshi was called Gyōbu-no-Shirō and became Sahyōe-no-jō. His son Hiraga-no-Yoshinobu has a separate biography. Chikayoshi was called Okada-no-Kanja. Sukeyoshi was called Gyōbu-no-Rokurō (Note: from Yoshinari on, following the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Minamoto-no-Yoshiie

¶Minamoto-no-Yoshiie was the eldest son of Iyo-no-kami Yoriyoshi, Governor of Iyo. His childhood name was Genta. Once Yoriyoshi dreamed that he was granted a sword by the god Hachiman, and on waking he wondered at it. Soon afterwards his wife conceived, and Yoshiie was born. At the age of seven he came of age at the Iwashimizu shrine and for that reason took the name Hachiman-Tarō (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku and Keichūshō. Note: the childhood name Genta follows the Heiji Monogatari. Note: the Mutsu Waki and the Jikkinshō both say that at the battle of Torinoumi Yoshiie's riding and archery were so godlike that the rebels called him "Hachiman-Tarō." But since each of Yoriyoshi's three sons came of age at a shrine and all took the name of that shrine as their appellation, that account is not adopted here).

¶Yoshiie was by nature brave and decisive and excelled above all at riding and archery (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku and Mutsu Waki). In the Eishō years he followed Yoriyoshi in attacking Abe-no-Sadatō in Mutsu and fought at the Torinoumi palisade (Note: Mutsu Waki and Fusō Ryakki), where they suffered a great defeat at Sadatō's hands. When Yoshiie's horse was struck by an arrow, Fujiwara-no-Noriaki seized an enemy horse and gave it to him. Yoshiie fought desperately and loosed arrows in rapid succession, cutting down all before him. The rebels marveled at his valor and said he was like a god (Note: Mutsu Waki and Konjaku Monogatari). In the fifth year of Kōhei he attacked the Koromo River barrier and won a great victory, and Sadatō was put to death (Note: Mutsu Waki and Fusō Ryakki. Note: the Kokon Chomonjū tells that when Sadatō fled in defeat at the Koromo River, Yoshiie caught up with him, fitted an arrow to his bow, and called out in a loud voice the opening verse of a waka, which said that the manor of Koromo had fallen to ruin; Sadatō halted his horse, looked back, and answered with the closing verse, which spoke of the anguish of threads tangled through the passing years; whereupon Yoshiie put away his arrow and turned back. But this story is found nowhere else and seems to have been made up by some enthusiast among those who compose verse. It is not adopted here).

¶The war in the eastern provinces lasted altogether more than ten years, and the pacification of Mutsu owed much to Yoshiie's achievements (Note: Mutsu Waki, Fusō Ryakki, and Konjaku Monogatari). In the sixth year of Kōhei, for this merit he was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower and became Dewa-no-kami, Governor of Dewa (Note: Mutsu Waki, Ichidai Yōki, Fusō Ryakki, and Konjaku Monogatari). Soon he returned to the capital, visited the residence of the Kanpaku, Regent, Fujiwara-no-Yorimichi, and told of the war in Mutsu. Ōe-no-Masafusa, listening from a seat some distance away, said, "He has the talent of a general, but it is a pity that he does not know the art of war." His attendant told Yoshiie of this, and Yoshiie thought, "That may well be so." Seeing Masafusa leave, he went to his carriage and bowed to him. His courtesy was most deferential, and in the end he took Masafusa as his teacher and studied the books of war (Note: Ōshū Gosannen Gunki and Kokon Chomonjū).

¶In the third year of Jōryaku, Minamoto-no-Shigemune, Uhyōe-no-jō, Lieutenant of the Right Gate Guards, took up arms and fought with Minamoto-no-Kunifusa, a Sani, an official without post, in Mino (Note: Suisaki and Fusō Ryakki). The court ordered Yoshiie to attack them. Kunifusa was a grandson of Yoshiie's first cousin once removed Yorimitsu, and because his father Yorikuni was Governor of Mino he was called Mino-no-Shichirō. Shigemune was a great-grandson of Mitsumasa, an uncle of Yorimitsu (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku).

¶Earlier, a retainer of Yoshiie had once been insulted by Kunifusa, but Yoshiie did not know it. One time Yoriyoshi was holding a Buddhist service and Yoshiie was present at it, when someone whispered to Yoshiie and told him of the matter. Yoshiie rose abruptly and went back to his residence. When Yoriyoshi sent someone to see, the report came back: "He is just now putting on his war gear and saddling his horse." Yoriyoshi said, "When I looked at him a moment ago, his hair was standing on end; there must be a reason," and sent a man to stop him, saying, "If you have cause for anger, wait until the service is over and then set out. It is only a matter of a day or two," and shut the gate. Yoshiie broke the lock and went out, with only three horsemen following. By the time he galloped to Sekiyama his followers had grown to fifteen horsemen. The next day, on reaching Mino, he found twenty-five soldiers and burned Kunifusa's house. Kunifusa fled. His mounted followers said to Yoshiie, "Let us get on his track and kill him," but Yoshiie said, "My grudge is already avenged. That is enough," and turned back (Note: Kojidan).

¶After this affair Yoshiie, by imperial edict, attacked Shigemune and the others, but Shigemune heard of it and fled into hiding (Note: Suisaki). Later Shigemune joined forces with Kunifusa and resisted Yoshiie, but in the end Yoshiie put Shigemune to death (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku. Note: none of the sources gives the course of events concerning Kunifusa, but according to the Sonpi Bunmyaku Kunifusa served successively as governor of Izu, Mutsu, and other provinces and in various offices and rose to Senior Fourth Rank Lower. From this it is clear that he did not die in battle at that time, but nothing further is known).

¶In the first year of Eihō, monks of Onjōji attacked Enryakuji, and Yoshiie again received an imperial edict and arrested them (Note: Fusō Ryakki). Soon afterwards, when the Emperor made a progress to Iwashimizu, since the monks had not yet been pacified, an imperial order was specially given to Yoshiie and his younger brother Yoshitsuna to accompany the progress; as guard duty was not properly their office, they served as outriders before the Kanpaku Moromichi's party. When night fell, Yoshiie changed his attire, took bow and arrows, and stood beside the imperial palanquin (Note: Suisaki and Zoku Kojidan). At the progress to Kasuga as well, Yoshiie again led his retainer soldiers and guarded the Suzaku Gate. By special edict he wore armor and bore bow and arrows (Note: Suisaki). Because the Emperor was on bad terms with Prince Sukehito over the matter of the crown prince, he had Yoshiie and Yoshitsuna accompany him on every progress (Note: Gukanshō).

¶In the third year of Eihō, Yoshiie became Mutsu-no-kami and concurrently Chinjufu-shōgun. At that time Fujiwara-no-Kiyohira and Kiyohara-no-Iehira were fighting with Kiyohara-no-Sanehira. Yoshiie hurried to Mutsu, helped Sanehira, and attacked Iehira in Dewa, but it did not go well and he turned back. Iehira's uncle Takehira, hearing that Yoshiie had been defeated, raised troops and joined Iehira; together they planned and shut themselves up in the Kanazawa palisade (Note: Ōshū Gosannen Gunki).

¶In the ninth month of the first year of Kanji, Yoshiie again led tens of thousands of horsemen in person and attacked the Kanazawa palisade. The enemy had laid an ambush and were waiting. Yoshiie saw in the distance a line of wild geese break in disorder and perceived that there was an ambush, and had his soldiers scout. Sure enough they found the ambush and destroyed it. He then said to his men, "The books of war say: 'When there are hidden troops in the field, the flying wild geese break their line.' Had I not studied, this month I would have fallen into the rebels' trap" (Note: Ōshū Gosannen Gunki and Kokon Chomonjū).

¶Advancing, he surrounded the palisade. Just then his younger brother Yoshimitsu came from the capital, and Yoshiie was overjoyed, divided his troops and gave a part to Yoshimitsu, and together they attacked. Inside the palisade the defense was firm, arrows and stones came from both sides, the casualties were very heavy, and the place did not fall for a long time. Each day Yoshiie assessed the bravery and cowardice of his soldiers and had them sit in separate places accordingly. When the fighting was over, he reassigned their seating, and in this way encouraged them. Yoshimitsu's retainer Fujiwara-no-Suekata (Note: Suekata's surname follows the Sonpi Bunmyaku) was brave in every battle and never once sat in the seat of the cowards, and in the army this was held to his honor. There was a man called Suewari-no-Koremichi, who was always timid when going into battle; one day he roused himself, said, "Today I will settle whether I am brave or a coward," advanced foremost, was struck in the neck by an arrow, and died. What he had eaten came out through the wound, and everyone laughed at it. When Yoshiie heard of it, he said, "When a man timid by nature rouses himself and fights, his death is bound to be like this. How pitiable."

¶Kimiko-no-Hidetake counseled Yoshiie, "The defense of the palisade is firm and our army is weary. Attacking brings no benefit. If we take time and hold out, the enemy will run out of provisions and be at their wits' end, and will destroy themselves without a fight." Yoshiie followed this (Note: according to this book, Hidetake had at first served Sanehira, but because of a grievance raised troops and urged Kiyohira and Iehira to attack Sanehira. Yoshiie, as provincial governor, helped Sanehira and attacked Kiyohira and Iehira. If one traces the origin of that war, it was in fact Hidetake's doing, and to Hidetake, the enemy of Sanehira, Kiyohira and Iehira would be his confederates. Here Hidetake advises Yoshiie on this plan, and in the end they were able to defeat Takehira and Iehira. The logic of events is inconsistent and the roles of the parties are confused, but probably, because on the day Yoriyoshi attacked Sadatō Hidetake was a commander of one division, he submitted to Yoshiie on the strength of that tie and took this course. But this book has many omissions, the details cannot be known, and there is no other book to consult, so for now the original account is followed).

¶Before long provisions ran short inside the palisade, and Takehira asked Yoshimitsu to accept his surrender, but Yoshiie would not listen, and the plight inside the palisade grew worse. So he arranged to let the weakened ones slip out. Hidetake (the book has Suetake, but it is corrected here) said, "These should be cut down to close off the escape. Then the more people there are in the palisade, the sooner the provisions will run out." Yoshiie followed this. From then on, no one fled any more. The provisions inside the palisade did indeed run out. By then it was already winter, and the cold in the interior was severe. Yoshiie's officers and men all suffered from it and said to one another, "Soon a great snow will fall and we will surely freeze to death." All were anxious about their wives and children, and some secretly took off their armor and sent their horses back to the provincial office, intending to have their wives and children sell them to pay for the journey back to the capital.

¶One night Yoshiie ordered his close attendant Fujiwara-no-Sukemichi to issue the command: "Tonight the palisade will surely fall. Set fire to the camp so that the soldiers may warm themselves." The army found this strange. At dawn, sure enough, Takehira and Iehira burned the palisade and fled of their own accord. Yoshiie pursued, captured Takehira and Iehira and beheaded them, and exposed the heads of forty-eight of their followers. Mutsu and Dewa were wholly pacified. Yoshiie submitted a provincial report, saying, "The rebellion of Takehira and Iehira was a graver crime than that of Sadatō and Munetō. This time, without any special large levy, we were fortunate to subdue them. Please promptly issue an official order for their pursuit and punishment and let their heads be presented at the palace gate." But the court council regarded it as a private war, did not issue the official order, and did not reward his merit. Therefore he cast the heads aside by the roadside and returned to the capital (Note: Ōshū Gosannen Gunki. Note: the Chūyūki and the Hyakurenshō both place this in the first year of Kanji, but this book gives the fifth year of Kanji, which is an error).

¶In the fifth year of Kanji, Fujiwara-no-Sanekiyo and Kiyohara-no-Noriyoshi contested rice fields in Kawachi, and since Yoshiie and Yoshitsuna each took one side, neither would yield. As a result both sides grew angry and contentious and were on the point of attacking each other. The court council, saying "We fear that a disturbance in the realm will arise," issued an edict to the Five Home Provinces and Seven Circuits forbidding Yoshiie's soldiers to enter the capital and forbidding the common people of the provinces to commend deeds to their fields and gardens to Yoshiie, and the matter subsided (Note: Hyakurenshō).

¶Yoshiie served successively as Sakonoe-no-shōgen, Lieutenant of the Left Guards, Kebiishi, Saemon-no-jō, Sama-no-gon-no-kami, Provisional Director of the Left Bureau of Horses, and governor of Kawachi, Sagami, Musashi, Shinano, Shimotsuke, Iyo, and other provinces, and was granted Senior Fourth Rank Lower. In the first year of Kajō, because of illness, he shaved his head. He died in the first year of Tennin, at the age of sixty-eight (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku. The first year of Tennin follows the Keichūshō).

¶Yoshiie's brilliant strategy stood out in his age, his wit was like that of a god, and his bearing was agile beyond any equal (Note: with reference to Fusō Ryakki, Jikkinshō, Kojidan, and Kokon Chomonjū). He was also skilled at waka (Note: Keichūshō); there is a poem of his on the falling petals of the mountain cherry, composed when he passed the Nakoso barrier on his way to Mutsu, which later generations have handed down (Note: Senzai Wakashū). In the wars in Mutsu, when Yoshiie shot, his arrow always pierced the enemy's helmet, and there was none who did not fall at the sound of the string. Kiyohara-no-Takenori wished to test the strength of his shooting, piled three suits of sturdy armor together, hung them on a branch of a katsura tree, and had Yoshiie shoot at them. Yoshiie pierced them through with a single shot. Takenori was greatly astonished and said, "This is the work of a god, beyond what men can reach" (Note: Mutsu Waki, Fusō Ryakki, and Hōgen Monogatari).

¶The Retired Emperor Shirakawa was once troubled by bad dreams and had Yoshiie present a weapon to ward them off. Yoshiie presented a single bow lacquered in black. The Retired Emperor placed it at his pillow, and the bad dreams stopped. He then asked, "Is the bow you presented one you used on the battlefield in Mutsu?" Yoshiie answered, "I no longer remember." The Retired Emperor admired him for this (Note: Kojidan. Note: according to the Genpei Seisuiki, in the Kanji years, when the Emperor Horikawa was troubled by bad dreams, an edict ordered Yoshiie to stand by in the palace in armor, and when Yoshiie glared up at the roof of the hall and twanged his bowstring three times, the Emperor's illness was healed at once. This seems to be the same event as the story the Kojidan records, but the recorders probably differ in their accounts).

¶When Sadatō was defeated, his younger brother Munetō went to Yoriyoshi and surrendered, and Yoriyoshi treated him generously. Munetō served Yoshiie day by day, morning and evening, without negligence. Yoshiie in turn treated him with sincerity and never doubted or disliked him in the least. One day, in a hunting field, he had only Munetō with him. Spotting a fox and chasing it, he said, "I cannot bear to kill this one," and as soon as he finished speaking he loosed an arrow; the arrow grazed its ear and fell to the ground, and the fox collapsed. Munetō picked it up and showed it to him, and Yoshiie said, "It has merely fainted from fright and fallen. It will come to life again in a moment. When it revives, let it go." Munetō picked up the arrow and offered it to him, and Yoshiie turned his back and had him put it in the quiver. Those who watched thought this admirable. But Munetō in the end never harbored any harmful intent.

¶Once, when Yoshiie visited someone's house incognito, only Munetō went with him and waited at the middle gate. It was a dark, rainy night, and by chance several tens of thieves came carrying torches to spy things out. Munetō noticed this, and hearing a dog bark just then, loosed a humming-bulb arrow with a hikime head. He shot two more in succession, and the dog ran off barking. When Yoshiie asked from inside, "Who is there?" he answered, "Munetō." When Yoshiie said, "Why are you shooting arrows in such a hurry?" the thieves heard this, said, "Lord Hachiman is here," and all fled (Note: Kokon Chomonjū).

¶When Yoshiie went out, he always had retainer soldiers accompany him as a precaution, but he never let people see them. One day, when he was playing go at the residence of the Minister of the Right Fujiwara-no-Yorimune, he had only a single servant boy with him. By chance a man burst in with drawn sword, but on hearing that Yoshiie was there he threw down his sword and let himself be bound. Then several tens of soldiers appeared from a side building, seized the man, and led him out. So thorough was his preparation (Note: Jikkinshō and Kojidan).

¶Yoshiie took up the work of his father and forebears and greatly raised the family's renown. Among the warriors of the Bandō there was none who did not submit to him wholeheartedly (Note: Hōgen Monogatari). That in the time of his descendants they came to hold sole sway over the military power of the realm truly rests upon this. Yoshiie's sons were Yoshimune, Yoshichika, Yoshikuni, Yoshitada, Yoshitoki, and Yoshitaka (Note: the Takashina Keizu makes Takashina-no-Koreyori the fourth son of Yoshiie, but its basis is unclear and it is not adopted here).

¶Yoshimune became Hyōgo-no-jō, Secretary of the Arsenal, and died young. Yoshichika is treated in the Biographies of Rebellious Subjects. Yoshitada served successively as Tachihaki-no-osa, Captain of the Prince's Guard, and Kebiishi, and was appointed Kawachi-no-kami, Governor of Kawachi. He was once on bad terms with his uncle Yoshimitsu. In the second year of Tennin, Yoshimitsu ordered Yoshitada's retainer Kashima-no-Saburō to kill Yoshitada. Yoshitoki was called Mutsu-no-Gorō and became Sahyōe-no-jō. Yoshitaka was called Mutsu-no-Rokurō (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku). In the Heiji Disturbance he followed Minamoto-no-Yoshitomo and died in battle at Ryūge-goe (Note: Heiji Monogatari and Azuma Kagami, the year Jishō 4). His son Yoritaka was called Mōri-no-Kanja. Born barely a month earlier, he was exiled to Shimōsa because of his father's affair. When Minamoto-no-Yoritomo raised his banner, he had an audience with Yoritomo together with Chiba-no-Tsunetane. Yoritomo, seeing his bearing, was pleased, said, "He is truly of Genji blood," and seated him above Tsunetane (Note: Azuma Kagami).

Minamoto-no-Yoshikuni

¶Minamoto-no-Yoshikuni was called Saburō. He lived in Nitta District in Kōzuke, became Tachihaki-no-osa, was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower, became Kaga-no-suke, Assistant Governor of Kaga, was transferred to Shikibu-no-jō, Secretary of the Ministry of Ceremonial, and was appointed Kebiishi. In the Kōwa years he led troops and attacked Satake-no-Masayoshi of Hitachi. At the end of the Kyūan years, as Yoshikuni was entering the palace as an Eji, guard, he met on the way the Minister of the Right Fujiwara-no-Saneyoshi, was scolded and whipped by his retainers, and fell from his horse. His followers were indignant, galloped straight to Saneyoshi's residence, and burned it to avenge the insult. The court banished Yoshikuni and confined him in Ashikaga in Shimotsuke (Note: with reference to the manuscript and printed editions of the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the old records of Shōmyōji in Hitachi. Note: according to the entry for the first year of Yōwa in the Azuma Kagami, the one who then held Ashikaga was Fujiwara-no-Toshitsuna. According to the Sonpi Bunmyaku, Yoshikuni's mother was a daughter of Ashikaga-no-Aritsuna, but one account in the printed edition says that Yoshikuni had once attacked rebels in the Kantō, lodged in the house of Aritsuna's son Mototsuna, and in the end took Mototsuna's daughter as wife. Probably Yoshikuni incurred guilt and could no longer live in Nitta, and, being related by marriage to the Ashikaga, took refuge there. But there is no other means of confirming this. Aritsuna's elder brother Toshitsuna is said to have died in the first year of Yōwa, but then the story of marrying Mototsuna's daughter becomes doubtful. Toshitsuna was a contemporary of Yoshishige, and if Toshitsuna is taken as Aritsuna's elder brother, then Yoshishige and his grandmother's uncle would be close in age, which is contrary to reason. Again, the Sonpi Bunmyaku says that Aritsuna's first cousin once removed Morotane fought with Taira-no-Koremochi. Koremochi was a contemporary of Fujiwara-no-Sanekata, and Sanekata died in the fourth year of Chōtoku. Since more than a hundred years lie between that and the first year of Yōwa, the generational line is probably missing links, and the story of marrying Mototsuna's daughter may perhaps be believed after all. It is noted here for the time being, to be kept for reference).

¶In the first year of Kyūju he shaved his head and was called in the world Ara-Kaga Nyūdō, the wild lay monk of Kaga. The next year he died. His sons were Yoshishige, Yoshiyasu, and Suekuni. Yoshishige and Yoshiyasu's son Yoshikane have separate biographies. For Yoshiyasu, see the biography of Yoshikane. Suekuni became Hachijō-in Kurōdo Hangandai, Secretary and Retainer to Hachijō-in (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku). Yoshichika's son was Tameyoshi.

Minamoto-no-Tameyoshi

¶Minamoto-no-Tameyoshi was called Mutsu-no-Shirō (Note: Hōgen Monogatari). In the fourth year of Kōwa his father Yoshichika was exiled to Oki (Note: Hyakurenshō), and Yoshiie intended to have Tameyoshi succeed his uncle Yoshitada (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Okazaki text of the Hōgen Monogatari). In the second year of Tennin, Yoshitada was killed by a retainer, and the affair was connected with his father's younger cousin Yoshitsuna. Yoshitsuna fled to the Kōga mountains of Ōmi. Tameyoshi, then fourteen, received an imperial order and attacked him. Yoshitsuna shaved his head and surrendered, and Tameyoshi brought Yoshitsuna back to the capital (Note: Hyakurenshō and Sonpi Bunmyaku). Tameyoshi was raised to Sahyōe-no-jō, Lieutenant of the Left Gate Guards, and was at last able to succeed his grandfather Yoshiie (Note: Okazaki text of the Hōgen Monogatari). Soon he became Saemon-no-daijō, Senior Lieutenant of the Left Gate Guards (Note: the various texts of the Hōgen Monogatari, the Tsurugi-no-maki, and the Sonpi Bunmyaku differ, some placing his appointment as Saemon-no-jō in the second year of Tennin, some in the first year of Eikyū, some in the fourth year of Hōan. The Chūyūki, Chōshūki, and Hyakurenshō all place it between Ten'ei and Hōan as Saemon-no-jō, so probably it was between Tennin and Ten'ei. It is therefore set down here. For daijō, the entry for the second year of Kenkyū in the Gyokuyō is followed).

¶In the first year of Eikyū, when the monks of Kōfukuji were about to attack Enryakuji, Tameyoshi received an imperial order and defended against them. With only seventeen horsemen following him, he fought at Kuriyama and put them to flight (Note: Hōgen Monogatari. Note: Kuriyama is written Kurusu, Kurisaki, and so on in other sources, but here the variant text of the Hōgen Monogatari is followed). In the fourth year of Hōan he was appointed Kebiishi and was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower (Note: concerning his appointment as Kebiishi, the various texts of the Hōgen Monogatari, the Tsurugi-no-maki, and the Sonpi Bunmyaku do not agree. The current text of the Hōgen Monogatari says that he became Kebiishi at twenty-eight and was granted fifth rank, and since he was fourteen in the second year of Tennin, counting forward the fourth year of Hōan makes him exactly twenty-eight, so this is followed. Junior Fifth Rank Lower follows the Sonpi Bunmyaku. Note: according to the Sonpi Bunmyaku, Tameyoshi served successively as Jibu-no-jō, Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Administration, Chūgū-no-shōshin, Junior Secretary to the Empress's Household, Sama-no-jō, Hyōgo-no-suke, Owari-no-suke, and governor of Iyo, Sagami, Kawachi, and other provinces, but the various texts of the Hōgen Monogatari, the Heike Monogatari, and the Tsurugi-no-maki all say that Tameyoshi hoped to become governor of Mutsu or Iyo but was not permitted, and in the end did not become a provincial governor. As for his other successive offices, there is no firm basis, so they are not adopted here).

¶In the first year of Kyūju, his son Tametomo committed outrages in Bungo and disturbed Chinzei, and Tameyoshi was removed from office for complicity (Note: Taiki and Sonpi Bunmyaku. Note: the Hōgen Monogatari places this in the second year of Kyūju).

¶In the seventh month of the first year of Hōgen, the Retired Emperor Toba died. The Retired Emperor Sutoku plotted with Fujiwara-no-Yorinaga, Sadaijin, Minister of the Left, to take the throne again. He summoned Tameyoshi repeatedly, but Tameyoshi hesitated and did not come. The Retired Emperor sent Sangi, Counsellor, Fujiwara-no-Noritaka to Tameyoshi's residence to convey his wishes. Tameyoshi declined, saying, "In the past I received an imperial order and made Yoshitsuna surrender at the Kōga mountains, and I held off the monks at Kurikoyama. Since then, whenever there was an affair, I only commanded my sons and did not go to battle myself. For that reason I have grown somewhat unfamiliar with military matters. Moreover, old age is now upon me, and how could I accomplish anything? My eldest son Yoshitomo was raised in the Bandō, is versed in military affairs, and has many picked men under him, but he has already gone to the Takamatsu Palace. My other sons do not match his capacity. Hachirō Tametomo was raised in Chinzei, excels in martial valor, is skilled in bow and battle, and is in the capital just now. I beg you to hear of him. I possess famous suits of armor, called Usugane, Hizamaru, Tatenashi, Kuwai, Hachiryū, Tsukikazu, and Hikazu. A suit of armor called Genta-no-Ubuginu was blown away by a violent wind in a dream, and in my heart I took it as ill-omened, so I venture to decline." Noritaka said, "You come of a house of warriors for generations, and should swiftly serve the court. There is no need to heed the taboo of a dream." Tameyoshi had no choice, and went to Shirakawa-dono together with his sons Yorikata, Yorinaka, Tamemune, Tamenari, Tametomo, and Tamenaka (Note: the Kyōshi, Sugihara, and Kamakura texts of the Hōgen Monogatari list Yoshinori as a son of Tameyoshi, while the Gukanshō names only two sons, Yorikata and Tametomo, and which is correct is not known).

¶The Retired Emperor was greatly pleased, appointed Tameyoshi Hangandai, Secretary, and granted him estates and the famous sword Ugumaru (Note: Hōgen Monogatari). Yorikata became Kurōdo, Chamberlain (Note: the Ui text of the Hōgen Monogatari). Then he led his sons to guard the west gate, with about a hundred horsemen. Tametomo alone, with twenty-eight horsemen, guarded the Nishi-gawara gate (Note: the various texts of the Hōgen Monogatari all say that Tametomo guarded the west gate and Tameyoshi the Nishi-gawara gate, and the numbers of troops also differ, but here the current text is followed).

¶Yorinaga summoned Tametomo and consulted him in council of war. Tametomo proposed a plan but it was not accepted, and Yorinaga also discussed matters with Tameyoshi. Tameyoshi said, "I hear that most of the troops are gathered at the Takamatsu Palace. Though our army is small, it is not impossible to hold them off. Let the imperial carriage leave the palace for the time being, make a progress to the southern capital, cut the Uji bridge, and move as the occasion offers. If the situation is not favorable, bear the carriage to the Kantō, hold the strongholds of Ashigara and Hakone, gather the troops of the eight provinces, and return the carriage to the capital again. Then all will be as we wish." Yorinaga said, "That is so, but our lord (the Retired Emperor Sutoku) is the rightful heir of the Retired Emperor Toba, and the First Prince too is our lord's rightful heir, yet the Fourth Prince was enthroned, which both men and gods resent. Now is the time to seize the moment and decide on a plan; when else would we await another chance? The imperial carriage must not leave the palace. You should spur your resolve, win merit, and plan your future advancement." Tameyoshi said, "I have already resolved to die. Then I shall go out to battle" (Note: following the various texts of the Hōgen Monogatari. Note: the Gukanshō says as follows. Tameyoshi went to Shirakawa-dono and said, "The troops under my command all belong to Yoshitomo, and very few come to this side. Even if two sons alone guard this palace, how can we accomplish anything? To sit and await the enemy's coming is not a good plan. I beg that you promptly make a progress to Uji and cut the bridge to defend it. Otherwise, go at once to Ōmi, and if you hold the Kōga mountains, the troops of the eastern provinces will gather. If the troops have not yet gathered, make a progress to the Kantō, hold the Ashigara pass, and summon and gather the troops of the east, and you will be able to accomplish your aim. If even that cannot be done, I shall attack the Takamatsu Palace and settle the matter in one battle." Yorinaga said, "There is no need to hurry the matter. Our troops are small from the start, but I have had Higaki-no-Kanja of Yamato bring the soldiers of Yoshino, and they should arrive soon. Wait for a while." Tameyoshi withdrew disheartened).

¶Before long the Emperor sent Minamoto-no-Yoshitomo, Taira-no-Kiyomori, Minamoto-no-Yorimasa, and others to make a night attack, and Tameyoshi and his men fought bravely and held them off. Yoshitomo set fire from upwind, and the palace fell into confusion. The Retired Emperor mounted a horse and escaped from the palace, and Tameyoshi and the others followed on foot. When they reached Nyoi-yama, the Retired Emperor said to the commanders, "You should leave quickly. I will surrender here." Tameyoshi and the others answered, "We are resolved to serve you to the death. Where could we go, leaving Your Majesty's carriage?" The Retired Emperor said, "If you do not leave, you will only be a burden to me." The commanders left weeping, and Tameyoshi hid in the house of Moku-no-Kannushi. Kiyomori, receiving an imperial order, led three hundred troops as far as Ōtsu at the foot of Higashi-zaka and searched strictly (Note: Hōgen Monogatari).

¶Tameyoshi heard of this and fled into hiding at the house of Mikawajiri-no-Gorō-dayū Kagetoshi (Note: the current text has Mikawa-no-Saburō-dayū Chikasue, but here the various texts of the Hōgen Monogatari are followed), intending to flee to the eastern provinces. But because of illness he could not walk, and when he had barely reached Minoura, his pursuers drew near. His sons fought hard to hold them off, but the soldiers following them were nearly all killed. He entered Kagetoshi's house again, escaped at last as far as a Buddhist temple at Kurodani, shaved his head, and changed his name to Gihō. Tameyoshi said to his sons, "I am now old and weak, and my strength has run out. I intend to rely on Yoshitomo and beg to surrender. Surely Yoshitomo, too, will not be so dazzled by the reward as to take even my remaining life." Tametomo said this was not acceptable and urged him to go to the Kantō and plan a later uprising, but Tameyoshi would not listen; he had a retainer convey his intent and sent him ahead to Yoshitomo, went secretly by way of Nishizaka, ordered his sons to scatter and flee, and cautioned them, "You must not gather in one place. You must not be captured all together." They parted from one another sobbing.

¶Yoshitomo received his father and had him live in his own house, and repeatedly petitioned to have the death sentence reduced, but it was not granted. Yoshitomo had no choice, and in the end killed his father. Tameyoshi was then sixty-one (Note: the current text and the Nakarai text of the Hōgen Monogatari both say sixty-three. The various texts say he was fourteen in the second year of Tennin and eighteen in the first year of Eikyū, and this figure is counted back from that). Yoshitomo presented his head to the court, and the court in turn bestowed it on Yoshitomo and had it buried at Engakuji in Kita-Shirakawa. Because Tameyoshi built a residence at Rokujō Horikawa, he was called in the world Rokujō Hangan (Note: with reference to the Hōgen Monogatari and its various variant texts).

¶His sons were Yoshitomo, Yoshikata, Yoshihiro, Yorikata, Yorinaka, Tamemune, Tamenari, Tametomo, Tamenaka, Yukiie, Tameie, Yorisada, Masachika, Tameyoshi, Yoshitoshi, Tsuneie, Yoshinari, the monk Sengaku, the monk Raiken, Otowaka, Kamewaka, Tsuruwaka, and Tennō.

¶Yoshitomo is treated in the Biographies of Rebellious Subjects. Yukiie has a separate biography. Yoshikata, when the Emperor Konoe was Crown Prince, served him as Tachihaki-no-osa (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku. Note: this book says that in the Fujiwara-no-Tadahira line there was Tanzō, a son of Tankai, the Kumano Bettō, whose real name was Sanehara and who was a son of Tameyoshi, but the Tsurugi-no-maki calls him a grandson by a daughter, and the Genpei Seisuiki calls him the husband of an aunt. It is noted here for the time being, to be kept for reference). At the end of the Ninpei years he lived in Tago District in Kōzuke (Note: the Genpei Seisuiki says Musashi, which is an error). He was taken in as an adopted son by Chichibu-no-Shigetaka. For that reason he went back and forth often to Hiki District in Musashi, and many soldiers attached themselves to him. He fell out with his nephew Yoshihira, and in the second year of Kyūju he fought in battle at the Ōkura residence and was killed (Note: Azuma Kagami, Genpei Seisuiki, Nagato-bon Heike Monogatari, and Sonpi Bunmyaku).

¶His sons were Nakaie and Yoshinaka. After his father's death Nakaie became an adopted son of Minamoto-no-Yorimasa, became Hachijō-in Kurōdo, and was called Rokujō Kurōdo. In the Jishō disturbance he followed Yorimasa and was killed in battle together with his son Nakamitsu (Note: with reference to the Sankaiki, Genpei Seisuiki, Heike Monogatari, and Sonpi Bunmyaku). Yoshinaka is treated in the Biographies of Rebellious Subjects.

¶Yoshihiro was at first named Yoshinori (Note: Gyokuyō, Eijū second year). He lived in Shida in Hitachi, was called Shida-no-Saburō Sensei, and people gradually came to follow him. In the fourth year of Jishō, when his nephew Yoritomo came to Hitachi and attacked Satake-no-Hidemasa, Yoshihiro went with his younger brother Yukiie to the provincial office and had an audience with Yoritomo. The next year he plundered the doors of the Kashima shrine and at last plotted to attack Yoritomo. Leading thirty thousand troops, he advanced from Hitachi to Shimotsuke and sent men to draw in Ashikaga-no-Tadatsuna. Tadatsuna responded. He also tried to draw in Oyama-no-Tomomasa, but Tomomasa pretended to agree. Yoshihiro was overjoyed and went to Tomomasa's house. Tomomasa first took position at Nogi Shrine and attacked him. Yoshihiro was badly defeated and his soldiers scattered. Shimokōbe-no-Yukihira and Masayoshi intercepted him at the Kōya ferry at Koga, and Yoshihiro barely escaped to Shinano and relied on his nephew Yoshinaka (Note: Azuma Kagami).

¶In the second year of Juei he entered the capital following Yoshinaka. Yoshinaka wished to make Yoshihiro a Tsuitōshi, envoy for pursuit and punishment, but the court council, in deference to Yoritomo, did not permit it. Yoshinaka petitioned again: "Earlier I asked that Yoshihiro be made Tsuitōshi, but a decree of the Retired Emperor has not yet been issued. I wish that Bingo province be granted to Yoshihiro, and that he be allowed to command the soldiers of that province and attack the Taira." The Retired Emperor sent an envoy to say, "Yoshihiro is by nature timid, and I feared he could not bear the post, so I merely did not issue the order. If you consider it good, then so be it. But as to his appointment to office, I cannot easily permit it" (Note: Gyokuyō. Note: this book also writes "Mino-no-kami Yoshihiro," and the Genpei Seisuiki likewise, but this differs from the main text. Nothing further is known).

¶In the third year of Juei, Yoritomo sent his younger brothers Noriyori and Yoshitsune west to attack Yoshinaka. Yoshinaka had Yoshihiro lead three hundred horsemen to defend against them at Imoarai, but his troops were defeated and scattered (Note: Azuma Kagami and the various texts of the Heike Monogatari. Note: the Gyokuyō says Uji). In the fifth month he fought at Hatorisan in Ise against Hatano-no-Yasumichi, Ōi-no-Saneharu, and others, and was defeated and killed (Note: Azuma Kagami. Note: the Genpei Seisuiki says the sixth month. The Sonpi Bunmyaku says that as Tameyoshi's third son he was named Yoshinori, was called Shida-no-Saburō, was appointed Izu-no-kami in the first year of Bunji, later followed Yoshitsune in flight to the western seas and lived in hiding in Iga, whereupon Yoritomo ordered Hattori-no-Tokisada to attack him, and Yoshinori killed himself. The Seisuiki likewise says that Shida-no-Saburō Yoshinori was appointed Izu-no-kami in the first year of Bunji, but does not record that he followed Yoshitsune. Only a variant text of the Heike Monogatari agrees with the Sonpi Bunmyaku, and the name Yoshinori is also written with other characters. Here the Hyakurenshō and Azuma Kagami are followed. In the first year of Bunji six men of the Genji were given office, and among them the name of Yoshinori appears as Izu-no-kami. Considering the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Yamana genealogy, the one who was Izu-no-kami at that time was Yamana-no-Saburō Yoshinori, a son of Nitta-no-Yoshishige, and not Shida-no-Saburō. Probably because Yoshihiro had at first called himself Yoshinori, the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Seisuiki mistakenly made Yamana-no-Yoshinori into Shida-no-Yoshinori. And the one who followed Yoshitsune was Izu-no-Emon-no-jō Aritsuna. For this reason the Izu-no-kami Yoshinori was mistakenly made one who followed Yoshitsune. Looking at the Azuma Kagami, Aritsuna later lived in hiding in Yamato, and Taira-no-Tokisada attacked him, and Aritsuna killed himself. This was a son of Izu-no-kami Nakatsuna and a son-in-law of Yoshitsune. The Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Heike Monogatari both say he hid in Iga, and the errors in what was heard and passed on probably arose in much this way. Yoshihiro's death in battle was already earlier than this, and Yoshinori served at Kamakura throughout Yoritomo's time and has no reason to have followed Yoshitsune. The Seisuiki also says that in the sixth month of the first year of Genryaku Nakahara-no-Chikayoshi appointed Tameyoshi's youngest son, the former Mino-no-kami Yoshihiro, but this refers to the Shida-no-Saburō recorded in the Azuma Kagami. The differences are listed here as an aid to reference).

¶Yorikata became Saemon-no-jō, Lieutenant of the Left Gate Guards. In the Hōgen Disturbance he followed his father and guarded the west gate of Shirakawa-dono. When Yoshitomo and the others came to attack, the brothers vied for the lead. Yorikata finally advanced and fought, shooting across the river and hitting two men. Together with his younger brother Yorinaka he led several tens of soldiers into the enemy ranks and fought hard. When the army was defeated, he was killed at Funaoka-yama together with his younger brothers Yorinaka, Tamemune, and Tamenari (Note: variant text of the Hōgen Monogatari). His son Yoshifusa became Hachijō-in Kurōdo and was called Hachijō-no-Tarō. He became an adopted son of his uncle Yukiie. Yorinaka became Kamon-no-suke and Sahyōe-no-jō. Tamemune lived in Tanba and was called Tanba-no-Kanja. Tamenari lived in Yawata and was called Yawata-no-Shichirō. Tameie was called Awaji-no-Kanja. Yorisada was called Kaga-no-Kanja. Masachika was called Neriginu-no-Kanja. Koreyoshi was called Matsui-no-Kanja (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku).

¶Otowaka, Kamewaka, Tsuruwaka, and Tennō again lived at Rokujō Horikawa, but the court ordered Yoshitomo to kill them. Yoshitomo sent Hata-no-Nobukage to kill them at Funaoka, and they were buried together beside Tameyoshi's grave at Engakuji. Their attendants also accompanied them to the place of execution and likewise killed themselves (Note: Hōgen Monogatari. Note: with reference to the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Tameie, Yoshitoshi, Tsuneie, Yoshinari, and the monk Raiken, these five, were all adopted sons (Note: Sonpi Bunmyaku. Note: the current text of the Hōgen Monogatari says that Tameyoshi had forty-two sons, and the Kyōshi and Sugihara texts say forty-six. And all say that Tameyoshi once told that he had wished to have sixty-six sons and have one live in each province, but this is not adopted here).

Minamoto-no-Tametomo

¶Minamoto-no-Tametomo was by nature exceptionally large, of bold temperament, and of extraordinary physical strength. He stood about seven shaku tall, and his left arm was four sun longer than his right. He was best of all at the bow, and from childhood, relying on his courage, he looked down on others. When he was only thirteen, Tameyoshi saw that he was not a son who could be taught and admonished, and banished him to Chinzei. Tametomo settled in Bungo, called himself Chinzei-Hachirō, and styled himself Kyūkoku Sōtsuibushi, Chief Pursuer and Capturer of the Nine Provinces. When he set out to pacify Tsukushi, the Kikuchi, Harada, and other clans gathered troops and resisted him. With his wife's father Aso-no-Saburō Taira-no-Tadakuni as guide, he fought more than twenty battles great and small and took a number of castles. By the time he was fifteen he had plundered the nine provinces and committed many lawless acts. As the whole country lodged complaints, the court ordered Tameyoshi to summon him back, but he did not comply (Note: Hōgen Monogatari).

¶In the first year of Kyūju, Tameyoshi was removed from office for complicity in this (Note: Taiki and Sonpi Bunmyaku). In the second year of Kyūju, the court had the Dazaifu arrest Tametomo and punish his followers (Note: Hyakurenshō). Tametomo, hearing that his father had been removed from office, said, "My father has incurred guilt because of me. How can I remain idle? I shall go back and beg for pardon." Many of the soldiers of Chinzei wished to follow him, but Tametomo said, "I should not enter the capital with a great host," and led only twenty-eight valiant men up to the capital (Note: the various texts of the Hōgen Monogatari all say that in the first year of Eijū an imperial order was issued to arrest Tametomo, that in the second year Tameyoshi was removed from office, and that on hearing this Tametomo went up to the capital leading Sudō-Sakarō Ieesue, Akushichi-Bettō, and others, but here the Taiki and Hyakurenshō are followed, and the accounts of the various texts are in error).

¶In the Hōgen Disturbance he went to Shirakawa-dono with his father. When Sadaijin Yorinaga asked his opinion, Tametomo answered, "I have long been in Chinzei, and have experienced many times in the field the taking of castles and the breaking of sieges. To win victory, nothing surpasses a night attack. If tonight we attack the Takamatsu Palace, set fire from three sides and attack from one, the enemy, caught between troops and flames, will surely be unable to hold. The only one who can match me is my elder brother Yoshitomo, but I can bring him down with a single arrow. Much less need one speak of weak soldiers like Kiyomori. If the sovereign moves elsewhere, let me shoot down a few of his attendants; they will surely abandon the palanquin and flee. I will then move the palanquin over to our side, and returning Your Majesty to the throne will be easier than turning over one's hand. The moment that decides victory or defeat must not wait for the dawn." Yorinaga said, "Tametomo is young, trusts in his courage, is hot-blooded, and acts too rashly. For private fighting among light cavalry such as yourselves, a night attack would be effective. But now it is a grave matter of two sovereigns contending for the throne, and how can we start it lightly? I have summoned the warrior monks of the southern capital, and they will probably arrive by dawn. We should wait for them, make our dispositions, and then fight." Tametomo withdrew and said to others, "The rules of war differ from the etiquette of the court, and by right they should be left to warriors. How could a crowd of court nobles understand military affairs? My elder brother (Yoshitomo) is versed in the art of war, and he will take advantage of the night to attack with fire. Who can hold that off? Defeat is before our eyes, and can we calmly wait for troops to gather in the morning?"

¶Before long Yoshitomo, Kiyomori, and the others made their night attack, and Tametomo said in anger, "I told them again and again, and now it has come to just that" (Note: Hōgen Monogatari). The Retired Emperor hastily appointed Tametomo Kurōdo, Chamberlain, in order to encourage him (Note: Nakarai text of the Hōgen Monogatari). Tametomo said, "With enemy troops pressing on us now, it is a time for devising countermeasures. This is no moment for a jimoku, an appointment ceremony. Give the offices to those who desire them. I will especially keep to my original name, Chinzei-Hachirō."

¶When it came to fighting, the brothers contended for the vanguard and could not settle it. Tametomo thought, "I am one who was banished for looking down on my elder brothers. Today I should not contend for precedence before my father," and said, "Elder brothers, please go forward. If the enemy is strong and you cannot hold them, I beg you to command me." When Itō-no-Kagetsuna, a commander under Kiyomori, and his sons Tadakiyo and Tadanao came forward, Tametomo said, "Even Kiyomori is not worth my notice as an enemy, much less fellows like you. Withdraw quietly." Kagetsuna, enraged, shot an arrow. Tametomo said, "For the sake of your courage, I will give you one arrow. Take it," and loosed an arrow that pierced Tadanao's chest and also struck the sleeve of Tadakiyo's armor. The whole army trembled, and none dared come forward. Kiyomori drew back his troops, but Yamada-no-Koreyuki alone turned his horse back and cried, "I wish to meet Lord Hachirō." Tametomo shot him dead as well.

¶The next morning Yoshitomo had Kamata-no-Masaie advance with a hundred horsemen. The arrow Masaie shot struck Tametomo's helmet. Tametomo was greatly enraged and said, "Would I waste an arrow on one like you? I will take you bare-handed," and advanced clenching his fist. Sudō-no-Ieesue and the twenty-eight horsemen followed. Masaie drew back his troops and fled. Yoshitomo himself led more than two hundred horsemen forward and cried out in a loud voice, "I am Minamoto-no-Yoshitomo. I now command the imperial army, having received an imperial decree. Were you not my retainers? Throw down your weapons at once and leave." Tametomo answered, "My father leads the entire army, having received the decree of the Retired Emperor. Tametomo has brought here the troops of that one unit." Yoshitomo said again, "I am an envoy of the imperial decree, and also your elder brother. If you shoot an arrow at me, you will not escape Heaven's punishment. Throw away your bow and arrows and surrender." Tametomo said, "Which weighs more heavily in Heaven's punishment, shooting an arrow at an elder brother, or defying a father's command and taking up arms against him?" Yoshitomo was ashamed and was at a loss for words.

¶Soon the two armies engaged, and none of Tametomo's arrows missed; whomever one hit fell. Seeing Yoshitomo in the distance, he fitted an arrow to shoot, but thinking that his father and elder brother might have secretly agreed on the outcome, he held back. When Yoshitomo's army advanced and challenged him to a decisive battle, Tametomo said to Ieesue, "The enemy troops are very numerous. If our arrows run out and it comes to hand-to-hand fighting, even if one man matches a hundred we cannot stand against them. I would like to loose one arrow and make the enemy's general flinch. What do you think?" Ieesue said, "It is good. But be careful not to kill him by mistake." Tametomo then loosed an arrow, and the arrowhead split Yoshitomo's helmet and lodged in a pillar of the gate of the Hōshōgon-in. Yoshitomo urged his horse forward and said, "You are by nature a master of the bow, so why are you not so now?" Tametomo said, "Out of deference to you, my brother, I did not use my full strength. If you will permit me, I will tell you the place where it would strike." When he fitted an arrow to loose it, the situation was pressing, and Fukasu-no-Kiyokuni came forward before Yoshitomo's horse and blocked him. Tametomo shot him dead.

¶The two armies fought in confusion, each with its turns of victory and defeat. Yoshitomo set fire taking advantage of the wind, and, just as Tametomo had predicted, the army was defeated. Tameyoshi, wishing to become a monk and surrender, was told by Tametomo, "That will not do. The New Retired Emperor (Sutoku) is the elder brother of the reigning sovereign, and the Sadaifu (Yorinaga) is the younger brother of the Kanpaku. Even so, their guilt is not pardoned, so how much less would the court allow it if my elder brother pleaded for father's life? Rather, go to the Kantō, persuade the Miura, Hatakeyama, Oyamada, and other clans, borrow their troops and horses, and bring the eastern provinces under your control. If the imperial army comes to subdue us, I will use all my strength to hold it off. If even then I cannot hold, it will not be too late to die at that time." Tameyoshi did not follow this and was in the end killed by Yoshitomo (Note: the Kyōshi, Sugihara, and Nakarai texts all say that Tametomo urged Tameyoshi to gather troops in the Kantō, station his sons in the various eastern and northern circuits, and establish a capital at Kamakura and appoint a hundred officials, following what Taira-no-Masakado had done, but these words are plainly exaggerated and read like fiction, and probably are an embellishment by the author. They are not adopted here).

¶Tametomo escaped and hid at Wada in Ōmi (Note: the Genpei Seisuiki says he hid at Ishiyamadera in Ōmi, and the Heike Monogatari Tsurugi-no-maki says he reached Tane in Tsukushi and hid there). He intended to go to Tsukushi and plan revenge (Note: the three characters "plan revenge" follow the variant texts), but hearing that Taira-no-Iesada, a commander under Kiyomori, had entered the capital with troops, he could not carry it out. Soon he fell ill and borrowed a bathhouse to bathe. Just then Sado-Hyōe Minamoto-no-Shigesada, having received an imperial order, was searching for him, and someone who thought his appearance suspicious reported it. Shigesada spied on him in his bath and surrounded the bathhouse with more than thirty troops (Note: the various texts of the Hōgen Monogatari say more than three hundred). Tametomo, naked, took the bathhouse implement, a tegi, and beat several men to death, but was in the end captured and sent to the capital.

¶The Emperor viewed Tametomo at the northern guard post, and the court council decided on beheading. But since Tametomo was an extraordinary strong man, the death sentence was reduced by one degree, the sinews of his arms were cut, and he was exiled to Izu Ōshima. After about fifty days the wounds healed, and though his arm strength had somewhat declined, his skill in shooting arrows was, if anything, better than before. Tametomo thought to himself, "I am by origin of the line of Emperor Seiwa and a descendant of Hachiman-Tarō (Yoshiie). I cannot let the work of my ancestors die out. This land was granted me by the court" (Note: Hōgen Monogatari).

¶So he took possession of the five islands of Ōshima, Miyakejima, Hachijōjima, Mikurajima, and Aogashima (Note: the Kamakura and Nakarai texts of the Hōgen Monogatari add Tsushima, Niijima, and Mikurashima to make eight islands, but here the current text and the Kyōshi and Sugihara texts are followed) and seized their taxes. If anyone on the islands did not obey him, he took away the bows and arrows of all of them and burned them. His old retainers gradually gathered as well, and his strength grew day by day.

¶About ten years later, he saw a heron flying over the sea and thought there must be an island beyond it; he sailed a day and a night in a boat and indeed reached an island. It is said to be what is called Onigashima. Tametomo made the people of that place submit by force, named the island Ashijima, left one man on the island, and returned to Ōshima. Then, in order to threaten the people of Izu, he often went back and forth to the provincial office, his violence grew extreme, and the people of the area were troubled by it.

¶In the second year of Kaō, Kudō-no-Shigemitsu, Izu-no-suke, Assistant Governor of Izu, went up to the capital and reported the matter, and the court ordered Shigemitsu to lead five hundred troops and attack him. When the warships reached Ōshima, Tametomo said to his followers, "If I wished to flee, even if the enemy numbered ten thousand I could easily break them. Thinking of it, I was once in Chikushi and showed my martial might in the nine provinces, and the people of the western seas all feared and submitted. In the Hōgen Disturbance, the warriors of the eastern provinces too must have seen my skill with the bow with their own eyes. Though I am an exile, I have been able to become lord of the islands, and for a time lived pleasantly. Yet that I spared my life and did not die was because I thought to carry on my father's aim and accomplish my own affair. Now, even if I shoot back the imperial army, it remains that I have defied an imperial order, and in the end I cannot escape. What profit is there in killing many people? My mind is already made up. All of you, scatter here." Then he took his bow, went out to the seashore, fitted a great arrow, aimed at a boat far off and shot; the arrow pierced the boat, the boat sank, and all aboard drowned. The whole army was terrified and none dared advance the boats. Tametomo went home, leaned against a pillar, cut open his belly, and died. He was thirty-two (Note: this figure is counted back from the current text, which says he was eighteen in the first year of Hōgen. Note: this book says he was eighteen in the first year of Hōgen, twenty-nine in the first year of Eiman, and thirty-three in the second year of Kaō; the statements within one book are inconsistent, but the "three" is probably an error for "two." The various texts all say he was eighteen in the first year of Hōgen, but do not record the year of his death. However, the Kyōshi text says twenty-eight, and the Sugihara text thirty-eight. The Sonpi Bunmyaku says he died in the second year of Angen, which agrees with the Sugihara text. Which is correct is not known, but here, for the time being, this book is followed).

¶Katō-no-Kagekado advanced and cut off his head and sent it to the capital to be exposed (Note: the various texts of the Hōgen Monogatari). Tametomo's skill with the bow had no equal, and his strong bow and long arrows had no parallel in the world; it is said that later generations handed down his arrowhead as a spearhead. It is said that on the various islands he is supposed to have visited, shrines to him still stand.

¶His son Yoshizane became Jōsaimon-in Hangandai, Secretary to Jōsaimon-in. His second son Sanenobu became Jōsaimon-in Kurōdo (Note: from Yoshizane on, following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). His second son Tameyori was born on Ōshima and was called Shima-no-Kanja. Before taking his own life, Tametomo first stabbed him to death. His second son Tameie was called Ōshima-no-Jirō, and since at the age of five he fled in his mother's arms he was able to escape harm (Note: the various texts of the Hōgen Monogatari. Note: with reference to the Sonpi Bunmyaku. Note: the Nan-Taiheiki and the Ashikaga genealogy both say that Ashikaga-no-Yoshikane was in fact Tametomo's youngest son and an adopted son of Yoshiyasu, but since the Sonpi Bunmyaku says that Yoshiyasu's wife, a Fujiwara woman, bore Yoshikane, the account of these two books is doubtful and is not adopted here).

Taira-no-Kagemasa

¶Taira-no-Kagemasa was a grandson of Taira-no-Tadamichi, Chinjufu-shōgun. His father Kageshige was called Kamakura-no-Gon-no-kami. Kagemasa was called Gongorō (Note: with reference to the various Taira genealogies) and was known for martial valor. When he was only sixteen, he followed Minamoto-no-Yoshiie in attacking the Kanazawa palisade in Semboku, advanced foremost, and an enemy arrow struck Kagemasa in the eye (Note: the Hōgen Monogatari says he was shot by Torinoumi-no-Saburō, but Torinoumi-no-Saburō was Abe-no-Yoritoki's son Ietō, who surrendered when Sadatō was defeated and killed, so it is clear that he had not died at this time. It is not adopted here). Kagemasa himself broke off the arrow, shot an enemy with it and brought him down, but when he took off his helmet and collapsed, the arrow was still stuck in his eye. Miura-no-Tametsugu tried to pull it out and put his foot on Kagemasa's face. Kagemasa drew his sword and tried to stab Tametsugu. Tametsugu, startled, asked the reason. Kagemasa said, "To lose one's life on the battlefield is what a warrior desires. But to have one's face trodden on while alive is the worst of humiliations. I would rather kill you and die." Tametsugu then knelt and drew out the arrow. What became of him afterwards is not known (Note: Ōshū Gosannen Gunki).

¶His descendants lived in Sagami for generations, and the Ōba and Kajiwara families followed Minamoto-no-Yoritomo and won merit (Note: with reference to the Taira genealogies and the Genpei Seisuiki). At Kamakura in Sagami there is a shrine to Kagemasa, called the Goryō shrine. In the fifth year of Kenkyū, Yoritomo sent Hatta-no-Tomoie to present offerings and perform worship there (Note: Azuma Kagami).