Biographies CXIV: The Shōguns' Families, Part I

Minamoto-no-Noriyori

¶Minamoto-no-Noriyori was styled Kaba-no-Kanja (Note: following the Gyokukai and the Azuma Kagami. According to the Sonpi Bunmyaku, Noriyori's mother was a courtesan of the post-station of Ikeda in Tōtōmi province, and because she bore Noriyori at the Kamo Mikuriya estate, he was called Kamo-no-Kanja. In this work, however, he is always written "Kaba-dono" and never "Kamo"; this is probably an abbreviated form of address, but no other book contains any entry that would call for examination). He was the sixth son of Minamoto-no-Yoshitomo, Sama-no-kami, Director of the Left Equestrian Bureau (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). While still young he was raised by Fujiwara-no-Norisue, and when his elder brother Yoritomo raised troops he hastened to join him. In the fifth year of Jishō (1181) he assisted Oyama Tomomasa in attacking Shida Yoshihiro in Shimotsuke (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). In the second year of Juei (1183), Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka rebelled. In the first month of the following year, Yoritomo had Noriyori and Yoshitsune lead sixty thousand troops to attack him (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki and the Heike Monogatari). Noriyori led thirty-five thousand and advanced along the Tōkaidō. Yoshinaka had Imai Kanehira break the bridge at Seta to hold the crossing. Noriyori had Inage Shigenari, Hangaya Shigetomo, and others cross at Kugonose, fought a great battle before the Kokubunji, and cut down the enemy commander Yamamoto Yoshihiro (Note: this work writes "Hōtō Yoshihiro," but the Azuma Kagami gives him as a son of Yamamoto Yoshitsune, and that is followed here. In one passage the Azuma Kagami also writes "Saburō Senjō Yoshihiro," but Yoshihiro died in the fifth month of this year, so he is here fixed as Yamamoto Yoshihiro). Kanehira fled in defeat (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki). Noriyori advanced into the capital, Yoshitsune broke through at Uji, and the two armies joined their strength and attacked and killed Yoshinaka at Awazu (Note: with reference to the Azuma Kagami, the Genpei Seisuiki, and the Heike Monogatari). In the second month he led more than fifty-six thousand troops toward Ichi-no-Tani, took the Harima road, and advanced his camp to Koyano (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki; the number of troops follows the Azuma Kagami). He agreed with Yoshitsune that the seventh day should be the appointed date. On the fifth, Yoshitsune struck and broke Taira-no-Sukemori's camp at Mikusa. On the seventh, Noriyori went to Ikuta-no-Mori, at the eastern gate of the fortress; Kawahara Takanao and his younger brother Morinao crossed the palisade and died in battle, and the commanders advanced one after another and joined the fight. Yoshitsune separately sent Doi Sanehira to the western gate, and himself led picked troops down from Hiyodorigoe, setting fire to the fortress and burning it. The garrison fell into disorder, and Noriyori and the others attacked from the east and west gates at once. The Taira could not hold, and bearing the Emperor Antoku they fled to the sea. By midday the fortress had fallen and the enemy had scattered; Noriyori pursued them. Yoshitsune and Sanehira joined forces and attacked along the shore, taking the heads of more than a thousand, among them the enemy commanders Taira-no-Michimori, Echizen-no-kami; Taira-no-Tadanori, Satsuma-no-kami; Taira-no-Moromori, Bitchū-no-kami; Taira-no-Tomoakira, Musashi-no-kami; Taira-no-Tsunemasa, Kōgōgū-no-suke; Taira-no-Tsunetoshi, Wakasa-no-kami; Taira-no-Narimori, Sani; Taira-no-Atsumori, Sani; and Taira-no-Moritoshi, former Etchū-no-kami; and they took Taira-no-Shigehira, Sakonoe-chūjō, Middle Captain of the Left Palace Guards, prisoner (Note: the Azuma Kagami records that Noritsune was killed, but this is an error; the details are in Noritsune's biography). Those who drowned in the sea or were wounded could not be counted. The army was reassembled and returned in triumph (Note: following the Azuma Kagami, the Genpei Seisuiki, and the Heike Monogatari). In the sixth month he was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku) and appointed Mikawa-no-kami (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Genpei Seisuiki). Yoritomo held a banquet to reward his labors. In the eighth month Yoritomo again ordered Noriyori to attack the Taira in the western seas, and sent him off with a banquet. He gave him a favorite horse and a suit of armor, and bestowed a horse on each of the officers and men who were to accompany him. At the departure Yoritomo reviewed the army's array on the banks of the Inasegawa. Noriyori first entered the capital and received the official order of pursuit (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). In the ninth month, leading more than thirty thousand troops under Ashikaga Yoshikane, Hōjō Yoshitoki, and others, he reached Muronotsu in Harima (Note: following the Heike Monogatari; the Genpei Seisuiki gives more than a hundred thousand. This work and the Seisuiki both record that Noriyori gave no thought to the campaign, summoned the courtesans of Muro and Takasago, passed his days in feasting and music, wasted official supplies and burdened the people, and lingered until the twelfth month; this is mistaken). In the tenth month he reached Aki and rewarded the merit of his officers (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki. In this month Noriyori passed through Bizen, Bitchū, Aki, and Suō to Nagato and intended to attack Hikijima. But since he did not know the lay of the land at Moji and Akama, he made Ogata Koreyoshi his vanguard and sent a messenger to convey the situation. Koreyoshi came to meet him with more than five hundred ships, and Noriyori accordingly set out for Bungo. Now, according to this work, Noriyori's move to Bungo actually took place in the first month of the following year, so this account is not adopted). At this time Noriyori's army had run out of provisions and lacked warships, and the soldiers had come to long to return to the east. Noriyori was troubled by this. In the eleventh month he sent a messenger to Kamakura to report the situation, and Yoritomo replied in a letter: "Why should there be any worry that the provinces and districts of Tsukushi will not submit? You should pacify and soothe them well, bring the people's hearts into harmony, keep matters calm and settled, and not let those at your side whisper in your ear and give rise to doubts. Set the soldiers of Tsukushi in front against the enemy's arrows, and make the soldiers of Bandō their two wings. Although the enemy's strength is slight, you must not take it lightly. You must on no account violate or insult the Empress Dowager of the late sovereign (the Emperor Antoku) or the Nii-no-ama (Taira-no-Tokiko), but escort them with all respect. Let the Nii-no-ama know my heart. Then perhaps she may even bring the sovereign back to submit. The dignity of a sovereign is not to be violated by anyone. Formerly Yoshinaka put two imperial princes to the blade, and thereby brought about his own destruction. The Taira also killed Prince Takakura-no-miya, and likewise met defeat and ruin. With this meaning, instruct your officers and men carefully. Munemori is by nature cowardly and afraid of death, so he should be taken alive. With so many troops and so long a road, it is only natural that provisions should run out. By about the second month I shall send provision ships to supply you." In the twelfth month, Sasaki Moritsuna attacked Taira-no-Yukimori at Kojima in Bizen and defeated him. At this time Taira-no-Munemori, holding Yashima, was gathering troops and sending forces to seize the provinces and districts of the western seas. Taira-no-Tomomori had stationed an army on Hikijima in Nagato.

¶In the first year of Bunji (1185), in the first month, Noriyori set out for the western seas and went from Suō to Akamagaseki. Because ships and provisions were scarce, he halted the army and could not advance. The longing of the officers and men to return to the east grew all the stronger, so he turned back to Suō. Usuki Koretaka and Ogata Koreyoshi, men of Bungo, had in any case meant to respond to the Minamoto, and Noriyori had also sent men to ask for ships. Koretaka and the others therefore brought out more than eighty warships to meet him. Kinoue Shichi Tōtaka, a man of Suō, also presented provisions. Noriyori then consulted Chiba Tsunetane, saying, "Suō is a place of strategic importance, so the duty of holding it in our absence is a heavy one. Someone must be chosen and entrusted with it." Tsunetane said, "Miura Yoshizumi is brave and has many troops; he is just the man." Noriyori followed this and reached Bungo. In the second month he attacked and defeated Harada Tanenao at Ashiya-no-ura. Earlier, when Yoritomo had heard that Noriyori was in Suō, he had given him a plan, saying: "Send Doi Sanehira and Kajiwara Kagetoki to call in the troops of the western seas. If they respond, go there; if they do not, go straight to the southern sea and strike the Taira. On no account are you to wage war with Chinzei." Just then Noriyori sent another messenger to report the want of provisions. At this point Yoritomo replied to Noriyori: "As for the ships and provisions you need, I have other means of my own. It will be hard on you, but wait for a while. The Taira are a wandering army, yet they are still able to secure supplies. If you, who are the commander sent to pursue them, were to come home without achievement, with what face could you meet people again?" (Note: following the Azuma Kagami.) Tanzō, the Kumano Bettō, led his navy to reinforce Yoshitsune (Note: following the Azuma Kagami, the Genpei Seisuiki, and the Heike Monogatari). When Noriyori heard this, he sent a letter to Kamakura, saying: "Noriyori has moved his army to Bungo and is pressing the Taira hard. But the people of the country have fled, and there is no means of collecting provisions. The officers and men, such as Wada and Kudō, all long to return to the east. I humbly beg for your instructions. I hear that Tanzō has conferred with Yoshitsune and received the charge of pursuit. He has already reached Sanuki and is about to enter the nine provinces. Now the affairs of Shikoku are to be governed by Yoshitsune, and the affairs of the nine provinces are to be held by Noriyori. If what I have heard is true, it will be not only a disgrace to Noriyori but also a sign that my army has no men. I beg the General to consider this carefully." Yoritomo replied that the matter of Tanzō was not true, and in addition sent letters to twelve men, including Hōjō Yoshitoki, Nakahara Chikayoshi, and Kudō Suketsune, to console and encourage the officers and men. Shortly afterward he sent thirty-two warships carrying provisions to the western seas. When Yoshitsune attacked Yashima, the Taira fled out to sea, but Noriyori, being in Bungo, could not go west. In the third month, Yoshitsune fought a great battle at Dan-no-ura, destroyed the Taira entirely, and returned to the capital with his prisoners. Noriyori remained in Bungo and pacified Tsukushi and the nine provinces. In the ninth month he returned to the capital. At the time of the disturbances of the Juei years, the Taira had fled carrying the sword Umaru; Noriyori obtained it in Chinzei and presented it to the Cloistered Emperor (Note: according to the Hōgen Monogatari, the Retired Emperor had bestowed Umaru on Minamoto-no-Tameyoshi, but the Taira seized it at the Hōjūji-dono; the details of how this came about are not known). Soon afterward he arrived at Kamakura (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). At this time discord arose between Yoritomo and Yoshitsune. Yoritomo secretly had Tosabō Shōshun attempt to kill Yoshitsune, but Shōshun was instead killed by Yoshitsune. Yoritomo then tried to have Noriyori attack Yoshitsune (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki and the Heike Monogatari). Noriyori could not bear to attack him and firmly declined. Yoritomo would not listen, and Noriyori had no choice but to comply (Note: following the Heike Monogatari). When he went to take leave of Yoritomo, Yoritomo said, "Enough. I cannot fully trust even you. You, too, will be one who follows Kurō (Yoshitsune) and repeats his fate" (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki and the Heike Monogatari). Noriyori, frightened and with no place to stand, repeatedly submitted written oaths declaring that he had no disloyal intent (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki). Now when Yoshitsune had been in the western seas, he had relied on his achievements to act arbitrarily in military administration, and Yoritomo had been unable to quell his accumulated resentment. Noriyori had kept faithfully to the arrangements and consulted Kamakura on every matter, and for that reason he was rather favored and loved. Yet, being in the position of a field commander, he never in the end escaped suspicion.

¶In the fifth month of the fourth year of Kenkyū (1193), when Yoritomo was hunting at Fujino, Soga Sukenari and his younger brother Tokimune broke into his lodging at night and killed Kudō Suketsune, the enemy of their father. The encampment fell into uproar (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). In Kamakura a false report spread that the General had been killed, and Yoritomo's wife, the lady Hōjō, was greatly alarmed and grieved. Noriyori comforted her, saying, "Noriyori is here. Even if some great calamity occurs, there is nothing to worry about." When Yoritomo heard these words, he deeply resented them (Note: following the Hōryaku Kanki). In the eighth month, hearing a rumor that Noriyori harbored disloyal intentions, he questioned him about it. Noriyori again drew up a written oath and went to Ōe-no-Hiromoto to explain himself. When Yoritomo read the oath himself, he saw that it was signed "Minamoto-no-Noriyori" and said in anger, "Does Noriyori think that he has the bond of flesh and blood with me? How can he presume to use the Minamoto name?" He then had Hiromoto reproach Noriyori's messenger, Shigeyoshi (Note: Shigeyoshi's surname is missing). Shigeyoshi said, "The Sanshū (Noriyori) is truly a son of the late Sama-no-kami (Yoshitomo) and a younger brother of the Bakka (Yoritomo). When the Sanshū went to the western seas as commander of the pursuit, the Bakka told the court too that he was his younger brother, and this is already recorded in the official order. How could it be a false assumption of the name?" When Hiromoto reported this to Yoritomo, Yoritomo said nothing more. When Shigeyoshi returned and told him of this, Noriyori was greatly afraid. Soon afterward, Yoritomo heard at night the sound of a person beneath the floor of his sleeping chamber, and secretly summoned Yūki Tomomitsu and others to search; they caught one man. When he was questioned, it was Tōma Tarō, a brave retainer in Noriyori's service. He said: "Recently the Sanshū repeatedly submitted written oaths, but his explanations were not readily accepted, and day and night he has been anxious and afraid. For that reason I wished to hear what was being discussed around you, and so I came here. It was by no means a plot hatched with disloyal intent." He was examined repeatedly, but in the end no different statement emerged. Noriyori was seized and questioned, but he firmly maintained that he knew nothing. Yoritomo ordered Kudō Munenori and Usami Sukemochi to banish Noriyori to Izu (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). He was confined in the Shuzenji (Note: following the Yasaka text of the Heike Monogatari). His retainers Tachibana Tazaemon, Gō Takiguchi, Azusa Gyōbu, and others made ready their troops and shut themselves up in the mansion at Hama. Yoritomo sent Yūki Tomomitsu, Kajiwara Kagetoki, Nitta Tadatsune, and others to attack them (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). Kagetoki urged that Noriyori be put to death, so Kagetoki and his sons Kagesue and Kagetaka, with five hundred horsemen, attacked Noriyori at the Shuzenji. Because the affair came without warning, Noriyori had no time to put on armor; he drew his bow and shot at them, killing and wounding a good many. But before long his arrows were exhausted, and he set fire to the place and took his own life. Kagetoki found his head among the ashes (Note: following the Yasaka text of the Heike Monogatari).

¶His two sons, Enen and Genshō, both became monks. Enen took a daughter of Adachi Morinaga as wife and had Tamevori. Tamevori inherited his mother's family and received its lands, lived at Yoshimi in Musashi province, and was called Yoshimi Jirō. His son Yoshiharu was called Tarō. In the third month of the fourth year of Einin (1296) he plotted to raise troops, but was killed by Hōjō Sadatoki. His son Yoshiyo, called Magotarō (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku), was likewise put to death in the eleventh month. (Note: following the Hōryaku Kanki. This work makes Yoshiyo a son of Yoriuji, a great-great-grandson of Noriyori, but according to the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Yoshimi genealogy, Yoriuji was a great-grandson of Noriyori and a younger brother of Yoshiharu; this account is therefore not adopted. According to the Shōgun Shikken Shidai, Yoshiyo's death took place in the fifth month of the fifth year of Einin (1297).) Yoshiyo's son Takayori served at the Yoshino temporary palace and became Nakatsukasa-no-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Central Affairs (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune

¶Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune, whose childhood name was Ushiwaka, was the ninth son of Minamoto-no-Yoshitomo, Sama-no-kami (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku. The Azuma Kagami calls him the sixth son, but this is an error. According to this work, Yoshitomo had nine sons, of whom eight appear often in the various records; only the fourth son, Yoshikado, is not recorded, probably because he died young and left no deeds. Some also say that Yoshitsune was in fact the eighth son and ought to have been called Hachirō, but was called Kurō in order to avoid the name by which his uncle Tametomo was known. This, however, is what unofficial histories hand down and is not worth believing; it is noted here in passing). In person he was of small build, fair-skinned, and buck-toothed, quick-witted, and exceptionally agile in his movements (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki and the Heike Monogatari). His mother was named Tokiwa and had originally served the Empress Fujiwara, consort of the Emperor Konoe. When that empress entered the palace, among the ladies-in-waiting whom her father Fujiwara-no-Yorimichi had chosen for their beauty, Tokiwa was the most outstanding in appearance. Later she married Yoshitomo and bore three sons. The eldest was Imawaka, the second Otowaka, and the third was Ushiwaka himself. Ushiwaka was born in the first year of Heiji (1159). In that year Fujiwara-no-Nobuyori, who had been a partisan of Yoshitomo, was defeated and killed, and Tokiwa took her three sons and fled into hiding in the village of Ryūmon in Yamato province. Taira-no-Kiyomori searched for them without finding them, so he seized Tokiwa's mother. When Tokiwa heard of this, she went of her own accord to Rokuhara, wept as she told her story, and begged that her mother be pardoned in exchange for her serving the punishment together with her children. Kiyomori pitied her, and, being also drawn by Tokiwa's beauty, wished to spare the lives of the three sons as well. All his kinsmen argued that this must not be done, but Kiyomori said, "I have already pardoned their elder brother Yoritomo. To forgive the older and kill the younger now would truly be contrary to reason." So he spared the three and took Tokiwa as a concubine. Tokiwa bore Kiyomori a daughter, but afterward his favor faded and she was married off to Fujiwara-no-Nagashige, Ōkura-kyō, Minister of the Treasury. Imawaka and Otowaka were made monks, and Ushiwaka was entrusted to Kakujitsu, a monk of the Kurama temple (Note: the Tsurugi no maki of the Heike Monogatari gives Kakujitsu as Enjō).

¶He soon changed his name to Shanaō. At the age of only eleven he read the genealogies of the various houses and, filled with indignation, thought: "I was born into a family of generals, and yet I have fallen this low. I must surely destroy the Taira utterly and wipe away the shame of my father and forefathers." So by day he read books and by night he practiced the martial arts. When Kakujitsu urged him to shave his head and take orders, he would not listen, and said, "That my two elder brothers became monks is precisely what I count a disgrace. How could I follow their example?" When Kakujitsu pressed him repeatedly, he said in secret, "If you force me, I shall drive a blade into my master's belly." Tokiwa was constantly anxious and afraid, but could do nothing. Shanaō had long wished to go to Mutsu, rely on Fujiwara-no-Hidehira, and use his wealth to fulfill his long-held aim, but the road was very far and there was no one to go with him. At that time there was a gold merchant named Kichiji (Note: the Tsurugi no maki of the Heike Monogatari gives Kichiji as Gojō Kitsuji Sueharu) who, whenever he traveled to and from Mutsu, came to the capital and worshipped at the Kurama temple. Shanaō therefore spoke to him in secret, saying, "When you go to Ōshū, take me with you. When I reach Ōshū, I shall certainly reward you handsomely." Kichiji answered, "Taking you along is in itself not hard. I only fear that I shall provoke the anger of the Kurama assembly of monks." Shanaō laughed and said, "If this arrogant boy is gone, what pain will it cause? Suppose someone secretly carried off a corpse abandoned on a summer day; who would give chase?" Kichiji then agreed. There was also a man of Shimōsa named Fukasu Yorishige, a nephew of Minamoto-no-Yorimasa, who had come to Kurama. Shanaō met him and talked with him on familiar terms, and the three made a compact. In the third month of the fourth year of Jōan (1174), the three set out together for the Kantō. On reaching the post-station of Kagami in Ōmi province he performed his own coming-of-age ceremony, changed his name to Yoshitsune, and styled himself Minamoto Kurō. He was then sixteen (Note: following the Heiji Monogatari. That Yorishige was Yorimasa's nephew follows the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Arriving in Shimōsa, he lived there for several months. Once a horse thief appeared, and the local people tried to seize him. The thief was extremely powerful, defended himself with his back against a tree, and no one could capture him, but only surrounded him and kept watch. Yoshitsune bound him with his bare hands. Again, when a band of robbers broke into a house, Yoshitsune rushed to the spot and at once cut down four, and the rest fled wounded and scattered. Yorishige admired his valor, but the Taira, who held power, heard of it and were greatly on their guard (Note: following the Kyoto text of the Heiji Monogatari). Yoshitsune therefore set out for Mutsu (Note: the Genpei Seisuiki says that on the way to Mutsu Yoshitsune passed through Kōzuke and took shelter in the house of Ise Yoshimori, borrowed his retainer to send a letter to Yoritomo, and went to Kamakura after receiving a reply; but according to the Azuma Kagami this account is mistaken and is not adopted). When Kichiji told Hidehira of this, Hidehira invited him to his mansion at Hiraizumi and entertained him generously. Yoshitsune asked Hidehira for gold, gave it to Kichiji, and thus fulfilled their earlier promise (Note: following the Heiji Monogatari).

¶In the fourth year of Jishō (1180), his elder brother Yoritomo raised troops. Yoshitsune heard of it and wished to hasten to him, but Hidehira, watching the course of events, held him back and would not let him go. Yoshitsune secretly slipped out of the mansion at Hiraizumi, and Hidehira sent the stalwart Satō Tsugunobu and his younger brother Tadanobu after him to accompany him. In the tenth month, Yoritomo defeated the Taira at the Fujigawa and encamped at the Kisegawa. Yoshitsune led more than twenty horsemen to the camp, but the officers there, Doi Sanehira and others, thought him suspicious and did not announce him. Yoritomo, on learning his age, said, "This must be Kurō of Ōshū. Bring him in at once." Sanehira escorted him in to an audience. Yoritomo met him and was overjoyed, and said: "Long ago, when Hachiman-dono (Minamoto-no-Yoshiie) attacked Kiyohara-no-Takehira, Shinra Saburō (Minamoto-no-Yoshimitsu) was on duty guarding the palace; he asked to resign his post and join the army but was not permitted, so he left his bowstring case hanging at the headquarters and secretly went down to Mutsu. Hachiman-dono was glad of it, and is said to have remarked that it was as if the late General, his father, had appeared again. Now, to meet you here is just like seeing the face of Kashira-dono (Yoshitomo) for the first time." The two were moved together and wept (Note: with reference to the Azuma Kagami and the Genpei Seisuiki. The Heiji Monogatari says that when Yoritomo raised troops and Yoshitsune set out to join him, the Shirakawa Barrier was already closed, so he pretended to bathe at a hot spring, led about a hundred horsemen, and met Yoritomo at Ōbano by way of the Nasu mountains; this account is not adopted here). In the seventh month of the second year of Juei (1183), the Taira, bearing the Emperor Antoku, fled to the western seas. His cousin Yoshinaka entered the capital first, but, arrogant over his merits, he let his soldiers run wild and threw the capital into turmoil, so that high and low alike were sickened and distressed. Yoritomo sent Yoshitsune and Nakahara Chikayoshi, Saiin-no-tsukasa-jikan, Assistant Director of the Office of the Saiin, to lead cavalry to oversee the transport of tax goods and to enter the capital. Yoshinaka, suspicious and afraid, meant to meet them with force. The Cloistered Emperor issued an edict informing him that there was no other intent (Note: following the Gyokukai). In the eleventh month Yoshinaka rebelled. At this time Yoshitsune was at Atsuta, and Tachibana-no-Kintomo and other warriors of the Retired Emperor's north guard went to tell him of the situation. Earlier, Yoshitsune had sent a messenger to Kamakura to report the disturbance and had halted his army to await a reply; now he again sent Kintomo. In the first month of the third year (1184), Yoritomo dispatched sixty thousand troops and had Noriyori and Yoshitsune attack Yoshinaka. Noriyori entered the capital from Seta, and Yoshitsune from Uji, by separate roads. Yoshitsune's troops numbered about twenty-five thousand and advanced from the Suzuka mountains to Iga. Yoshitsune summoned a local man and asked for the road. The man answered, "The short way is by Aota-yama to the Kubiochi waterfall." He asked, "Is there no other road?" and the man replied, "There is. Past the village of Osada, through the hamlet of Hanazono, to the Ite Shrine and by Kasagi, that road is also good." Yoshitsune said, "Aota and Kubiochi are ill-omened names for a road along which an army marches" (Note: "Aota" is read the same as "henyo," and a henyo is a litter for carrying the sick and wounded; hence he spoke so). So he advanced by the road before the Ite Shrine. Hearing of this, Yoshinaka sent Nei Yukichika, Tate Chikatada, and others with more than three hundred horsemen to break the bridge at Uji and hold it. When Yoshitsune's army reached the riverbank, the houses stood close together in rows and were inconvenient for deploying the troops. He first ordered the residents to carry out their goods, and then set the houses on fire and burned them. On the bank he had a high tower built and stood on it himself, looking out in all directions. He issued orders to the officers and men and, taking up a brush, proclaimed, "Whoever rides in the van and whoever fights bravely, I will record them all and report them to Kamakura." Morale rose a hundredfold, and all were roused to win merit. When Yoshitsune issued orders to the army, the various units were so noisy that the orders could not be made out. So he had the dharma drum of the Byōdō-in taken and beaten. The soldiers all listened to it. He then commanded: "To win merit in the face of danger, now is the day. I see more than twenty thousand troops here, and there must be skilled swimmers among them. Let them cross first and sound the depth. The enemy has four or five hundred archers massed on the bank with arrows ready, and they will surely shoot when the crossing is nearly done. You stalwarts, climb onto the bridge girders and hold them back, and do not let them shoot the swimmers." Thereupon Hirayama Sueshige, Sasaki Sadatsuna, Shibuya Shigesuke, Kumagai Naozane and his son Naoie climbed onto the girders and shot repeatedly, killing and wounding many. Sasaki Takatsuna and Kajiwara Kagesue crossed the river alone on horseback ahead of the rest from Tachibana-no-Kojima, and Hatakeyama Shigetada, leading five hundred horsemen, crossed beside the bridge, fought Yukichika and the others, and defeated them. Yoshitsune said, "When the commander himself advances to fight, he should not follow in the tracks of his deputy," and changing course he came to Tachibana-no-Kojima and commanded: "The current is swift but the water is shallow. Cross from here and press on ahead of all." The soldiers crossed one after another and, pursuing the routed enemy, reached the capital (Note: with reference to the Heike Monogatari and the Genpei Seisuiki). He forbade the soldiers to plunder in the slightest (Note: following the Gyokukai). When Yoshinaka was routed, the Cloistered Emperor was at the Rokujō mansion of Ōe-no-Narutada, Ōzen-no-daibu, Master of the Palace Table. Yoshitsune led Shigetada, Takatsuna, and others to Rokujō. Narutada climbed the wall and looked out at them and, thinking that Yoshinaka had come to attack again, cried out in a trembling voice. The men and women within the palace were seized with terror and turned pale, but Narutada then reported, "Judging by their banners, it is not Yoshinaka. It must be troops from the east." Presently Yoshitsune dismounted and said, "Your servant is Yoshitsune, younger brother of Minamoto-no-Yoritomo. I have just broken the rebel troops and have come to guard this residence. I beg you to open the gate at once." Narutada, unable to contain his joy, fell from the wall and hurt his back, but exhausted as he was he reported it to the throne. The Cloistered Emperor was greatly pleased, came out to the middle gate to see him, ordered Fujiwara-no-Sadanaga, Dewa-no-kami, to console him for his labors and to ask the names, home provinces, and ages of Yoshitsune and the rest, and exclaimed, "He is truly a hero." He then ordered Yoshitsune to guard the palace and had troops detached to pursue Yoshinaka. Yoshinaka fled as far as Awazu and was killed in battle with Noriyori (Note: with reference to the Heike Monogatari and the Genpei Seisuiki). In this month the Taira moved from Yashima and took up position in the fortress at Ichi-no-Tani; their strength was over a hundred thousand, and fourteen provinces of the San'yōdō and the Nankaidō also followed them, so that their force was very great. The Cloistered Emperor ordered Noriyori and Yoshitsune to attack them, and by edict said: "The Divine Seal, the Sacred Sword, and the Naishidokoro are secret treasures from the age of the gods and the weighty objects that protect the successive sovereigns. You are to receive them with reverence and return them to the court." Noriyori and Yoshitsune intended to attack the Taira at Ichi-no-Tani, and in fixing the date of the assault beforehand, because the fourth day of the second month was the first anniversary of Kiyomori's death, and the fifth and sixth were days on which the use of arms is avoided, they set it for the seventh (Note: with reference to the Genpei Seisuiki and the Heike Monogatari). On the twenty-ninth, Noriyori led more than fifty thousand horsemen toward Ichi-no-Tani by the Harima road. Yoshitsune led more than twenty thousand horsemen by the Tanba road, advancing day and night, and joined him. Noriyori encamped at Koyano, and Yoshitsune encamped east of Mount Mikusa. The enemy commanders Taira-no-Sukemori, Taira-no-Arimori, and others met them west of the mountain with more than seven thousand horsemen, the distance between the two armies being about three ri (Note: with reference to the Azuma Kagami and the Genpei Seisuiki). On the fifth of the second month, Yoshitsune asked Doi Sanehira, "Which is better, to attack the enemy tonight or to wait for tomorrow morning?" Before Sanehira could answer, Tashiro Nobutsuna stepped forward and said: "Our army's spirit is high, and the enemy, supposing that we do not want a night battle, will have taken off their helmets and be resting. If we strike now, taking advantage of their carelessness, how can we fail to win?" Sanehira also agreed with this proposal. Yoshitsune said, "What you say accords exactly with my own thinking. I only wished to have everyone's opinion fully expressed," and he set the troops in order and sent them against the enemy. The night was dark and the road steep, and neither men nor horses could advance. Yoshitsune called Musashibō Benkei and said, "Raise a great torch." No one understood his meaning, but Benkei at once galloped off and set fire to the good houses close at hand, and the road became as bright as day. At midnight they reached the western foot of the mountain and attacked with war cries; Sukemori and the others, thrown into confusion, threw away their arms and fled, and they took one hundred and eighty heads (Note: the Heike Monogatari gives five hundred). On the sixth, he had Nobutsuna and Sanehira lead a separate seven thousand horsemen to attack the western gate of the fortress at Ichi-no-Tani, while he himself, leading three thousand picked horsemen, Kumagai Naozane, Hirayama Suesige, Kataoka Tameharu, Sahara Yoshitsura, Gotō Sanemoto, Satō Tsugunobu and Tadanobu, Eda Genzō, Kumai Tarō, Ise Yoshimori, Genpachi Hirotsuna, Benkei, and the others, climbed Mount Hachibuse and advanced to Ari-no-to. The sun had already set, and the road was so steep and bad that they could not go on, so he had Benkei look for a guide; Benkei saw a distant light and went toward it. He found an old man and an old woman sitting facing each other, and ordered the old man to guide them. The old man said: "I live on this mountain and make my living by hunting, and I know well the mountains of Settsu and Tanba. But I am old now and cannot be of use to you. My son is quite sturdy, and you may employ him." Benkei brought the son back and presented him to Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune named him after the mountain where he lived, Washio, and gave him the name Washio-no-Tsuneharu, and bestowed on him a sword, a horse, and a helmet, and asked him whether the road was hard or easy. Tsuneharu said: "This place is called Hiyodorigoe and is the most precipitous spot in the mountains. The upper seven or eight tan are stones and sand where no grass or trees grow, and below that the cliffs of five or six tan stand sheer; it is no place for men or horses to pass." Yoshitsune asked, "Can even deer not pass?" and Tsuneharu answered, "Only deer pass." Yoshitsune asked further, "Have pitfalls or caltrops been laid below the cliff?" and Tsuneharu replied, "The enemy relies on the steepness, and I have not heard that they have made any such preparations." Yoshitsune then commanded his officers and men: "A deer has four legs, and a horse has four legs. The only differences are the mane and the roundness of the hoof. I do not know about the horses of the western provinces, but with eastern horses, where a deer can pass, a horse can pass too." And he made Tsuneharu his guide (Note: according to the Heike Monogatari, the day happened to fall, and he halted the army in the mountains for a while. Benkei brought an old man, and when Yoshitsune asked, "Who are you?" he answered, "A hunter of this mountain." Yoshitsune, pleased, asked about the way of attack and wished to make him a guide. The old man declined on account of age and weakness and himself recommended his son Kumaō, aged eighteen. Yoshitsune at once had him undergo the coming-of-age ceremony and gave him a name. And he said, "Your father is called Washio Shōji Takehisa. You shall be called Washio Saburō Yoshihisa"). At this time night had not yet ended, and they rested for a while in the mountains. Sanehira had already gone toward the western gate, and Noriyori was attacking the eastern gate. On the seventh, Yoshitsune intended to descend Hiyodorigoe at dawn, and first sent several horses down ahead as a test; some were hurt and some were not. Seeing this, Yoshitsune said: "Even when horses are let go down by themselves, this is how it goes. If the riders take care, why should we fear falling and being hurt? There are four techniques for riding at a gallop over steep ground, but the essence lies wholly in the mind. Take my way of riding as your model." And he went forward ahead of all. The others descended one after another like a string of fish, and not one was hurt. He then set the troops in order, raised the banners, and with a great cry drove straight ahead. At this time the enemy was concentrating on defending the two gates, east and west. The rear of the fortress relied on the steepness and had no defenses, so when Yoshitsune's army arrived, they were startled and thrown into disorder, lost all discipline, and killed one another. Yoshitsune then set fire to the enemy camps; the wind was strong and the flames fierce, smoke and dust darkened the air, and the garrison fell into great confusion and could no longer hold the east and west gates. The troops of Noriyori and Sanehira stormed into the fortress, Munemori, bearing the Emperor Antoku, fled to the sea, and the rest of the army collapsed and fled. They were pursued along the shore, and more than two thousand heads were taken, among them ten of the enemy commanders, beginning with Taira-no-Michimori, Echizen-no-kami (Note: this work says nine, but here the Gyokukai is followed). Taira-no-Shigehira was taken prisoner, and the others captured or drowned could not be counted. On the ninth they returned in triumph (Note: this work says the tenth, but here the Azuma Kagami is followed). Noriyori and Yoshitsune asked leave to hang the heads they had taken at the prison gate in the capital. The Cloistered Emperor assembled the court nobles to deliberate on it. All said, "Since ancient times there is no precedent for cutting off the heads of court nobles and exposing them in the road. Moreover, the Taira are a house that was maternal kin to the previous court and has rendered meritorious service, so they should not be exposed." Yoshitsune submitted a further memorial, saying: "My late father Yoshitomo exerted himself for the royal house at the time of the Hōgen disturbance. Later, however, he was deceived by Fujiwara-no-Nobuyori and put to death, and his head was exposed. The Taira were once a house that served the court as court nobles, but now, as rebel subjects, they are punished and executed. Compared with your servant's late father, how do the two weigh? That your servants, reverently receiving the imperial will, fought with all their strength heedless of their lives, was to make the imperial might shine and to wipe away the shame of our fathers and forebears. If this request is not granted, how shall we hereafter be able to destroy the enemies of the court?" The Cloistered Emperor had no choice but to permit it (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki. The Gyokukai says that Noriyori and Yoshitsune submitted that "the corpse of Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka was exposed in the road, and not to expose the Taira now is truly contrary to reason," and that in the court discussion it was said, "The heads of court nobles ought not to be exposed in the road. But the Taira's guilt is different from Yoshinaka's, and all the more so as they were maternal kin to the previous court"; but the outcome is not clear, and there is nothing now by which to examine it). In the eighth month, Yoshitsune was appointed Sa-emon-no-jō, Junior Lieutenant of the Left Gate Guards, and made Kebiishi, Police Commissioner (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki, the Heike Monogatari, the Sankaiki, and the Azuma Kagami). Yoshitsune had once gone to Yoritomo and asked that he be allowed to petition the court for one office. Yoritomo disliked Yoshitsune acting on his own authority in the army, suppressed the request and did not petition, and first recommended that Noriyori be appointed Mikawa-no-kami. When Yoshitsune received his appointment, he quickly sent a messenger to report it to Yoritomo and himself explained, "What is given by the court cannot be declined," but Yoritomo suspected that he had sought it himself and became still more displeased (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). In this month Taira-no-Nobukane gathered remnants of the Taira and held Takino in Ise (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki). At this time Nobukane's three sons, Kaneshige, Nobushige, and Kanetoki, were hiding in the capital, so Yoshitsune summoned and killed them (Note: following the Sankaiki and the Genpei Seisuiki). He then sent troops and attacked and destroyed Nobukane (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki). In the ninth month, Yoshitsune was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower, and the post of Kebiishi was kept as before (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Sankaiki). Soon afterward he was permitted to attend the Retired Emperor in the palace (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Genpei Seisuiki).

¶In the first month of the first year of Bunji (1185), Yoshitsune asked leave to attack the Taira. In the court deliberations there was the opinion that "the remnants of the Taira are still hiding in the capital and secretly plotting disorder; Yoshitsune should be kept to guard the city and his officers sent to Shikoku." Yoshitsune submitted a further memorial: "If the pursuit is delayed for two or three months, the army in the western seas will not have food to last. If Noriyori turns back to the capital, the soldiers of the Dazaifu jurisdiction will gradually come to follow the Taira, and the campaign will become still harder." The Cloistered Emperor at last gave his permission (Note: following the Kikki). When Yoshitsune was about to set out, he reported to the Cloistered Emperor: "It has been three years since the Taira fled west, and they have invaded and plundered the provinces and oppressed the people. They must be removed with all speed. Until your servant has destroyed these rebels, he will not return alive to the capital." He intended to proceed with his troops by the Nankaidō (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki. This work gives more than a hundred thousand horsemen, but the Nagato text of the Heike Monogatari says that the Hōgan's force was more than six thousand horsemen, riding in a hundred and fifty ships, so the true number was probably more than that. Yet the figure in this work is very large and open to the suspicion of exaggeration. In the later part of the Azuma Kagami's account of the Yashima battle, it is said that warriors of the east under Kajiwara Kagetoki arrived at Yashima in more than a hundred and forty ships, but this too gives no number of troops and so is not adopted). He prepared his ships at Fukushima in Watanabe, but many of his officers were from the east and unaccustomed to naval warfare, and the debate was loud and tumultuous. Kajiwara Kagetoki had accompanied the army as military inspector and wished to fit the ships with sakaro, reverse oars. Yoshitsune asked, "What is a sakaro?" and Kagetoki answered: "Setting oars at the stern as well is what we call sakaro. In a land battle one rides a horse and advances or retreats as one pleases. A battle on ships is not so; advancing is easy but retreating is hard. The reason we now want to fit reverse oars is that, if the enemy is firm, we can retreat by using the stern, and if the enemy breaks, we can turn the helm and press forward." Yoshitsune said, "In every battle, even when the commander fights bravely and urges on his men, the men still want to withdraw. How much more so if one is already planning to flee before the battle begins; how could one win?" Kagetoki said, "To know only how to advance and not how to retreat is what we call a wild-boar warrior. That is the cause of danger. The General is young and full of spirit, and that is why he speaks so." Yoshitsune, changing color, said: "I do not know about myself, but whether boar or deer, I take pleasure only in fighting hard and wiping out the enemy. One who faces the enemy must be resolved to die. If he is sparing of his own life, he had better not serve his lord. If you yourself are given the command, set a thousand or a hundred reverse oars. I shall not do such a thing." Kagetoki came to resent Yoshitsune because of this (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki). On the sixteenth day of the second month, Yoshitsune was about to set out for Yashima. The Cloistered Emperor, thinking that "if Yoshitsune leaves the home provinces for ten days the capital will be even more thinly guarded," sent his close retainer Takashina-no-Yasutsune, Ōkura-kyō, Minister of the Treasury, to persuade him and try to hold him back (Note: following the Gyokukai). Yasutsune visited his lodging and said, "I am a man who knows nothing of the art of war, but I would say one word to you. A commander should keep himself dignified and weighty and lead the whole army; such things as the vanguard can be left to a deputy commander." Yoshitsune answered, "I have an aim of my own. If I can lose my life ahead of my soldiers, that is enough for me" (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). At this time a south wind blew violently and had not stopped for two days, and since the rails of the ships were much damaged, he halted the army to have them repaired. At night the wind changed and blew harder still. Yoshitsune ordered, "Put out the ships." The shipmasters asked to wait until the wind abated. Yoshitsune said: "The wind is violent but fair. If the wind drops and the sea becomes calm, the enemy will surely strengthen their guard. If we strike now when they do not expect it, we shall surely win." And he ordered, "Cut down any shipmaster who does not obey." Ise Yoshimori and the others nocked arrows and threatened the shipmasters, and the shipmasters, greatly frightened, at last put out. Those who followed were only five ships under Tashiro Nobutsuna and others, with only a hundred and fifty horsemen. Yoshitsune commanded: "Light torches only on my ship, and let the others not use them. I fear the enemy would learn how many or how few our troops are." The ships ran as fast as if flying, and a passage that ordinarily takes three days they made from the hour of Ushi to the hour of U, and at last reached Amako-ura in Awa (Note: with reference to the Azuma Kagami, the Genpei Seisuiki, and the Heike Monogatari. The Heike Monogatari also says that he left Watanabe on the sixteenth and reached Awa the next day. The entries of the Gyokukai for the twenty-seventh of the second month and the fourth of the third month all agree with this. But the Genpei Seisuiki says that Yoshitsune cast off his moorings on the seventeenth of the second month and reached Amako-ura in Awa the next day. On the seventeenth of the second month Yoshitsune was fighting at Katsuura in Awa, so there is a contradiction even within one book. The entry for the sixteenth of the second month in the Azuma Kagami says Yoshitsune cast off his moorings, and the entry for the eighteenth says, "Yesterday, as Yoshitsune was about to set out from Watanabe, rain and a great wind arose violently. At the hour of Ushi he put out, and at the hour of U he reached Katsuura"; this too contradicts itself within one book, and the accounts in the various books differ and are hard to decide. However, according to the text of the report Yoshitsune sent to Kamakura by messenger on the eighth of the third month, in the Azuma Kagami, it seems closest to the facts that he set out on the seventeenth and reached Katsuura at the hour of U, so for the present the Azuma Kagami is followed). Looking toward the shore, Yoshitsune saw that the banners were all red, and said to his followers: "The enemy is already prepared. Get ready. The horses in the ships are standing with trembling legs, and if we simply land them they will not be fit for urgent use. Have the grooms swim them ashore first." All obeyed. Yoshitsune went ashore at the head, urged on the troops, and fought hard; he took prisoner the enemy's garrison commander Sakurama Yoshitsura, advanced to a stockade, and attacked its commander Sakurama Yoshitō (Note: the Azuma Kagami calls him Sakuraba-no-suke). Yoshitō abandoned the stockade and fled. Yoshitsune then summoned a local man and asked the name of the place, and the man answered, "Katsuura." Yoshitsune was pleased and said, "This is a good omen. The army will surely have great advantage," and pressed on in high spirits. On the road they met more than a hundred armored men coming, none of whom had banners. Thinking it an enemy ambush, Yoshitsune had Ise Yoshimori gallop out to question them. Yoshimori came back with their leader. Yoshitsune asked, "Who are you?" and he answered: "Your servant is a man of this province, Kondō Chikaie. In recent years the realm has been in disorder and I did not know whom to side with, but I secretly heard that the banners of the righteous army were coming toward this province, and I wish to join your command and be employed." Yoshitsune made him his guide and defeated the troops of Taguchi Shigenao at Katsumiya. That same night he pushed on and reached Nakayama (Note: the Heike Monogatari gives Ōsakagoe). By chance a soldier passed by carrying a letter. Yoshitsune asked, "Where are you going?" and he said, "From the capital to Yashima." He asked further, "Whose letter do you carry?" and the man hid it and did not answer. Yoshitsune said falsely, "I am a man of Awa, and I am going to Yashima on a summons. I hear that Kurō Hōgan has lined up his ships at the mouth of the Yodo River and means soon to attack the palace at Yashima. Since you come from the capital, you must have seen his army. How many troops are there?" The soldier, not realizing who he was, told the truth, saying, "What I carry is a letter from the Kita-no-mandokoro of the Rokujō Regent to the Naifu of Yashima." Yoshitsune asked, "What does the letter say?" and he answered: "How should I know? I only heard that Kurō Hōgan has already left the capital. Kurō is a sharp commander, and the valor of Kiso-dono was like that of a demon, yet he destroyed him in a single battle; his fierce power is fearful, so I was told to convey the message that you there should repair your ramparts and gather troops to be prepared. The words of the letter are probably the same. When I passed the mouth of the Yodo a while ago, the troops were like massed clouds. You too should hurry to Yashima." Yoshitsune asked further, "Are you going to Yashima for the first time?" and he replied: "The lady of the mandokoro is the Naifu's younger sister. Since the Taira fled west, she has always sent word of conditions in the capital. I have often served as her messenger." Yoshitsune said, "Then you must know the lie of Yashima well. I hear that the place has natural defenses; how is it in fact?" (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki.) The soldier answered, "Below the fortress, when the tide is in one cannot approach except by boat, but when the tide is out the water barely reaches a horse's belly, and its steepness is not much to rely on" (Note: following the Nagato text of the Heike Monogatari). Yoshitsune then took the letter from him, tied him to a tree, and went on. The next morning he advanced on Yashima and set fire to the houses of Mure and Takamatsu. Munemori left troops behind to hold them off and, bearing the Emperor Antoku and the Nyoin, fled to the sea. When Yoshitsune pressed upon the fortress, the garrison defended and fought. Yoshitsune said, "The enemy are many and we are few. It is advantageous to set fire outside the fortress and attack from one side," and had the soldiers burn the houses. At this time a very strong west wind blew, the fire spread to the fortress itself, smoke and flames filled the sky, the garrison fled in alarm and scrambled into the ships. Yoshitsune pursued them with only six horsemen, including Shigetada. The soldiers arrived one after another, and the momentum rose all the higher. The enemy set up a fan with a red disc of the sun on the bow of a ship, had a beautiful court lady hold it up and display it. The ship lay about seven tan from the shore. Yoshitsune said to Shigetada, "This is the enemy beckoning us. You shoot it for me," but Shigetada declined, so he ordered Nasu-no-Yoichi Munetaka. Yoshitsune charged Munetaka again. At that moment a wind rose and the ship rocked, and Munetaka drew his bow and waited until his aim was steady. Both armies stopped fighting and watched. Munetaka cut the fan's shaft with a single shot, and sea and land alike rang with cries of admiration, and the shouts of joy did not cease. Presently the Taira advanced their ships and shot in volleys, and our soldiers fought hard to meet them. The enemy drew back somewhat, and the commanders, pressing their advantage, vied in riding their horses into the sea. At this time Yoshitsune repeatedly changed his dress and wore no conspicuous armor, so that people could not tell him apart. But Kazusa Kagekiyo and others took note of Yoshitsune and tried to grapple with him. Etchū Moritsugu tried to hook Yoshitsune with a long hook. Yoshitsune swung his sword to ward it off, but by mistake dropped the bow in his hand. While he was trying to pick it up, the enemy pressed in still harder. The mounted warriors among his followers shouted, "General, abandon the bow!" but Yoshitsune, warding off with his right hand, drew the bow toward him with his left and picked it up. The officers all said, "General, how can you slight your own irreplaceable person for the sake of a single bow?" Yoshitsune answered: "I did not grudge the bow. If my bow were like that of my uncle Tametomo, it might do to let it fall on purpose and show it to the enemy. But my bow is weak, and if I dropped it, I would be scorned. That is why I ran the risk of retrieving it." The officers all admired his words (Note: following the Heike Monogatari). Munemori had Taira-no-Noritsune shoot at Yoshitsune. Noritsune was skilled at drawing a strong bow, and, leading more than thirty brave men, he landed and offered battle. Yoshitsune had Doi Sanehira, Hatakeyama Shigetada, and others hold him off, but many of the picked men of his guard were hit by arrows and died. That night Yoshitsune encamped at Mure and Takamatsu, and the enemy encamped in a ring on the site of the Yashima fortress, the distance between them being about one ri. The next morning Yoshitsune led seventy or eighty stalwart horsemen and pressed upon their camp, fighting hard, and the Taira finally fled to Shido-ura. Yoshitsune pursued them, and the Taira fled further to Hakozaki in Chikuzen, but the people of the province refused them entry, so they shifted their ships to the seas of Dan-no-ura, Akama, and thereabouts. Tanzō, the Kumano Bettō, came to join Yoshitsune with two hundred warships, and Kōno Michinobu also submitted with his followers. Thus the Nankaidō was nearly pacified, and only Taguchi Shigeyoshi held Awa and kept to the Taira. Earlier, Shigeyoshi's son Shigenao had led three thousand horsemen to Iyo to attack Michinobu, but Yoshitsune had Ise Yoshimori entice and induce him to surrender. Yoshimori brought Shigenao back to Shido, and Yoshitsune had Shigenao write a letter in his own hand urging his father Shigeyoshi to surrender. Shigeyoshi sent in his submission to Yoshitsune, and thereupon the soldiers of Awa all surrendered (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki). On the twenty-second, Kajiwara Kagetoki and the naval forces under him all arrived (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Genpei Seisuiki). Kagetoki asked to be the vanguard. Yoshitsune said, "If I were not here, that would do, but as long as I am here, how could I fall behind you?" Kagetoki said, "You are the great general. You should not contend with your deputy for the vanguard." Yoshitsune said: "The so-called great general is the lord of Kamakura. I am the commissioner of the army, and in my position I am no different from you (Note: following the Heike Monogatari). At the earlier battle of Ichi-no-Tani I braved the steep slope of Hiyodorigoe and in an instant broke a hundred thousand of the enemy. When setting out from Watanabe, the generals all feared wind and waves and would not follow. I led the troops of five ships and went straight to Yashima, and in no time stormed the ramparts. Now the enemy is on the verge of destruction. How could I make you the vanguard? I myself shall go ahead of all the generals and decide the battle in one stroke, and so make real my repayment to the lord of Kamakura" (Note: following the Nagato text of the Heike Monogatari). Kagetoki muttered in reproach, "This man is not fit to be a commander." Yoshitsune was greatly enraged and was about to cut him down with his own hand. Miura Yoshizumi, Doi Sanehira, and others stepped between them and admonished him sternly with all the words they could find. Yoshitsune restrained his anger and desisted (Note: following the Heike Monogatari). At dawn on the twenty-fourth of the third month, Yoshitsune put out more than eight hundred warships and advanced against the Taira on the sea. Yamaga Hidetō, together with Kikuchi Takanao and Harada Tanenao, led more than five hundred ships and loosed arrows in volleys, and our troops faltered somewhat. At this moment something like a white banner appeared in the air and was seen above our ships. Two white doves also flew and gathered on the flagpole. Yoshitsune took this for divine protection, washed his hands and rinsed his mouth and worshipped, and the soldiers were all glad (Note: with reference to the Azuma Kagami, the Genpei Seisuiki, and the Heike Monogatari). Yoshitsune encouraged the troops and fought a bloody battle, and Taguchi Shigeyoshi secretly sent a man to tell Yoshitsune, "Those aboard the ship bearing the sovereign are all low-ranking soldiers; the nobles have all boarded the warships." Yoshitsune advanced his troops and pressed upon them. Shigeyoshi, with more than three hundred ships, responded to him. The enemy army was heavily defeated, and our soldiers, pressing their advantage, burst into the enemy ships (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki). Thereupon the Nii-no-ama, together with Azechi-no-tsubone, holding the Divine Seal and the Sacred Sword, and clasping the child sovereign, threw herself into the sea and died. The Empress Dowager followed and threw herself in as well. Watanabe Nazumu hooked her with a long hook. Dainagon-no-suke said to Nazumu, "This is the Nyoin. You must show restraint." Nazumu delivered her to Yoshitsune's ship. Dainagon-no-suke tried to enter the sea carrying the karabitsu chest of the Naishidokoro, but soldiers boarded the ship and stopped her. The Divine Seal also floated up on the sea, and Kataoka Tsuneharu recovered it (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Heike Monogatari). The whole Taira clan sank into the sea and died. Munemori and his sons Kiyomune and Yoshimune were taken prisoner, and besides them Taira-no-Tokitada and his son Tokizane, Taira-no-Nobumoto, Fujiwara-no-Tadaaki, Minamoto-no-Norikiyo, Minamoto-no-Suesada, Taira-no-Tsugukage, Gotō Nobuyasu, Yano Iemura, Settsu-hōgan Morizumi, the court ladies Sochi-no-suke, Dainagon-no-suke, and Sochi-no-tsubone, the monks Zenshin, Chūkai, Nōen, and Gyōmyō, and also Kikuchi Takanao and Harada Tanenao all surrendered (Note: following the Azuma Kagami, with reference to the Genpei Seisuiki and the Heike Monogatari. In the various books some persons have a given name but lack a surname, and here the genealogies of the various houses are followed). The western seas were pacified, and Yoshitsune reported the victory to the capital. The Cloistered Emperor was greatly pleased (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki and the Heike Monogatari) and sent a messenger to console him for his labors (Note: following the Azuma Kagami).

¶In the fourth month, Yoshitsune, bearing the sacred regalia and escorting the Empress Dowager and the Second Prince, returned to the capital with Munemori and the other prisoners. Court and country alike bowed to him and all praised his achievement, but Yoritomo inwardly hated him. Once, when Yoritomo had sent Noriyori and Yoshitsune west at the head of troops, he had wished to test their bearing and had them draw hot water and present a hand-washing basin. Noriyori could not bear to hold it, but Yoshitsune stepped forward and poured the hot water without any change of expression. Yoritomo inwardly stood in awe of him (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki). Presently Noriyori took command of military affairs in Kyushu, and Yoritomo had Chiba Tsunetane and Wada Yoshimori supervise him. Yoshitsune took command of military affairs in Shikoku, and Kajiwara Kagetoki supervised him. Noriyori consulted Tsunetane and Yoshimori on every matter, but Yoshitsune on every matter rejected Kagetoki's opinion and decided on his own. Kagetoki, brimming with resentment, secretly reported: "Yoshitsune, arrogant over his merits, abuses his authority, and the officers and men are all anxious about it." Yoritomo was angry, sent letters to Kagetoki and Tashiro Nobutsuna, and secretly ordered the officers and men not to obey Yoshitsune's orders. Yoshitsune sent Kamei Rokurō to Kamakura and sent a written oath declaring that he had no disloyal intent, but Yoritomo would not accept it (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). In the fifth month, Yoshitsune himself escorted Munemori and the other prisoners toward Kamakura. When he reached Utsumi in Owari, he had Munemori and his son dismount and walk seven times around Yoshitomo's grave, worship and weep, and then pass on (Note: following the Yasaka text of the Heike Monogatari). Yoshitsune first sent a messenger to report that he would enter Kamakura the next day, but Yoritomo merely sent Hōjō Tokimasa to the post-station of Sakawa to receive the prisoners. Yoshitsune was not permitted to enter the city of Kamakura and was held at the post-station of Koshigoe (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). Kagetoki reported to Yoritomo: "At the earlier battle of Ichi-no-Tani, when Taira-no-Shigehira was taken prisoner, the other captives were in Kaba-dono's (Noriyori's) hands. The Hōgan was angry and said, 'Now Kaba-dono is accomplishing his task by means of other men's merit; how can I alone lead the prisoners?' and it very nearly came to a quarrel. Doi Sanehira and I mediated and at last it was settled, but, having watched the Hōgan's conduct, I think that he is not a man who will in the end stand below others." Yoritomo, on hearing this, grew greatly wary (Note: following the Heike Monogatari). Yoshitsune therefore wrote a letter and made his explanation through Ōe-no-Hiromoto, but Yoritomo never agreed to see him (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Heike Monogatari. The Nagato text of the Heike Monogatari and the Genpei Seisuiki both say that Yoshitsune entered Kamakura and met Yoritomo, but that Yoritomo's words and expression were such as could not be trusted; this is probably mistaken). In the sixth month, Yoshitsune was again made to supervise the prisoners and sent back to the capital. Yoshitsune was greatly disappointed and left in gloom. Yoritomo, hearing that his words contained considerable bitterness, confiscated twenty-four of Yoshitsune's holdings (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). In the eighth month, Yoshitsune was appointed Iyo-no-kami and concurrently Inmaya-no-bettō, Superintendent of the Retired Emperor's Stables. Yoritomo placed jitō, stewards, in Iyo so that Yoshitsune could not manage the affairs of the province (Note: with reference to the Gyokukai and the Genpei Seisuiki). At this time his uncle Yukiie was on bad terms with Yoritomo, and Yoritomo meant to remove him. Yukiie lived in hiding in the capital and was secretly in contact with Yoshitsune. In the ninth month, Yoritomo sent Kajiwara Kagesue to the capital, had him go to Yoshitsune's residence and order him face to face to attack Yukiie, and had him also sound out his intentions. Yoshitsune happened to be ill and did not see him, and met him only after an interval of a day or two. Kagesue conveyed his whole message. Yoshitsune answered: "Even a common robber, if he is a criminal, Yoshitsune will go and arrest in person. How much more Yukiie. But this is not something that a deputy commander can manage. I shall wait for my illness to heal and gradually take steps. You may take this word back and report it." When Yoritomo heard this report he was angrier still and was certain that Yoshitsune was siding with Yukiie. Kagetoki added to it still further and fabricated slanders (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). Because the Kenreimon-in had been on Yoshitsune's ship at the battle of Dan-no-ura, Yoritomo suspected that Yoshitsune was secretly intimate with her. Originally Yoritomo had had Yoshitsune marry a daughter of Kawagoe Shigeyori, but Yoshitsune had in addition married a daughter of Taira-no-Tokitada, and his appointment as Sa-emon-no-jō and Kebiishi had also all been against Yoritomo's wishes. By now the rift of resentment had grown ever deeper, and Yoritomo resolved firmly to remove him. Yoritomo said to Shigetada and others: "Yoshitsune has repeatedly won great merit and his fame shines brightly. Moreover, in his appointments and ranks he has preceded me, his elder brother, though he is the younger. His power almost surpasses my own. Is there anyone who will go and strike him down?" but the commanders fell silent and none would answer. Yoritomo then ordered Tosabō Shōshun to go to the capital and secretly plot against him (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki). At this time some of the officers and men of the Kantō had long resented Yoritomo and often secretly sent word of their sympathy to Yoshitsune. Moreover, Yoritomo, relying on his power, had gradually come to slight the court and had greatly gone against the will of the Cloistered Emperor. Yoshitsune perceived this and had once secretly submitted memorials, and the Cloistered Emperor had granted most of them (Note: with reference to the Azuma Kagami and the Gyokukai). Now Yoshitsune went to the Cloistered Emperor's residence and memorialized: "The former Bizen-no-kami Yukiie is on bad terms with Yoritomo, so Yoritomo means to remove him. Yukiie, too, is about to raise troops. Your servant sought to calm this but did not succeed, and your servant himself is also hated by Yoritomo. I hear that Yoritomo is plotting to send troops against your servant. For this reason your servant joined hands with Yukiie. Your servant formerly, in Yoritomo's place, received the imperial command and attacked the rebels, fought regardless of his life, and at last won great merit. Yet this is how Yoritomo treats your servant. Your servant knows that he cannot escape. He will go to Sunomata and resolve to die under a single arrow. I beg that you grant an edict and let me attack Yoritomo." The Cloistered Emperor commanded: "You should persuade Yukiie well and strive to keep him from rising." Yoshitsune again petitioned, but it was not granted, and he asked leave to go to Chinzei. The Cloistered Emperor was concerned about the movement of the imperial seat and had the ministers deliberate on it (Note: with reference to the Gyokukai, the Azuma Kagami, and the Genpei Seisuiki). Presently Shōshun arrived in the capital but did not call on Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune was greatly suspicious and sent a messenger to summon him. Shōshun came at once. Yoshitsune asked, "What business has brought you?" and Shōshun answered falsely, "Shōshun was originally a monk of Nara, and the pilgrimage to the Seven Great Temples has long been my wish, so I have come for that." Yoshitsune sneered and said: "You are not a man to go to the Seven Great Temples. You came on the order of Nii-dono (Yoritomo) to strike me down. Now I could seize you, but as you are my elder brother's envoy I do not wish to strike the first blow. Therefore I shall not use rough means." Shōshun still firmly denied it, wrote an oath himself, burned it, and drank the ashes (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki). That night Shōshun led more than sixty horsemen of the Kodama band and attacked the mansion at Rokujō-Horikawa. By chance the men of Yoshitsune's retinue were out and away, and only seven soldiers were present. Yoshitsune at once opened the gate and burst out, fought this way and that, and the enemy troops broke and scattered. Presently the men of his retinue gathered one by one, and Yukiie also rushed to the rescue (Note: with reference to the Gyokukai, the Azuma Kagami, and the Genpei Seisuiki). Shōshun fled and hid on Mount Kurama, but the monks of that mountain had long been on friendly terms with Yoshitsune, so they searched for him, bound him, and sent him to Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune reproached him: "You broke your oath; why does divine punishment not fall so swiftly?" Shōshun said, "I only carried out the order of Nii-dono. Why should I suffer divine punishment?" and went on cursing without stopping. When Yoshitsune struck him on the cheek, Shōshun said without changing color, "This face is not my face. Take it to be the face of Nii-dono." Yoshitsune thought his words brave and wished to spare him, and asked, "Do you wish to return to Kamakura?" Shōshun answered: "From the time I left Kamakura I did not expect to return alive. Now that I am unfortunately a prisoner, I count a swift death an honor. Cut me down quickly." Yoshitsune finally cut him down (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki and the Nagato text of the Heike Monogatari). And he said to those about him, "A man who serves his lord should be like this," and the soldiers were all moved and praised his words (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki). Yoshitsune, together with Yukiie, then pressed hard for an imperial edict, and the Cloistered Emperor had no choice but to grant it (Note: following the Gyokukai, the Azuma Kagami, and the Genpei Seisuiki). Formerly, when Yoritomo had attached Adachi Kiyotsune to Yoshitsune, he had said, "This man is of low rank but of ability. You may use him. In truth, however, he is a spy." When Shōshun had been defeated again and again, Kiyotsune galloped back to Kamakura and reported it (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki and the Heike Monogatari). Yoritomo then meant to lead the generals himself against Yukiie and Yoshitsune, and advanced his troops as far as the Kisegawa (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). Yoshitsune planned to take refuge in Chinzei and, through Takashina-no-Yasutsune, memorialized the Cloistered Emperor: "If your servant remained here and resisted the troops of the east, the capital would be thrown into turmoil. I therefore wish to withdraw for a while to Chinzei. I beg that you grant an edict of the Retired Emperor and show it to the people of the nine provinces." The Cloistered Emperor again permitted it (Note: following the Gyokukai, the Genpei Seisuiki, and the Heike Monogatari). On the third day of the tenth month, together with Yukiie, Taira-no-Tokizane, his half-brother Fujiwara-no-Yoshinari, Jijū, Chamberlain, and his son-in-law Minamoto-no-Aritsuna, Uemon-no-jō, Lieutenant of the Right Gate Guards, he set out at last for Chinzei. When Yoritomo heard that Yoshitsune had already left the capital, he turned back to Kamakura (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). While Yoshitsune was on guard duty in the capital, he was wholly modest and reverent toward his superiors and combined dignity with kindness, and so the gentry and people praised him. When he left, the people of the capital all regretted it (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki). When he reached Kawajiri in Settsu, men of that place, Tada Yukitsuna and others, led troops to meet him in battle. Yoshitsune defeated them, advanced to Daimotsu-no-ura, and put out to sea. But a great wind suddenly arose, the ships drifted and tossed, and he lost touch with Yukiie. Those who followed him were only Ise Yoshimori, Hori Kagemitsu, Benkei, and his concubine Shizuka (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki, with reference to the Gyokukai and the Azuma Kagami). The Cloistered Emperor, fearing Yoritomo's anger, ordered the provincial governor of Mimasaka to attack Yukiie and Yoshitsune (Note: following the Gyokukai, the Azuma Kagami, and the Genpei Seisuiki). In the official order, because the name Yoshitsune resembled that of Yoshitsune, son of the Minister of the Right Fujiwara-no-Kanezane, and was thus to be avoided, it was changed to Yoshiyuki and then to Yoshiakira, and orders were given to search for his whereabouts and arrest him (Note: following the Gyokukai and the Azuma Kagami). Yoshitsune could not go to the western seas, and fled to Yamato and hid on Mount Yoshino. The Shugyō Kakuhan noticed this and had unruly monks search for him (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Yasaka text of the Heike Monogatari). Yoshitsune stayed there five days but at last fled to Tōnomine and took shelter with Jūjibō. The abbot entertained him very generously and said to Yoshitsune, "This mountain is narrow and the monks are few, and it will be hard to keep you hidden. The land of Totsukawa is steep and men and horses cannot easily pass. Go there," and had eight of his disciples escort him (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). Yoshitsune returned again to the capital and lay in hiding for several months. In the second month of the third year (1187), together with his wife, of the Kawagoe clan, and his followers, disguised as mountain ascetics, he went by way of the Hokurikudō to Mutsu and again relied on Hidehira. Hidehira lodged him in the mansion at Koromogawa (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Yasaka text of the Heike Monogatari). That winter Hidehira died. On his deathbed he left instructions to his eldest son Yasuhira and the others to take Yoshitsune as commander-in-chief and entrust the affairs of the state wholly to his direction. In the fifth year (1189), Yoritomo secretly induced Yasuhira to attack Yoshitsune. On the last day of the intercalary fourth month, Yasuhira sent troops to attack Koromogawa (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). Washio Tsuneharu and the others fought hard and died in battle. At this point Yoshitsune stabbed his wife and children to death and then killed himself. He was then thirty-one. Yasuhira sent his head to Kamakura, and all who saw it shed tears (Note: following the Azuma Kagami, with reference to the Genpei Seisuiki and the Yasaka text of the Heike Monogatari. There is a book in the world called the Gikeiki, which tells his deeds in the greatest detail, but its content is cluttered and jumbled and contains many forced accounts, though one cannot say that all of it is baseless invention. However, there is nothing else to serve as evidence and it is hard to tell true from false, so it is not adopted at all. It is popularly handed down that Yoshitsune did not die in the mansion at Koromogawa but fled to Ezo. Now, examining the Azuma Kagami, on the day Tsuchinoto-Hitsuji of the intercalary fourth month, Fujiwara-no-Yasuhira attacked and killed Yoshitsune. On the day Kanoto-Mi of the fifth month, the news arrived, and they were about to send the head to Kamakura, but at this time Minamoto-no-Yoritomo was in the midst of the celebration of the dedication of the pagoda at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman shrine, and so he sent a messenger to stop it. On the day Kanoto-Ushi of the sixth month, Yasuhira's messenger came to Koshigoe bearing the head, which was placed in a lacquered box and steeped in fine wine. Yoritomo ordered Wada Yoshimori and Kajiwara Kagetoki to inspect it. From the day Tsuchinoto-Hitsuji to the day Kanoto-Ushi there is an interval of forty-three days, and since the season was one of fierce heat, even though it was put in a box and steeped in wine, how could it have failed to rot and fall apart? Who could have told whether it was genuine or false? If so, did Yoshitsune pretend to be dead and flee away? To this day the people of Ezo revere Yoshitsune and worship him as a god. Probably there is some reason for it).

¶In the speed with which he handled troops, Yoshitsune had no equal. For that reason he overthrew Yoshinaka and annihilated the Taira, and his achievements were truly swift. Yet he was hated by Yoritomo and in the end lost his life. People all still tell of his military strategy.

Ise Yoshimori

¶Ise Yoshimori was a man of Ise. At first he was called Gō Saburō. He once killed his mother-in-law's husband and was long held in prison, but was released under an amnesty, went to live in the district of Aramaki in Kōzuke province, and made his living as a highwayman. When Yoshitsune was on his way to Mutsu, he passed through Kōzuke and took shelter in Yoshimori's house. Yoshitsune, seeing his appearance, said, "This is a remarkable man, worth employing," and the two made a pact and entered the relation of lord and retainer (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki. The Heiji Monogatari says that Yoshitsune went to Matsuida in Kōzuke and took shelter in a certain house, and, the master being a sturdy man, drew him into his following when he attacked the Taira, gave him the name Yoshimori, and had him called Ise Saburō. In the Kyoto text it is said that Yoshitsune, seeing that Yoshimori's house was wealthy and that his bearing was out of the ordinary, tried to form a tie with him, but Yoshimori suspected that some worthless gambler was trying to trap him, refused, and sent him away. Later, when Yoshitsune heard of Yoritomo's rising and hastened from Mutsu, he passed through Kōzuke and drew him in as one of his men. Which is correct is not known). He followed the army and repeatedly won merit. At the battle of Yashima, Taira-no-Noritsune led troops resolved to die and offered battle, but Yoshimori, with Doi Sanehira and others, fought hard and held him off. When the sun happened to set and both sides withdrew their troops, the armies had not slept for three days, and the officers and soldiers, all exhausted, fell into deep sleep. Yoshitsune feared that the enemy would scout and take advantage of this to attack, and climbed to a high place to keep watch. Yoshimori, together with Kataoka Tsuneharu, patrolled the camp all night on guard. That night Noritsune and his men planned to attack Yoshitsune, but in the end could not carry it out (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki, with reference to the Heike Monogatari. The name Kataoka Tsuneharu follows the Nagato text). After Yoshitsune had broken Yashima, he ordered Yoshimori to entice Taguchi Shigenao into surrender. Earlier, Shigenao, on orders from Munemori, had led three thousand horsemen to Iyo, defeated Kōno Michinobu, and was on his way back. Yoshimori went toward him with a dozen or so horsemen, all wearing no armor, and first sent soldiers disguised as travelers ahead. Shigenao, leading his troops, saw them and asked, "Where do you come from?" and they answered, "We are going from Yashima to Iyo." He asked, "What has happened at Yashima?" and they answered: "Kurō Hōgan has attacked and broken Yashima with a great army, and many of the Naifu's family, from the Naifu down, have been taken prisoner. Sakurama-no-tayū was captured at Katsuura, and Minbu-taifu fought, was defeated, and surrendered. The others were killed in battle or drowned. The Kumano Bettō and Kōno Shirō also follow him with their naval forces. Besides these, cavalry are gathering one after another from Shikoku and Kyushu, the coasts of Awa and Sanuki are filled with troops like clouds, and the Hōgan has halted his army to attack those who do not submit. Beyond this I know nothing." Shigenao, on hearing this, was aghast, and sighed, saying: "Surely it is not my fault that my father's cavalry went over to the enemy? Yet one cannot readily believe the words of passers-by." He advanced as far as the Kotozukuri Shrine and met Yoshimori. Yoshimori said: "Are you not Tanai-saemon? I am a retainer of the Minamoto house, Ise Saburō. I do not mean to fight you. There is one matter that I wish to tell you directly." Shigenao rode forward and drew near. Yoshimori said: "Our army has already broken Yashima, and the Naifu and his whole family have all been taken prisoner. Your father has already surrendered, and Sakurama-no-tayū has also been captured, and all are held in our camp. Your father longs to see you once and speaks of you day and night in tears. Such is the love between parent and child. I could not bear to hear it, and I came to let you know. If you want to fight, fight; if you want to surrender, surrender. If you wish to see your father again, I will plead for your father's life on your behalf." Shigenao, hearing this, took off his helmet, slackened his bow, and surrendered. Yoshimori said, "It is not proper to lead one who has already surrendered along with his soldiers," had all his followers dismissed, and went to Shido with only Shigenao. Yoshitsune praised him. Presently Shigeyoshi also submitted (Note: with reference to the Genpei Seisuiki and the Heike Monogatari). At the battle of Dan-no-ura, Yoshimori took Munemori and Kiyomune alive (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki and the Heike Monogatari). When Yoshitsune escorted Munemori, Yoshimori went along with him to Kamakura, but on the way he nearly came to a quarrel with Gotō Motokiyo over a retainer. Motokiyo was a retainer of Fujiwara-no-Yoshiyasu. Yoshiyasu and Yoshitsune together mediated and settled it, but Yoritomo heard of it and was angry, and as a result Yoshimori came to be hated by Yoritomo (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). When Yoshitsune was about to leave the capital, Yoshimori said, "Your servant takes leave of you here, but by the time you reach the western seas he will surely catch up and attend you," and returned to Ise and attacked Sudō Tsunetoshi, the guardian there, but could not win and fled and hid on Mount Suzuka. When Tsunetoshi pursued him, Yoshimori killed himself (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki. The name Sudō Tsunetoshi follows the Azuma Kagami. The Azuma Kagami's entry for the twenty-third day of the tenth month of the first year of Bunji says that a retainer of Yamanouchi Tsunetoshi came from Ise and said that "the Iyo-no-kami (Yoshitsune) is claiming an imperial edict and levying troops from the neighboring provinces," and on the nineteenth it says that the guardian's office was surrounded. This was probably surrounded by Yoshimori, and so it is noted here).

Satō Tsugunobu

¶Satō Tsugunobu was called Saburō. His younger brother Tadanobu was called Shirō. They were men of Mutsu. Their father Motoharu was Shinobu-no-shōji and was called Yu-no-shōji (Note: following the Azuma Kagami. The name Motoharu follows the Satō genealogy). Their mother was a daughter of Watari Jūrō Kiyotsuna, the youngest son of Fujiwara-no-Kiyohira (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Tsugunobu and Tadanobu, with Kamata Morimasa and Kamata Mitsumasa, served Yoshitsune and were called the Four Heavenly Kings (Note: following the Genpei Seisuiki. The Heiji Monogatari says that when Yoshitsune was about to go to Mutsu he secretly went to Izu, met Yoritomo, and took his leave, and Yoritomo said: "The wife of Shinobu Kotarō is a daughter of Ōkubo Tarō of Kōzuke and was thirteen years old. She once followed her father and was presented to the late lord (Yoshitomo); after her father's death she swore herself that she would never become the wife of a Taira, and went to Mutsu and married Kotarō and bore two sons, but now she is already a widow and a nun and possesses considerable wealth. You should go there and rely on her," and wrote a letter and gave it to him. Yoshitsune took the letter, met the nun, and the nun was glad and brought out her two sons to meet him. These were Tsugunobu and Tadanobu, who then served Yoshitsune. But according to the Azuma Kagami, the Shinobu-no-shōji died in battle in the fifth year of Bunji, so at that time his wife could not yet have been a widow. Moreover, that Yoshitsune met Yoritomo in Izu does not appear in any of the records. Even supposing that Yoshitsune had really met Yoritomo, how could Yoritomo have failed to tell him to rely on the powerful Hidehira and instead have had him rely on a widow and orphans? This account is therefore not adopted). At Yoshitsune's request, the brothers were both appointed Hyōe-no-jō, Lieutenants of the Guards (Note: the appointment as Hyōe-no-jō follows the Yasaka text and the Nyohaku text of the Heike Monogatari. Which was Left Hyōe-no-jō and which Right is not known). At the battle of Yashima, Taira-no-Noritsune, with a strong bow and long arrows, repeatedly aimed at Yoshitsune, and the brave men of his guard stood before his horse to shield him, but Noritsune shot some ten horsemen dead (Note: following the Heike Monogatari). Tsugunobu and Mitsumasa were also struck by those arrows. Noritsune's retainer Kikuō came forward and tried to cut off Tsugunobu's head, but Tadanobu shot him dead and, holding Tsugunobu up and supporting him, returned to the camp. Yoshitsune rushed to the camp, laid Tsugunobu's head on his knee, and asked, "Is there anything you want to say?" Tsugunobu said: "Since your servant left Mutsu, he has given this body to you. Today to give up my life in your place and have my name handed down to later ages, is that not an honor? My only regret is that I shall not see you destroy the Taira utterly." As he finished speaking he died. He was twenty-eight (Note: the age of twenty-eight follows the Nyohaku text and the Yasaka text of the Heike Monogatari). Yoshitsune grieved and mourned, had monks bury Tsugunobu and Mitsumasa in the grove at Mure, and himself adorned a favorite famous horse of his own and gave it as an offering. All in the army were moved and glad of it (Note: with reference to the Genpei Seisuiki and the Heike Monogatari). When Tosabō Shōshun attacked Yoshitsune, Tadanobu and others fought hard and defeated him (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). When Yoshitsune left the capital and hid on Mount Yoshino, the monks of the mountain consulted together and planned to attack him. Yoshitsune, hard pressed, was about to kill himself. Tadanobu said: "My elder brother Tsugunobu gave up his life in your place. Today your servant too will take your name and die in battle. Take advantage of this chance and flee." Yoshitsune would not permit it, but as Tadanobu begged repeatedly, he took off the helmet he wore and gave it to him, and assigned seventeen armored soldiers to him, and himself led a dozen or so men and fled secretly. Tadanobu falsely gave his name as the Minamoto Hōgan, and with the soldiers who followed him shot arrows and held them off, killing and wounding a good many. The monk soldiers were astonished and sighed, saying, "We heard that the Hōgan was excellent with the sword, but we never imagined that he would be so fine an archer," and none dared to approach. Presently the arrows ran out and he fought on, swinging his sword, but the soldiers who followed him all died in battle. Then Tadanobu cried in a loud voice: "Do you take me for the Hōgan? The Hōgan has already gone far away. I am Satō Tadanobu. Look well at how a brave man dies." He pretended to kill himself, leaped across a ravine, and fled (Note: following the Itō text and the Yasaka text of the Heike Monogatari). The next year he was living in the capital; he secretly sent a letter to a woman with whom he had once been intimate, and her husband reported it. In the ninth month Kasuya Arisue led troops and surrounded him. Tadanobu burst out with two attendants and fought hard, but in the end killed himself (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Gyokukai). He was then twenty-six (Note: following the Yasaka text of the Heike Monogatari). Four years afterward, Yoritomo attacked Fujiwara-no-Yasuhira. Yasuhira sent out all his picked troops to hold Atsukashi-yama. Motoharu, with his uncle Kawaumi Takatsune and Igarame Shigetaka, led troops and encamped at Ishinazaka in Date district, dug a moat and led in the waters of the Abukuma River, set up bows and crossbows, and awaited the enemy. Presently Fujiwara-no-Tamemune and others, taking off their armor and keeping silent, came out from Sawahara and made a surprise attack. Motoharu fought hard but could not hold, and at last died in battle together with eighteen close and trusted retainers (Note: following the Azuma Kagami. This work also contains a record that the Satō-shōji was released and sent home, but this contradicts itself within one book, and probably one of the two accounts is mistaken. It cannot be examined now).