Biographies LXXXIII: Taira-no-Shigemori and His Sons and Kinsmen

Taira-no-Shigemori

¶Taira-no-Shigemori was the eldest son of Taira-no-Kiyomori, Dajō-daijin, Chancellor. He was loyal and grave by nature, his valor surpassed that of other men, and he was gentle in his dealings with others (Note: following the Hyakurenshō), so that he won the esteem of the court and of the world at large (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari). In the sixth year of Kyūan (1150) he became a Kurōdo, Chamberlain, and was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower. In the second year of Kyūju (1155) he was appointed Nakatsukasa-no-shōyū, Junior Assistant Vice-Minister of the Center. In the first year of Hōgen (1156), when the Retired Emperor Sutoku gathered troops at the Shirakawa Palace, Shigemori led the imperial guard and followed Kiyomori in attacking it. Minamoto-no-Tametomo led troops in defense of the west gate, and Kiyomori's retainers Itō Tadakiyo and Tadanao were the first to charge. Tametomo loosed a single arrow, which pierced Tadanao's chest and struck Tadakiyo's armor as well, and the whole army trembled. Kiyomori was afraid and said, "I was not specially ordered to attack this gate." He turned toward the east gate to avoid the assault. But his officers and men all said, "Tametomo is guarding the east gate as well. It would be better to attack from the north gate," and so Kiyomori drew back his troops. Shigemori, roused to anger, said, "Having set out on the imperial command, we have no business asking whether the enemy is strong or weak." Alone, leading a few light horsemen, he rode straight ahead. Kiyomori was thrown into confusion, ordered those about him to hold Shigemori back, and had no choice but to proceed to the front gate at Kasuga. Soon Minamoto-no-Yoshitomo set fire to the palace and pressed the attack, and the Shirakawa Palace at last fell (Note: following the Hōgen Monogatari). In the second year of Hōgen (1157) he was granted Senior Fifth Rank Lower, appointed Saemon-no-suke, Assistant Captain of the Left Gate Guards, and concurrently made Tōtōmi-no-kami, Governor of Tōtōmi (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin).

¶In the first year of Heiji (1159), Shigemori accompanied Kiyomori on a pilgrimage to Kumano. When they reached Kiribe, they heard that Fujiwara-no-Nobuyori and others had risen in rebellion. Kiyomori was at a loss and could not decide what to do. Shigemori said, "As men of the warrior houses, when we hear that the Son of Heaven is being pressed by rebels, how can we not hasten to the nation's peril?" and all followed him. They sent messengers to Tanzō, Betto, Superintendent of Kumano, and others to raise troops, but only about a hundred horsemen gathered. Just then they heard that Yoshihira, son of Yoshitomo, was holding Abeno with three thousand men. Kiyomori feared that with so few troops he could not prevail, and wished first to go to Shikoku, summon soldiers, and only then enter the capital. Shigemori said, "If we dawdle and delay, the rebels will surely forge an imperial command and strike us down, and regret will be useless. To strike a great host with a small force is the ordinary lot of the warrior house. To go swiftly and die in battle would be glory enough for our descendants in later days." Kiyomori thereupon made up his mind, prayed from afar to the god of Kumano, and set out for the capital (Note: according to the Gukanshō, when Kiyomori reached Tanabe, his sons Motomori and Munemori, who were with him, and his soldiers numbered only fifteen. Shaken by the news of the disturbance, he wished first to flee to Tsukushi and raise troops there. Yuasa Munashige of Kii, who had some thirty soldiers, urged him to enter the capital. Tankai of Kumano provided bows, arrows, and armor, and he returned directly to the capital. This differs somewhat from the present account). When the party reached Kinakayama, they saw a single horseman approaching. All lost color, thinking he was a messenger from Yoshihira. When he arrived, he proved to be a messenger from Rokuhara, bringing word that more than three hundred soldiers of Ise would meet Kiyomori at Abeno. At last the men's hearts were calmed. Shigemori asked how matters stood in the capital, and the messenger replied, "At Rokuhara there is nothing in particular amiss, except that the Harima Chūjō, Middle Captain of Harima, escaped his troubles and came to us for refuge. Nobuyori, using a forged imperial command, tried to seize him, and since we could not hide him, we handed him over." Shigemori said angrily, "To abandon one who comes to us in distress is ill-omened. Who will serve us hereafter?" Before long he returned to the capital, welcomed the Emperor's palanquin to Rokuhara, and, together with his uncles Norimori and Yorimori, each leading a thousand horsemen, divided the roads and attacked Nobuyori.

¶Shigemori encouraged his soldiers, saying, "The era name is Heiji, the place is Heian, and we are the Taira. Divining by these three, there is no doubt that we shall put down the rebels." He divided his troops into two bands, left five hundred horsemen on the Ōmiya Ōji, and with the other half attacked the Taiken Gate. Nobuyori was greatly afraid and withdrew, and his troops all broke and fled. Shigemori advanced as far as the muku tree in the Ōba, whereupon Minamoto-no-Yoshitomo had his son Yoshihira hold him off. Yoshihira, leading sixteen picked horsemen, fought in person and took aim at Shigemori. Shigemori fought as he withdrew, and when he reached the Ōmiya Ōji he leaned on his bow as on a staff and rested his horse. His commander Taira-no-Iesada came forward and praised him, saying, "This is truly the return of our ancestor, the General Taira." Shigemori again led half of those men into the Ōba, fought one engagement, and then withdrew. When Yoshihira pursued him, Shigemori broke away and fled with Yosaemon Kageyasu (Note: Kageyasu's family name is missing) and Shindō Saemon Ieyasu. As Yoshihira was about to overtake them, his horse stumbled and fell. Kamata Masaie shot at Shigemori, but his armor was strong and the arrow did not pierce it. Masaie then shot the horse, which fell, and Shigemori lost his helmet. As Masaie drew near, Shigemori struck at him with his bow. While they struggled, Shigemori put his helmet on again. Kageyasu rushed up and struck Masaie down. Yoshihira was about to stab Kageyasu, and Shigemori, enraged, himself went to meet him. Ieyasu drove his horse forward and stood in Yoshihira's way, but he too was struck down by Masaie. In that interval Shigemori escaped to Rokuhara. Yoshitomo came to attack, but Shigemori beat him back. At this time the Retired Emperor was at the Ninna-ji, and Nobuyori and his band went there to beg for their lives. The Retired Emperor pitied them and wrote a letter in his own hand asking the Emperor to spare them. But before the messenger had returned, Rokuhara sent soldiers and seized Nobuyori and his accomplice Fujiwara-no-Narichika and others. Nobuyori was put to death. Narichika also deserved the death penalty, but Shigemori asked that his life be spared, the request was granted, and Shigemori with his own hands untied his bonds (Note: following the Heiji Monogatari). That winter, in reward for his merit, he was concurrently made Iyo-no-kami, Governor of Iyo (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin, the Heiji Monogatari, and the Genpei Jōsuiki). In the following year he was granted Junior Fourth Rank Upper and successively held the posts of Sama-no-kami, Director of the Left Bureau of Horses, and Kura-no-kami, Director of the Imperial Storehouse. Soon he resigned as Director of the Storehouse and became Uhyōe-no-kami, Commander of the Right Gate Guards. In the third year of Ōhō (1163) he was granted Junior Third Rank. In the second year of Chōkan (1164) he advanced to Senior Third Rank. In the first year of Eiman (1165) he became a Sangi, Counsellor (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin).

¶This autumn Emperor Nijō died, and monks of the various temples gathered for the funeral. The two temples Enryaku-ji and Kōfuku-ji quarreled over the order of precedence in the funeral procession and went so far as to take up arms. At this time a rumor arose that "the Retired Emperor is secretly ordering the monks to strike down the Taira." Kiyomori was greatly alarmed, gathered troops, and fortified his own position. Shigemori insisted strongly that this was a groundless tale, and went to the Hōjūji Palace to inquire into the matter. It happened that the Retired Emperor was about to go in person to Rokuhara to explain, and his palanquin was already on the road. Shigemori accompanied it and returned. Kiyomori, pleading illness, did not come out to meet him, and the Retired Emperor went back to his palace. Shigemori admonished Kiyomori, saying, "Our house has struck down rebels and quelled disorder, and our merits are many. What fault can there be for which we should now be blamed, that matters should suddenly come to this? Father, you must not show it in your words or your countenance. I fear that treacherous men will take advantage of this to brew slander. If we simply revere those above us and care for those below, the gods too will help us. What is there to fear?" Kiyomori marveled at the breadth of his magnanimity. The Retired Emperor, for his part, also warned his attendants, saying, "You must not carelessly spread rumors without foundation" (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki). In the first year of Nin'an (1166) he was appointed Gon-chūnagon, Provisional Middle Counsellor, and concurrently Tōgū-daibu, Master of the Crown Prince's Household. In the second year (1167) he was granted Junior Second Rank, transferred to Gon-dainagon, Provisional Major Counsellor, and was permitted to wear a sword in attendance. In the third year (1168) he resigned his offices because of illness. In the first year of Kaō (1169) he was granted Senior Second Rank (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin).

¶In the second year of Kaō (1170), his son Sukemori met the Regent Fujiwara-no-Motofusa on the road but did not get down from his carriage to pay him proper respect. Motofusa's attendants slashed the blinds of Sukemori's carriage and so humiliated him. Shigemori rebuked Sukemori, saying, "Court ranks differ in height, and one should show respect even to those of equal standing, let alone to the Regent. You are already past ten years of age and yet do not know the rules of propriety; it is only right that you were humiliated" (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki). Motofusa had the attendants who had done the deed bound and sent them over in apology, but Shigemori, on the contrary, was abashed, thanked them for their trouble, and sent them back (Note: following the Gyokuyō and the Genpei Jōsuiki). When Kiyomori heard of this he was furiously angry and wished to take revenge. Shigemori remonstrated, saying, "Sukemori is young and foolish and was discourteous to the Regent. The fault lies with the attendants; to overlook that and instead set upon a person of exalted rank is surely contrary to reason. Moreover, the office of Regent exists to assist the Emperor's government and to cherish and nurture the myriad people. How can one presume on one's power to insult him? Furthermore, he who overcomes others by virtue prospers, and he who overcomes others by force perishes. I beg you, Father, to consider carefully." Kiyomori did not listen, and secretly used warriors to humiliate Motofusa (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari. The Gukanshō and one version of the Jōsuiki hold that the retaliation against Motofusa came from Shigemori's own intention. The Gyokuyō also gives a detailed account of the affair, but says only that the Dainagon [Shigemori] was greatly troubled by it, and has no statement that the retaliation originated with Shigemori. Judging now from his character, he would never have done something so confrontational. Probably the rumors of the time were confused and the writers set them down accordingly). Fearing that he would be punished for the affair, Shigemori sent Sukemori away to Ise through persons connected with the matter (Note: following the Heike Monogatari).

¶In the first year of Jōan (1171) he again became Gon-dainagon. In the fourth year of Jōan (1174), Minamoto-no-Masamichi resigned the post of Ukonoe-no-taishō, Commander of the Right Palace Guards, because of illness (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin), and many of the court nobles hoped to succeed him. Shigemori memorialized the throne, saying, "In establishing offices there is a distinction between civil and military posts. To choose only those of famous houses is a bad custom of recent times. Your servant comes by origin from a warrior house, and moreover it is the common rule of all ages that the son of a minister is appointed Taishō. I beg that I may be given this post." He was at length concurrently appointed Ukonoe-no-taishō (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki). In the first year of Jishō (1177) he was transferred to Sakonoe-no-taishō, Commander of the Left Palace Guards, and soon received the post of Naidaijin, Minister of the Center (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). In this year monks of Enryaku-ji brought a suit, and, bearing the Hiyoshi shrine's sacred palanquin, tried to enter the capital; the Minamoto and Taira commanders were ordered to hold them back (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari). Shigemori, with more than three thousand horsemen, guarded the three gates of Yōmei, Taiken, and Ikuhō, and drove them back (Note: following the Heike Monogatari; the Genpei Jōsuiki makes the three thousand thirty thousand).

¶Earlier, Fujiwara-no-Narichika had formed a party and secretly plotted the destruction of the Taira, but the matter leaked out and he was seized. Kiyomori ordered warriors to cut Narichika down at once. Shigemori remonstrated, saying, "He is a favorite retainer of the Cloistered Emperor. Since his ancestor Akisue served in the reign of the Retired Emperor Shirakawa, his house has been handed down for a long time and its rank is high. To kill him in haste because of a private grudge does not seem to me a good thing. It would be best simply to banish him from the capital as a warning to others. These words are truly spoken for the sake of the state, and not because he is a relative of mine by marriage. In the old days, in the reign of Emperor Saga, Fujiwara-no-Nakanari was put to death. After that, capital punishment was abolished for twenty-five reigns; but in the Hōgen era Shinzei wielded power, cut down many of both the Minamoto and the Taira, and desecrated the grave of the Uji Safu, the Minister of the Left Fujiwara-no-Yorinaga. Two years later Shinzei's own grave was likewise desecrated by Nobuyori. Is this not the requital? Now our house is exalted and prosperous beyond any in the world, and the only thing to be anxious about is our descendants. I beg you, Father, to think of the blessing of accumulated good deeds and, for the sake of your descendants, to bear it a little longer." Kiyomori's anger somewhat abated. Shigemori withdrew and warned the warriors, saying, "My father is acting out of a moment's anger, but he will surely regret it later. Even if you are ordered to, you must on no account lay a blade on him." Thus Narichika was able to escape death.

¶After Shigemori had returned to his mansion, Kiyomori's anger did not subside; wishing to confine the Cloistered Emperor in another palace, he called together a great many of his sons, younger kinsmen, and retainers. All the Taira clan thereupon gathered at Kiyomori's residence, clad in armor. Shigemori arrived late, and when he reached the middle gate, the men, seeing him dressed in an eboshi cap and a nōshi robe, tugged at his sleeve and said, "A great matter has arisen, and we have called for you, my lord. Your father is already in armor; are you still in such relaxed attire?" (Note: the Heike Monogatari attributes these words to Taira-no-Sadayoshi). Shigemori said, "What a thing to say! The Konoe-no-taishō is the one in whom military authority rests, and I happen to be defiling that post. It is highly improper to put on armor without cause. If rebels were to run wild and the imperial army were to be defeated, then even a minister of weighty position should put on armor and take up arms. I do not yet know what it is you gentlemen intend to do. Who is the enemy you mean to cast out? Moreover, a great matter is one that concerns the court. This is a private affair; how can it be called a great matter?" All the men were stirred and murmured. (Note: translated with reference to the Heike Monogatari and the Genpei Jōsuiki.) Kiyomori inwardly felt ashamed, but without time to change his dress he hastily rose and came out wearing a white hunting robe. Fearing that his armor would show, he kept tugging at his collar with his hand, so much that the seams split. Even so, he affected an air of ease and said calmly, "Why are you so late? Having tortured Saikō, I now know the whole story. Narichika's rebellion in fact originated with the Cloistered Emperor; it was all the doing of base, petty men who attend near the palace and hoped for undeserved advancement. Yet the Cloistered Emperor has rashly set events in motion. Now we must move the Cloistered Emperor elsewhere and remove the root of the disaster."

¶Shigemori said, tears running down his face, "Seeing what you are doing, Father, sorrow and fear rise in me together. I have never heard that one who has risen to Dajō-daijin has himself put on armor, let alone worn it over the robes of a monk. Of the four debts of gratitude of which the Buddha speaks, I have heard that the debt to one's country is the weightiest. One who knows this is a human being; one who does not is a bird or a beast. Now our house, though of the blood of Emperor Kanmu, had produced no one of eminence since the middle ages. When the General Taira [Sadamori] struck down Taira-no-Masakado, his reward went no further than a provincial governorship. When Gyōbu-kyō [Taira-no-Tadamori] built the Tokuchōju-in and was at last permitted to enter the palace, people still thought it an excessive reward. Yet you, Father, rose from a minor office, and your rank has reached the highest a subject can attain. Even a fool like Shigemori has received high rank and office through the favor of his father and grandfather. The lands of our house extend over almost half of the realm, and favor and splendor could hardly be greater. If we now suddenly forget this great kindness and slight the imperial majesty, the gods and spirits will surely be angry and our destruction will not be far off. Shigemori fears this deeply. It would be enough now to seize one or two ringleaders of the plot and punish the guilty. Why should you seek to press upon the Most Exalted One? Moreover, even if you, Father, were to do so, Shigemori cannot bear to betray the debt owed to the country. Among my men are two hundred who would fight to the death, enough to protect the Cloistered Emperor. And yet it is also unbearable for a son to oppose his father. In the past Minamoto-no-Yoshitomo killed his father, and though it was at his lord's command, he could not escape the guilt of treason. If Shigemori tries to be a filial son he becomes disloyal, and if he tries to be a loyal subject he becomes unfilial. I am at an impasse. If you will not heed my words, I beg you to cut down Shigemori first." Kiyomori said, "My remaining life is short. I worry only about my descendants. From now on, do as you see fit," and he rose and went into the inner rooms.

¶Shigemori scolded his younger brothers, saying, "Our father is old and weakened, and has set about this ill-advised scheme. Why did you not remonstrate with all your strength, and instead agreed with him?" He also warned his officers and men, saying, "Hold firmly to my words and on no account move rashly. If you wish to follow Father, you must first cut me down." Even after he returned to his own mansion, Shigemori still feared that Kiyomori might act violently, and sent word of the emergency so that a strict guard was set. His officers and men all said, "This lord has never before raised an alarm lightly. Now that this summons has suddenly come, how can we not hurry to him?" Nanba Tsunetō, Seo Kaneyasu, Taira-no-Iesada, and his son Sadayoshi, and others vied with one another to gather at the Komatsu mansion. Shigemori then ordered Taira-no-Morikuni to muster the troops, and the force on hand amounted to more than twenty thousand (Note: the Heike Monogatari gives more than ten thousand). He then sent Iesada and Sadayoshi to Kiyomori with this message: "The Cloistered Emperor has heard of your plan, Father, and in great anger has issued an edict for Shigemori to punish you. Fearing that some extreme event might occur in the sudden crisis, I have sent these two men to guard you. I myself will earnestly plead with him on my own responsibility, so I beg you not to be alarmed." Kiyomori, greatly flustered, said, "Let the Naifu [Shigemori] do just as he sees fit." Shigemori said to Iesada and the others, "I tried to rescue my father from his error by expedient means, but I have instead wounded his heart. How can this be the way of a son?" and wept copious tears. All who heard were pained with grief (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki). He then thanked the soldiers, saying, "You did not fail the appointed time, and your good faith is truly admirable. I called you together because of something I had heard, but the matter has just been settled. Disperse quickly. Do not come to take this for granted hereafter." When the Cloistered Emperor heard of it he wept and said, "What manner of man is this Shigemori, who repays resentment with virtue?" (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari). He said further, "I would wish my own life to end before his. It is said that the sturdy pine shows itself in the cold of the year, and the loyal subject shows himself when the state is in peril; surely this is what is meant by it" (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki).

¶Kiyomori's tyranny grew worse by the day, and Shigemori was constantly anxious and fearful. One night Shigemori dreamed that Minamoto-no-Yoritomo prayed to the gods, and the gods cut off his father's head. He woke and wept in sorrow. When Seo Kaneyasu came to attend him, Shigemori sent everyone away and told him of the dream, and Kaneyasu said that he too had had the same dream as Shigemori. Shigemori's sorrow deepened all the more. Just then his son Koremori came to visit, and he had wine served. Sadayoshi poured, and Shigemori had Sadayoshi give a sword to Koremori. Koremori thought it was the family's treasured sword "Kogarasu," but looking closely he saw it was a plain, unadorned blade. Koremori lost color and suspected that Sadayoshi had made a mistake. Shigemori said, tears streaming down, "You need not be greatly puzzled. This is the sword worn at a minister's funeral. After Father's hundred years [after he has died], I was to wear it. Now I have my reasons, and so I give it to you." Koremori could not ask further, and withdrew, holding back his tears (Note: following the Heike Monogatari; translated with reference also to the Genpei Jōsuiki). Soon afterward Shigemori was relieved of his post as Sakonoe-no-taishō. In the third year of Jishō (1179) he resigned as Naidaijin (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). Shigemori made a pilgrimage to the Kumano shrine and himself prayed for death (Note: following the Sankaiki, the Genpei Jōsuiki, and the Heike Monogatari. The Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari say that when Shigemori worshiped at the Shōjōden a light came from his body, but his attendants considered this ill-omened and did not tell him. This is not adopted here).

¶On the return journey, when they passed the Iwata River, it was the height of midsummer, and Koremori and his children went into the river to cool themselves, so that their clothes were soaked through. Those around thought they looked as though they were dressed in mourning, found this ill-omened, and asked that they change. But Shigemori would not hear of it, thinking that his wish had now been fulfilled. Soon afterward he took to his sickbed. A physician from Song happened to be in the country at the time, and Kiyomori urged him to be treated. Shigemori declined, saying, "Life is what Heaven bestows; what use is treatment? If I were cured by borrowing his power, it would show that our country has no physicians. Moreover, one who holds the rank of minister cannot privately receive a stranger of unknown origin from a foreign land. Even if I cannot be saved, how could I bear to endure disgrace to my country?" Kiyomori could not press him (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari). His illness grew steadily worse; the Emperor bestowed medicine, and the Cloistered Emperor came to visit him (Note: following the Sankaiki; the Emperor's bestowal of medicine follows the Hyakurenshō). He shaved his head and took the Buddhist name Shōkū (Note: following the Teiō Hennenki. The Heike Monogatari gives Jōren, and the Yasaka-bon Heike Monogatari gives Shōkū in a different writing). When he died he was forty-two years old (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin, the Sankaiki, and the Teiō Hennenki; the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari give forty-three). He was known in the world as Komatsu-dono, the Lord of Komatsu (Note: following the Heike Monogatari).

¶On each of the four sides of his room Shigemori installed twelve Buddhist images, hung a perpetual lantern before each image, and carefully chose forty-eight beautiful women to attend them. Every evening at sunset, when the liturgy of praise was finished, he had cymbals struck and songs sung, and he himself sat in their midst and listened. People of the time therefore also called him the Tōrō-no-otodo, the Lantern Minister (Note: according to the present work [the source on which the Dainihonshi was compiled], it is said that he presented to the court thirteen hundred ryō of gold produced in Kesen district of Mutsu, his own fief. At that time the Song man Myōten had come to Tsukushi, and Shigemori summoned him, gave him a hundred ryō of gold, and further asked him, saying: "I now entrust to you a shipload of cypress timber and twelve hundred ryō of gold. Of this, give two hundred ryō as alms to the monks of Mount Ayuwang [Ikuō-zan], and deliver a thousand ryō to the court of Song. Build for me a small hall on Ayuwang, set aside fields to provide food for the monks, and have them perform rites for my repose." Myōten is said to have returned to China and petitioned the Song court, and the Song emperor granted it. On consideration: Shigemori always valued the dignity of the country, so much that even in illness he refused a Song physician, and he would never have petitioned the Song emperor privately. At that time the Song monk Tokukō presided over Ayuwang, and later people probably linked Tokukō with the verses of the Sōjō [Great Bishop] Ei and drew the false connection that this proved the gift of gold. In fact it has nothing to do with the matter. This account in the present work is recorded in no other book, and so it is not adopted here).

¶Earlier, when Shigemori served at the Sumai-no-sechie, the sumo festival, someone among the crowd was heard to say quietly, "This lord is blessed with much good fortune and has risen as far as Konoe-no-taishō. His bearing and his character are likewise beyond the ordinary. He is a rare figure in an age of decline such as this. I only fear that he will not live long." It came to pass just as he said (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki). Once, as he was making a report to the Chūgū, the Empress, a snake crawled up to her knee. Fearing to startle the Empress, Shigemori quietly seized its head and tail and called the Kurōdo, Chamberlain, Minamoto-no-Nakatsuna to remove it. Nakatsuna carried it out wrapped in his sleeve, showing no sign of distaste. Shigemori was pleased, and the next day sent him a fine horse and a good sword, and with a letter in his own hand praised him, saying that his conduct of the previous day had been like the dance of Genjōraku. Such were his character and his breadth of mind (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari).

¶His sons were Koremori, Sukemori, Kiyotsune, Arimori, Morimori, Tadafusa, and Munezane. Munezane was sent out as an adopted son of Fujiwara-no-Tsunemune, Sadaijin, Minister of the Left. Shigezane, Gyōjitsu, Jūhen, and Seiun all became monks.

Taira-no-Sukemori

¶Taira-no-Sukemori was skilled in waka (Note: following the Heike genealogy). In the first year of Nin'an (1166) he was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower, and soon became Echizen-no-kami, Governor of Echizen (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). Because he met the Regent Motofusa on the road and did not get down from his carriage (Note: following the Gyokuyō and the Genpei Jōsuiki), Shigemori rebuked his disrespect and banished him to Ise (Note: following the Heike Monogatari). In the following year he was permitted to return to the capital. In the fourth year of Jōan (1174) he was concurrently made Jijū, Chamberlain. In the second year of Jishō (1178) he became Ukonoe-no-shōshō, Junior Captain of the Right Palace Guards, and advanced by successive promotions to Junior Fourth Rank Upper (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). In the fourth year of Jishō (1180), when members of the Minamoto clan east of Ōmi rose in many places and all responded to Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, Sukemori led troops together with his uncle Tomomori and others to attack them; he fought Yamamoto Yoshitsune and Kashiwagi Yoshikane, defeated them, and put them to flight (Note: following the Gyokuyō and the Genpei Jōsuiki). In the first year of Yōwa (1181) he became Ukonoe-no-gon-no-chūjō, Provisional Middle Captain of the Right Palace Guards. In the second year of Juei (1183) he was appointed Kurōdo-no-tō, Head Chamberlain, and was granted Junior Third Rank (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). When the Emperor Antoku went to the western seas, the whole clan followed him. Sukemori, who had long enjoyed the Cloistered Emperor's favor, returned from Toba to present himself at the Hōjūji Palace. But the Cloistered Emperor had already left the palace, so he sent someone to report the circumstances; when no reply came, he went on to the western seas (Note: following the Gukanshō). In the following year, when Minamoto-no-Noriyori and Yoshitsune attacked the castle at Ichinotani, Sukemori led seven thousand horsemen and held Mikusayama against them. He was defeated by Yoshitsune in the night (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Genpei Jōsuiki; the Heike Monogatari gives three thousand soldiers) and fled to Yashima (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari). When the Taira were defeated in the battle of Dan-no-ura, he threw himself into the sea and died (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Heike Monogatari. The Gyokuyō entry for the nineteenth day of the second month of the first year of Genryaku says that Sukemori, Sadayoshi, and others were captured by local chieftains of Bungo. The Genpei Jōsuiki likewise says that men of Bungo captured Sukemori and Kiyotsune and sent their heads to Noriyori. Which is correct is not known).

¶He had a son, Moritsuna (Note: following the Taira genealogy), who became a retainer of the Hōjō clan (Note: following one version of the Oda genealogy). His later descendants became the Nagasaki clan (Note: following the Taira genealogy and a variant Oda genealogy). Next was Chikazane (Note: "zane" is also written with another character), whose mother, holding Chikazane in her arms, hid herself at Tsuda in Ōmi. The village headman of the place took the mother as his wife, raised Chikazane as the son of a Shinto priest of the Oda shrine in Echizen, and he was called Oda Gon-no-tayū (Note: following the Oda genealogy, with variants also consulted). He was also called Tsuda Sensei (Note: following the variant Taira genealogy. According to the variant Oda genealogy, among Sukemori's sons the eldest was Morikuni, born while Sukemori was living in Ise; next was Sanetada, who served at Kamakura and was called Seki Sakon-no-tayū; next was Moritsuna; next was Chikazane. As no other text bears this out, it is added here for reference). He shaved his head and took the Buddhist name Kakujō. Once he composed a waka expressing his feelings; in it, the early summer rains fall on the inlet of Tsuda, and the channel-marking stakes, though unseen, are all the more deeply there, so that the unseen is a sign of something deep (Note: according to the Oda genealogy kept at the Hokke-ji in Owari, this poem was sent to Chikazane's mother by Sukemori on the day he departed for the western seas. And according to the copy kept at the Sōken-ji on Azuchiyama, Fujiwara-no-Tameshige, Gon-chūnagon, personally transcribed this poem, and in the colophon it says, "The monk Kakujō, lay name Chikazane, is the son of Lord Sukemori, second son of the Komatsu Naidaijin Lord Shigemori." This is followed here).

Taira-no-Kiyotsune

¶Taira-no-Kiyotsune was granted Senior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Taira genealogy) and became Sakonoe-no-chūjō, Middle Captain of the Left Palace Guards. In the second year of Juei (1183), together with Munemori and others, he left the Dazaifu and went by ship to Yanagi-no-ura in Buzen. Seeing that the situation of his clan and the country was becoming more perilous by the day and could not be mended, one night he gazed at the moon in lament, played the flute and chanted, and then threw himself into the sea and died (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari).

Taira-no-Arimori

¶Taira-no-Arimori was granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower and became Sakonoe-no-shōshō, Junior Captain of the Left Palace Guards. In the third year of Juei (1184) he followed Sukemori, led troops, and encamped at Mikusayama, but was defeated by Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune and fled to Yashima (Note: following the Azuma Kagami, the Genpei Jōsuiki, and the Heike Monogatari). When the Taira were defeated at Dan-no-ura, he fought with all his strength and fell in battle (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki).

Taira-no-Morimori

¶Taira-no-Morimori was Bitchū-no-kami, Governor of Bitchū. When the castle at Ichinotani fell, he tried to escape by boarding a ship. A warrior appeared and asked to be taken aboard. Morimori agreed. But the warrior was of exceedingly large build, and as he leaped aboard, the boat capsized. Morimori fell into the water. Ise-no-Yoshimori, a warrior in the service of Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune, hooked him with an iron rake and cut him down (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari. The Heike Monogatari gives Honda Chikatsune in place of Ise-no-Yoshimori. The Azuma Kagami says that Minamoto-no-Yoshisada, Tōtōmi-no-kami, killed him. Which is correct is not known. The more detailed account is followed here).

Taira-no-Tadafusa

¶Taira-no-Tadafusa became Jijū, Chamberlain, and was appointed Tango-no-kami, Governor of Tango, and so was called the Tango Jijū (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Heike Monogatari). After the Taira had already been destroyed, in the first year of Bunji (1185) he was captured and sent to Kamakura (Note: following the Heike Monogatari). Yoritomo ordered Hyōe-no-jō, Lieutenant of the Military Guards, Fujiwara-no-Motokiyo (Note: following the Azuma Kagami; the Genpei Jōsuiki gives Sahyōe-no-jō Takarahara) to escort Tadafusa to the capital. On reaching Ōmi, they killed him (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari. According to the Nagato-bon Heike Monogatari, after the castle at Yashima fell, Tadafusa's whereabouts were unknown; he later went to Kii, relied on Yuasa Munashige, and took up position in his castle. The Taira remnants Taira-no-Moritsugu, Fujiwara-no-Tadamitsu and his younger brother Kagekiyo, and many warriors of Iga and Ise provinces joined him. Minamoto-no-Yoritomo ordered Tankai, Betto of Kumano, and others to attack him at once, but the castle was strong and did not fall. Tankai asked for reinforcements. Yoritomo then sent the monk Mongaku to persuade Tadafusa to surrender. Munashige also saw that there was no chance of victory and urged Tadafusa to submit. Tadafusa was sent to Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune, who sent him on to Kamakura. Yoritomo received him, spoke kindly to him, and let him return to the capital, but on the way, when he reached Seta in Ōmi, he was killed. The Hōreki Kanki also says that Tadafusa secretly escaped from Yashima and was hiding in Kumano, and that Taira remnants gradually gathered to him, but he was defeated in battle and captured, and was put to death on reaching Kamakura. On consideration: the texts of the Heike Monogatari differ in their accounts of this matter. If it had really happened in this way, books such as the Azuma Kagami and the Genpei Jōsuiki would not have left it out. It is a doubtful account and is not adopted here).

Taira-no-Koremori

¶Taira-no-Koremori, in the Nin'an era, became Mino-no-gon-no-kami, Provisional Governor of Mino, and soon was appointed Ukonoe-no-gon-no-shōshō, Provisional Junior Captain of the Right Palace Guards. In the second year of Jōan (1172) he was concurrently made Chūgū-gon-no-suke, Provisional Assistant Master of the Empress's Household, and was granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). His appearance was beautiful. In the Angen era, when the celebration of the Cloistered Emperor's fiftieth year was held, Koremori danced the Seigaiha, and all who watched were captivated by his beauty (Note: following the Gyokuyō, the Angen Gyoga-ki, the Genpei Jōsuiki, the Heike Monogatari, and the Ukyō-no-daibu Shū). People called him the Ōbai Shōshō, the Cherry-and-Plum Captain (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki). When Minamoto-no-Yoritomo raised troops, Koremori was appointed commander of the punitive expedition, assisted by Taira-no-Tadanori, Satsuma-no-kami, and Taira-no-Tomonori, Mikawa-no-kami (Note: following the Gyokuyō, the Sankaiki, and the Genpei Jōsuiki). Following the precedent of his ancestor Taira-no-Masamori, Inaba-no-kami, who had punished Minamoto-no-Yoshichika, he was granted the post-station bell, but the sword of delegated authority was not conferred (Note: following the Hyakurenshō, the Genpei Jōsuiki, and the Heike Monogatari). On the twenty-second day of the ninth month he set out from Fukuhara with more than five thousand horsemen (Note: following the Gyokuyō) (Note: the manuscripts of the Heike Monogatari differ considerably on the day of departure from Fukuhara; the Sankaiki and the Genpei Jōsuiki are followed here) and advanced (Note: following the Gyokuyō and the Sankaiki). On the tenth day of the tenth month he reached the provincial capital of Suruga (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki).

¶He meant to cross Mount Ashigara, come out onto level ground, and await the enemy. His commander Fujiwara-no-Tadakiyo said, "On the day we left Fukuhara, the Shōkoku [Kiyomori] himself ordered, 'I entrust all matters in the army to Tadakiyo.' You heard this yourself, my lord. That is why I dare to offer my poor opinion. The troops of Izu and Suruga have not yet come over to us, and to lead a rabble of raw levies far into steep and dangerous country is an exceedingly perilous course. It would be best to take position facing the Fuji River." Koremori followed this advice (Note: following the Heike Monogatari). Among his retainers, Saitō Sanemori had once lived in the Kantō and knew the circumstances of the eastern provinces well. Koremori summoned Sanemori and asked, "Among Yoritomo's forces, how many are there who are masters of the bow or draw strong bows, such as you?" Sanemori replied, "My lord, do you take Sanemori to be a master of the bow? Of the eastern warriors known for their archery, none uses an arrow shorter than fourteen or fifteen fists in length. Men like Sanemori are beyond counting; they could be loaded on carts and measured out by the measure. Moreover their men and horses are strong, and a single eastern horseman is almost the match for twenty or thirty of ours. Our army is fifty thousand, and the enemy are said to be two hundred thousand. We are the guests and they are the hosts; they know the lay of the land well, and if they block our front and cut off our rear, we will surely be defeated. First we should call to us the warriors of Musashi and Sagami and make them our own, and only then attack." The officers and men were all seized with fear and lost their will to fight (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki; translated with reference also to the Heike Monogatari). Soon afterward Sanemori took his leave and returned to the capital, and Koremori, displeased, said, "Can we not advance the army without Sanemori?" He then made Tadakiyo his vanguard (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Nanbu-bon Heike Monogatari) and advanced to the Fuji River, where he made camp. When Yoritomo reached the Kise River (Note: following the Azuma Kagami, the Genpei Jōsuiki, and the Heike Monogatari), Takeda Nobuyoshi, a commander under Yoritomo, sent a letter to Koremori. Koremori was furiously angry. Tadakiyo urged Koremori to have the messenger put to death (Note: following the Gyokuyō and the Sankaiki. The Sankaiki gives Tadakage in place of Tadakiyo. The Nanto-bon and Nagato-bon Heike Monogatari make Nobuyoshi's messenger a messenger of Yoritomo).

¶On the twentieth, Yoritomo advanced and made camp at Kajima, and Nobuyoshi attacked the camp of Koremori from the rear of the lines by night (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). The Taira army heard the sound of water birds startled into flight and, thinking a great host of the enemy was upon them, fell into utter confusion; men and horses trampled one another, and they abandoned their arms and supplies and fled. People of the time made a song of this to mock them (Note: translated with reference to the Azuma Kagami, the Genpei Jōsuiki, and the Heike Monogatari). Koremori had at first had no intention of fleeing, but because Tadakiyo urged him repeatedly he withdrew (Note: following the Gyokuyō). Iida Ieyoshi and his son, of Yoritomo's forces, crossed the river and pursued, but no one dared to stand and fight. Only Itō Musha Jirō, a man of Ise, fought with all his strength and fell in battle (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). Koremori and the others withdrew as far as Seta, and first sent a messenger to report what had happened. Kiyomori was greatly angered and said, "Having set out on the imperial command, you may advance but not retreat. Even if the imperial army fares badly and your bones are left on the field, that is nothing to be ashamed of. Having received the commission to punish the rebels, you withdrew without even staining your blades with blood; I have never heard of such a thing. With what face do you mean to enter the capital again? You should hide yourselves in the mountains and forests." Koremori, afraid, could not enter the capital, and later came secretly to the capital and took refuge in the house of Fujiwara-no-Tadatsuna, Kebiishi, Police Commissioner (Note: following the Gyokuyō). When Kiyomori heard of this he sought to banish Koremori and cut Tadakiyo down, but it was not carried out (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari). In the following year, together with his uncle Shigehira, he attacked Minamoto-no-Yukiie at Sunomata in Owari and greatly defeated him (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki). Soon afterward he was transferred to Ukonoe-no-gon-no-chūjō, Provisional Middle Captain of the Right Palace Guards, appointed Kurōdo-no-tō, Head Chamberlain, and then granted Junior Third Rank (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Meigetsuki).

¶In the second year of Juei (1183), Koremori led a hundred thousand troops to punish Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka in Hokuriku. Hearing of this, Yoshinaka sent his men Ninaka Morihiro, Hayashi Mitsuaki, Kuramitsu Narizumi, Hikita Toshihiro, and others to Echizen to hold Hiuchi Castle. Saimei, Chōri, Chief Administrator of the Heisen-ji, also joined them with more than a thousand of his own men. This castle was the foremost stronghold on the Hokuriku road, shut in by mountains before and behind, with a mountain stream at its foot. The Hokuriku forces piled up wood and stones to block the road and dammed the stream, so that the water spread like a lake. Koremori, finding he could not attack at this point, made camp at Iwagamiyama. Saimei, harboring a double heart, wrote a letter, tied it to an arrow, and shot it in. The Taira obtained it, learned that there was a dam, and sent troops to break it open. The water at once drained away, and when the Taira army attacked, Saimei turned traitor within; Morihiro and the others could not hold and abandoned the castle and fled. The Taira army pursued them and defeated them in succession at Kawakami Castle, Sanjōno, Shinohara, and Atake, took the castles of Hayashi and Togashi, and reported the victories to the capital.

¶Saimei said to Koremori, "Yoshinaka is now at the provincial capital of Echigo. When he hears that our army has won successive victories and pacified Echizen and Kaga, he will surely come with his whole force. If he invades Etchū, I fear it will be a great harm. You should send troops quickly, hold the pass at Samuhara, and block his advance." Koremori then sent Taira-no-Moritoshi with several thousand horsemen, and they advanced to Hannya-no and made camp. Yoshinaka struck first, sending Imai Kanehira to attack with six thousand horsemen. They had already crossed Samuhara and entered Etchū, and engaged Moritoshi. From the hour of the Hare to the hour of the Sheep they fought, and Moritoshi's men suffered many dead and wounded; gathering the scattered soldiers, he returned to Kaga. Koremori then consulted with his generals, sent thirty thousand horsemen to Shioyama, and himself led more than seventy thousand horsemen to Tonamiyama. Yoshinaka arrived from Echigo with more than fifty thousand horsemen, made camp at the foot of Tonamiyama, and sent his uncle Yukiie to attack Shioyama. Koremori and the others, thinking that because the terrain was steep Yoshinaka would also find the siege difficult, pitched their camp at Sarubaba, about two chō from Yoshinaka's camp. Yoshinaka first sent out fifteen master archers to shoot, and Koremori answered in kind. They took turns, repeatedly, each side doubling the number, until dusk. That night Yoshinaka secretly moved his army and made a surprise attack, and the cries of battle echoed through mountain and valley. Koremori's whole army was thrown into confusion; they fled in disorder, each trying to get ahead of the others, and fell into the valley to the south, so that the dead numbered more than eighteen thousand (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki; the Hōreki Kanki gives more than fifty thousand, and the Heike Monogatari more than seventy thousand). Koremori gathered the few remaining troops and fled to Kaga (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari).

¶Koremori held Saradake, and Yoshinaka advanced and fought him at Hiratakeno. Both armies rested their men and horses for more than ten days. Hearing that Yoshinaka was about to attack, Koremori crossed the river and fled in the night, and more than a thousand soldiers were drowned (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki). He then made camp at the harbor of Atake, removed the bridge, and waited for Yoshinaka. Yoshinaka could not cross, and first released a saddled horse to test the depth of the river. The horse charged into the camp, and the men took it to be a horse abandoned by fleeing troops. Hatakeyama Shigeyoshi said, "That is not so. This is the enemy testing the depth of the water. The enemy must be very close." Shigeyoshi then climbed Shinoharadake with his younger brother Oyamada Arishige to observe. Just as he said, Yoshinaka crossed the river and attacked (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Nagato-bon Heike Monogatari; Shinoharadake is from the Nagato-bon). Shigeyoshi advanced first, the other commanders followed, and the two sides fought in confusion. Here Koremori and the others also drew up their troops and met Yoshinaka in battle, but fought as they withdrew. Yoshinaka pursued as far as Nariai, and Sanemori and many other elite warriors fell in battle (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki). Koremori gathered his routed troops and returned to the capital (Note: following the Gyokuyō, the Genpei Jōsuiki, and the Heike Monogatari. The manuscripts of the Heike Monogatari differ in the names of the officers and men in the various battles from Tonamiyama and Shioyama onward, but they are not noted one by one here).

¶Soon the capital could no longer be held, and the Emperor went on progress to the western seas (Note: following the Gyokuyō, the Genpei Jōsuiki, and the Heike Monogatari). Munemori followed with the whole clan, but Koremori had no heart for military affairs and thought day and night only of his wife and children. In the third year of Juei (1184), with three attendants, he secretly slipped out of Yashima, went by ship to Kii, and meant to enter the capital and meet his wife and children, but the roads were blocked and he could not. He climbed Kōyasan (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari), and on the way stopped at the Kokawa-dera, met the monk Genkū, and received the precepts (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki). Saitō Tokiyori, a former retainer of Shigemori, had taken orders and was at that temple, and Koremori happened to stop at his hermitage. At a single glance Tokiyori was seized with astonishment and grief, and, weeping, asked the reason. Koremori said, "I cannot cut off my attachment, and I am always thinking of my children. The Naifu [Munemori] did not understand this, compared me to the Ike Dainagon [Yorimori], and began to regard me with some suspicion. So I have fled this far. Now I mean to worship the god of Kumano once, and then drown myself." The two then climbed Kōyasan together, shaved their heads, and became monks. He was then twenty-five years old (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari; the present work gives twenty-seven in both places, but this has been corrected by the Kugyō Bunin). He sent his attendants back to Yashima with a message for his younger brother Sukemori: "The Karakawa armor and the Kogarasu sword are treasures handed down through the generations. After they came to me, I recently left them in the keeping of Sadayoshi. You should inherit them. If the day comes that the disturbance is quelled, be sure to pass them on to my son." He then went to Kumano, boarded a boat, and rowed out to the sea off Nachi (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Nagato-bon Heike Monogatari. According to the Zenchūki, cited in the Jōsuiki, Koremori secretly returned to the capital, went to the Cloistered Emperor's residence, and begged for his life. The Cloistered Emperor pitied him and ordered Yoritomo to permit him to die. Yoritomo memorialized that he should first be brought to Kamakura and the matter discussed there. Koremori, realizing he could not escape, fasted for several days. On reaching Sagami, he fell ill with dysentery and died). According to another tradition, his attendants made it appear that Koremori had drowned, but in fact he hid himself and lived at Fujinawa in Muro district, and his descendants in the end became people of that land. It is also said that because he offered incense at Nachi, the place was named Kōrō. The Komatsu and Irokawa families are his descendants (Note: translated with reference to one account in the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Irokawa genealogy. The Genpei Jōsuiki and the manuscripts of the Heike Monogatari hold that Koremori actually died at sea off Nachi. The Taiheiki says he hid in Totsukawa).

¶Koremori had a son named Rokudai. In the first year of Bunji (1185), Hōjō Tokimasa came to the capital and searched for descendants of the Taira. Tokimasa heard that Rokudai was hiding with his mother in Shōbudani beside the Henjō-ji, went there, and seized him. His wet nurse, hearing that the monk Mongaku of the Jingo-ji was held in high trust by Yoritomo, hurried to him and begged for help. Mongaku met Tokimasa and earnestly pleaded for the boy's life (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki). Tokimasa would not listen and said, "It is the order of the Nihon [Yoritomo, Second Rank], and it is not for me to decide on my own" (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki). Mongaku said, "I beg you to extend the time by twenty days; I will myself petition Yoritomo," and Tokimasa permitted it (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari). Mongaku sent a messenger to Kamakura with this message: "Koremori's heir Rokudai is one whom I had long since permitted to become my disciple. Tokimasa, by your order, intends to root out the descendants of the Taira, and Rokudai is now in captivity. What cause for worry can there be in leaving alone so young and weak a child? Moreover his grandfather [Shigemori] did you great kindness and virtue. I beg you to entrust Rokudai to me for a while." Yoritomo could not refuse, granted it, wrote a letter in his own hand instructing Tokimasa, and allowed the boy to live (Note: following the Azuma Kagami. The manuscripts of the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari say that Mongaku himself went to Kamakura to plead and saved him by all manner of means, but that is not adopted here).

¶But Mongaku's messenger did not arrive by the deadline, and Tokimasa, on the way back to Kamakura with Rokudai, reached the Senbon pine grove in Suruga and was about to put him to death. Then a monk came galloping from the east. Fearing he would be too late, he raised his hat high and signaled from afar. Tokimasa saw this and halted the execution. Soon a letter from Mongaku arrived, and in the end Rokudai was placed in Mongaku's custody (Note: translated with reference to the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari). Yoritomo sent letters to Mongaku and often asked after Rokudai's condition. Mongaku answered, "Rokudai is of no account, so there is no need to give him thought." Rokudai's mother, uneasy, urged him to shave his head, and he changed his name to Myōkaku. He was called in the world the Sanmi Zenji, the Zen Master of Third Rank (Note: following the Heike Monogatari; the name Myōkaku is from the Nejime family genealogy). In the fifth year of Kenkyū (1194), Myōkaku brought a letter from Mongaku to Kamakura, stated his circumstances before Ōe-no-Hiromoto, and gave thanks for the kindness he had received. Yoritomo, moved by Shigemori's virtue, kept Myōkaku at Kamakura, treated him generously, and meant to appoint him Betto, Superintendent, of a certain temple (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). When Yoritomo died, Mongaku plotted rebellion. The affair was discovered and he was sentenced to exile. Myōkaku was at Takao at the time, and Minamoto-no-Yoriie, fearing that he might cause some disturbance, memorialized the throne, had him seized, and had him beheaded at the Tagoe River in Sagami (Note: following the Heike Monogatari). He was then twenty-six years old (Note: following the Nagato-bon Heike Monogatari; the other manuscripts give twenty-nine or thirty. On consideration: Rokudai was captured in the first year of Bunji, when he was twelve; reckoning to the first year of Shōji, he is indeed twenty-six. Therefore the Nagato-bon is followed here. According to the Nejime family genealogy, Rokudai had a son named Kiyoshige, and the Nejime family of Satsuma are his descendants. But as there is no other book to confirm it, it is added for the time being as a reference).