Biographies CXLIX: Filial Sons

¶Filial piety is the root of the hundred forms of conduct. Without it, teaching cannot stand; the principles of things and the constant ways of the people are left unfixed, and ritual, music, punishment, and government can never arise. So great is the way of filial piety. For this reason emperors and crown princes, in reading books, have always begun with the Classic of Filial Piety (Kōkyō) and made it their constant canon. That the court honors it in this way shows how weightily the way of filial piety is regarded. Even down to village lanes and the streets of towns, wherever there was a person of pure filial conduct, a banner of commendation (Note: a marker of public honor, set up at the gate) was always raised at the family's door to praise him. The encouragement of filial piety among the people is recorded in the histories of old and can be plainly traced. The filial sons of antiquity showed the sincerity of building a hut beside the grave and serving the dead, but they did not practice contrivances such as cutting flesh from the thigh or slicing out the liver. For this reason the hearts of the people became earnest and generous, and customs grew ever richer. In later ages the offices of the court historians fell into disuse and the records were left incomplete; even when there were those who practiced filial piety, brotherly respect, and good faith, most were buried and went unrecorded. The good deeds of the lowly had no means of reaching those above, and could not serve to encourage and guide gentlemen and commoners. Is this not to be called a lacuna in the records? Some also avenged their fathers, rising up without regard for their own lives and holding fast to the great principle of not living under the same heaven as the slayer of one's father. Through them the bonds and constant duties of human relations were saved from falling to the ground. How could it be that filial sons existed only in antiquity and not in later ages? Only, whether the matter is bright or dim depends on the rise and decline of the age, and whether human feeling is deep or shallow depends on the turn of the times. Gathering up the scattered traces, we here compile the Biographies of Filial Sons.

Yamato-no-Hatayasu

¶Yamato-no-Hatayasu was a man of Soenoshimo district in Yamato province. Nara-no-Kochimaro was a man of Soenokami district. Hatayasu served his father and mother with the utmost filial piety and treated his brothers with affection. When there were people suffering from hunger or illness, he went about carrying his own provisions, tending and feeding them. The commoners of the two villages of Tomi and Yata were moved by his kindness and revered and loved him as they would a parent. Kochimaro was by nature dutiful and compliant, and never nursed a grudge against anyone. Once, slandered by his stepmother, he was forbidden to enter his father's house, yet he showed no sign of resentment and served and supported his father with even greater devotion. In the seventh year of Wadō (714), the filial piety and righteousness of these two men were commended, and they were exempted for life from labor levies (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

Nara-no-Kochimaro

¶A woodcutter of Oibe in Tagi district, Mino province, served his father with utmost filial devotion. The household was poor and without property, and he made his living by selling firewood. His father loved sake, so the woodcutter would always carry a gourd through the town, buy sake on credit, and offer it to his father. One day, while gathering firewood in the mountains, he stepped on a stone and fell by mistake. Noticing a smell of sake beside him and wondering at it, he looked about and saw that water was welling from between the rocks, and its color was like that of sake. He tried a taste: it was fragrant and sweet. The woodcutter was overjoyed, drew some of it, and presented it to his father. In the ninth month of the third year of Reiki (717), Empress Genshō made a progress to Mino; her procession passed through Tagi district, and she viewed this reisen, a sweet spring of auspicious power (Note: a miraculous spring of sweet water), and judged that it had been brought forth in response to his filial heart. She named the spring the Yōrō Waterfall, changed the era name to Yōrō in its honor, and bestowed court rank upon the woodcutter, so that his house came to prosper (Note: following the Jikkinshō, the Kokon Chomonjū, and the Shoku Nihongi. Observe: in the text of the edict of the fifth year of Yōrō (721) in the Shoku Nihongi, the spring's power to cure illness is repeatedly praised, but there is no account of it responding to filial devotion. Here the version of the Jikkinshō and the Kokon Chomonjū is followed).

The Woodcutter of Tagi District, Mino

¶Hasetsukabe-no-Michi-no-Ōjimaro was a son of Ishikatsu, of Junior Eighth Rank Upper, a reishi, clerk, of the Urushibe-no-tsukasa, the Lacquer Office. In the fourth year of Yōrō (720), Ishikatsu, together with Hata-no-Ōmaro, a night-duty conscript, was sentenced to exile, both men being convicted of stealing lacquer from the office. At that time Ōjimaro was twelve years old, his younger brother Azumaro nine, and Otomaro seven; the three went together to the office and, resolved to die, prostrated themselves and made a petition: "Our father Ishikatsu stole the office's lacquer in order to feed his children, and for this he is about to be sentenced to distant exile. We beg that you take the three of us brothers as kannu, government slaves (Note: slaves belonging to the state), so that we may atone for our father's crime." In response an edict was issued: "Men receive the virtues of the five constants (benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and good faith); benevolence and righteousness are to be especially valued, and though a gentleman has many kinds of good conduct, filial piety and reverence come first. Now Ōjimaro and the others cast away their own persons to become slaves, intending to atone for their father's crime and preserve the life of their own flesh and blood. Their feelings are to be pitied. Let it be done as they request, and make them government slaves." Thereupon Ishikatsu's crime was pardoned, and only Inumaro was sent to the place of exile in his stead. Soon afterwards Ōjimaro, Azumaro, and the others were released from slave status and restored to the rank of free commoners (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

Hasetsukabe-no-Michi-no-Ōjimaro

¶Hasetsukabe-no-Chitsumi and Kimiko-no-Sakamaro were both men of Ashigami district in Sagami province, and their filial conduct was known throughout the world. In the first year of Reiki (715), the villages where they lived were commended, and they were exempted for life from labor levies (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

Hasetsukabe-no-Azumaro and Hasetsukabe-no-Otomaro

¶Tsunahiki-no-Kanamura (Note: some texts write the character for "tsuna" in a different form) was a man of Ashida district in Bingo province. He lost his father at the age of eight and in his grief grew so thin that his bones showed. Before long he suffered the death of his mother as well, and his longing and sorrow grew deeper still. In the second year of Keiun (768), by edict he was granted two grades of rank and exempted for life from the land tax (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

Hasetsukabe-no-Chitsumi

¶Otari-no-Ioyori was a man of Yatsushiro district in Kai province. Takebe-no-Ōgaki was a man of Sarashina district in Shinano province. Ioyori was known as a filial man, and Ōgaki was of a courteous and compliant character and served his parents well with filial devotion. In the second year of Keiun (768), both men were exempted for life from the land tax (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

Kimiko-no-Sakamaro

¶Yatabe-no-Kuromaro was a man of Iruma district in Musashi province. He served his father and mother with utmost filial devotion; while they lived he softened his countenance and exhausted his efforts in caring for them, and after their deaths he grieved so deeply that he wasted away. For sixteen years he kept to a vegetarian diet without ever slackening. In the third year of Hōki (772), the labor service of his household was remitted and his filial conduct was commended (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

Tsunahiki-no-Kanamura

¶Tomo-no-Ienushi was a man of Awa district in Awa province, and was by nature one of utmost filial piety. After his father and mother died, he would not eat delicacies; he made images of them and made offerings to them, serving them as he would have when they were alive. When this matter reached the court, in the Jōwa era (834-848) he was granted three grades of rank, exempted for life from the land tax of his household, and commended with a banner at the gate of the village where he lived (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki).

Otari-no-Ioyori

¶Kazahaya-no-Tomimaro was a man of Kamo district in Aki province. His virtue and conduct were fair, and he exerted all his strength to care for his father and mother with filial devotion. After his parents died, he still would not eat delicacies, and his longing and sorrow never ceased. In the tenth year of Tenchō (833), he was granted three grades of rank and his household was exempted from the land tax (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki).

Takebe-no-Ōgaki

¶Takarabe-no-Tsugimaro was a man of Nomi district in Kaga province, and was by nature one of utmost filial piety. After his father and mother died, he grieved for them morning and evening, and his demeanor moved even the hearts of the people of his village. In the fourth year of Jōwa (837), he was granted three grades of rank, commended with a banner at the gate of the village where he lived, and exempted for life from the tax (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki).

Yatabe-no-Kuromaro

¶Marube-no-Akimaro was a man of Mino district in Sanuki province, and a son of Konishinari, of Outer Junior Eighth Rank Upper. At eighteen he went to the capital to enter service, and having accumulated merit he was appointed Dairyō, Senior District Governor, of his home district, but he petitioned to yield that post to his father. He himself kept to his duty as a son and gave his parents filial care. After his father and mother grew old, their house was ten ri distant from Akimaro's dwelling, yet he never failed to pay his respects morning and evening (the teishō), and traveled back and forth without cease. The provincial governor likewise reported this to the court and petitioned that he be allowed to share in kōkyo, selection by recommendation (Note: recommendation for appointment to office), in accordance with the regulations. In the first year of Kashō (848), he was granted three grades of rank and his household was exempted for life from the land tax (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki).

Tomo-no-Ienushi

¶Hata-no-Toyonaga was a man of Kume district in Mimasaka province. He was by nature courteous and compliant, and served his father and mother with filial piety. When his parents died, he constantly kept watch over their grave. When this matter reached the court, in the seventh year of Jōgan (865) he was granted three grades of rank, exempted from labor levies, and commended with a banner at the gate of the village where he lived (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku).

Kazahaya-no-Tomimaro

¶Nyū-no-Hiroyoshi was a man of Onyū district in Wakasa province. He lost his father in early childhood and lived alone with his mother. He tilled his fields with all his strength to support her, and always kept a gentle face and manner, never lacking in warmth of care. Every morning he visited his father's grave, where he beat his breast and stamped his feet in grief and lamentation. The fields that he cultivated, even when struck by flood or drought, wind or locusts, were never damaged. The people of his village said of this, "It is the result of his filial heart reaching Heaven." When this matter reached the court, in the second year of Jōgan (860) he was granted two grades of rank (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku).

Takarabe-no-Tsugimaro

¶Shimotsuke-no-Kimisuke (Note: Kimisuke's clan name follows the Konjaku Monogatari) was the son of Takenori, who was a zuijin, an escort (Note: an attendant who served as bodyguard), of the Regent Fujiwara-no-Kaneie. Once Kimisuke competed with his father in a kakeyumi, a wagered archery contest, on the Ukon archery ground, and lost. Takenori was angry and beat Kimisuke. Kimisuke lay prostrate and accepted it without resistance. When someone asked him, "Why do you not run away?" Kimisuke answered: "My father is old and his legs are weak. If he chases after me and runs fast, he may fall. If he were to be injured, that would only make my fault the heavier. So I accept the blows and do not flee." Hearing this, everyone present was moved and sighed in admiration (Note: following the Kokon Chomonjū and the Kojidan).

Marube-no-Akimaro

¶There was a monk whose name is not known. He served his mother with utmost filial devotion, but the household was extremely poor. His mother loved fresh fish and would not touch her chopsticks to any meal without it, so the monk would always buy fish and set it before her. At that time the Retired Emperor Shirakawa strictly prohibited the taking of life, and it became impossible to obtain fish. His mother all but ceased eating, and grew so weak that she was near death. Unable to bear his grief, the monk went himself to the Katsura River and caught two small fish, but he was seized by the patrolling officials and sent to the office along with the fish. When the investigating official questioned him, the monk wiped away his tears and said: "Who could fail to obey what the law forbids? All the more, being in the Buddhist order, I have broken the precepts, and cannot escape guilt. Only, my mother is old and ill, and her appetite is stirred by nothing but meat and fish. Even if I release these fish now, they will never live again. If you would let me carry them to my mother, and if I could hear that she had taken her chopsticks to them even once, then even if I am put to the penalty I will have no regret." His words were earnest, and the officials and their underlings were moved to tears. When the Retired Emperor Shirakawa heard of this, he bestowed gold and woven silks, pardoned him, and sent him home (Note: following the Kokon Chomonjū and the Jikkinshō).

Hata-no-Toyonaga

¶Soga-no-Sukenari was called Ichiman as a child. His younger brother Tokimune was called Hakoō as a child. The two were grandsons of Itō-no-Sukechika. When their father Kawazu-no-Sukeyasu (Note: the Sonpi Bunmyaku writes Sukeyasu as Sukemichi, but here the Azuma Kagami is followed) was killed by Kudō-no-Suketsune, a cousin of their grandfather, Ichiman was five years old and Hakoō three (Note: following the Soga Monogatari and the Azuma Kagami). Their mother embraced her husband's corpse and wept, and stroking the two small children said: "When you have grown up, will you be able to avenge your father?" Ichiman answered through his tears, "When we are grown, we will certainly cut off the enemy's head." When their mother afterwards remarried Soga-no-Sukenobu, the brothers were raised by Sukenobu. As they grew somewhat older, whenever they played they passed the time striking and thrusting at one another. When Ichiman drew a bow and shot at a target on a folding screen, Hakoō said, "What use is a bow for avenging our father?" and took up a wooden sword himself and slashed with it. Once Ichiman looked up at wild geese flying across the sky and said with a sigh, "Even birds have a father and mother; who is it that made orphans of us?" Hakoō retorted, "Is the enemy's head as hard as iron or stone?" Ichiman hurriedly covered his mouth and rebuked him, "Do not speak carelessly." The two faced one another and wept aloud, their thoughts rising and their hearts wrung. Their resolve to avenge their father was never slackened for a single day.

¶Before long Minamoto-no-Yoritomo destroyed the Taira and became the master of the soldiery of the whole realm. Kudō-no-Suketsune was esteemed as one of his close attendants. Because Yoritomo had once borne a grudge against Itō-no-Sukechika, he was urged to put to death the surviving sons of Sukeyasu. Yoritomo accordingly sent Kajiwara-no-Kagesue to Soga to tell Sukenobu, "Deliver the two children to the shogunal headquarters." Mother and sons parted in tears. Kagesue pitied the two, and on meeting Yoritomo he described their condition and asked for pardon. Yoritomo said: "Sukechika killed my child and took my wife. Sukechika is already dead, but I wish to avenge this grudge on his grandsons. How could I pardon them?" But Toyama-no-Shigetada, Wada-no-Yoshimori, and others pleaded earnestly on their behalf, and at last the two boys were released and allowed to return. Their mother, though glad that the two had escaped death, strictly admonished them and had them hide themselves deeply.

¶At thirteen Ichiman changed his name to Sukenari, took his stepfather's surname, and styled himself Soga-no-Jūrō. Hakoō was sent to become a disciple of the monk Gyōjitsu of Mount Hakone. Hakoō's resolve to avenge his father grew with each day. Once, when Suketsune came to worship at Hakone in Yoritomo's retinue, Hakoō, wishing to learn his face, followed the mountain monks and asked the name of each warrior and officer one by one. When Suketsune's turn came, he involuntarily changed color, and, hiding a small knife in his sleeve, secretly planned to stab him. Suketsune took Hakoō's hand and said: "Are you not Hakoō? Your features greatly resemble your late father's. You and I are very closely related. That we have met today is both a joy and a sorrow. Shave your head soon and devote yourself solely to the Buddhist path." So saying, he took out an ornamented sword and gave it to him, saying, "This is a token of our meeting today." Hakoō sought an opening to stab him, but many people were seated all around and he feared he could not prevail by strength, and in the end he could not carry it out.

¶When Hakoō reached the age of seventeen, Gyōjitsu ordered him to shave his head and receive the precepts. Hakoō was distressed by this, secretly returned to Soga, and said to Sukenari: "Today I am about to become a monk, but what is to be done about our enemy? I wish to come of age at once and escape my teacher's command." Sukenari agreed. The two went together to Hōjō-no-Tokimasa and pleaded their sorrowful circumstances. Tokimasa admired their resolve, immediately arranged the rite of coming of age, had Hakoō put on the eboshi cap, gave him the name Tokimune, and had him styled Soga-no-Gorō. When their mother saw Tokimune she was greatly shocked and said, "I had made you a monk; how has it come to this? If you do not regard me as your mother, then I shall not regard you as my son. The tie between mother and son is cut here. Never come to see me again." Tokimune withdrew, choking with sobs.

¶From then on the brothers wandered through Ōiso, Kisegawa, Miura, and elsewhere, and repeatedly spied on Suketsune's movements. But whenever Suketsune went out he was guarded by his attendants, so although the brothers sometimes caught sight of him, they were unable to lay a hand on him.

¶In the fourth year of Kenkyū (1193), Yoritomo held a hunt at Fujino, and Suketsune accompanied him. Sukenari and Tokimune were overjoyed and said, "This is an opportunity given by Heaven," and settled their plan to go to Fujino. Tokimune said to Sukenari: "I have incurred the guilt of being cast off by the mother on whom I relied, and have been unable to meet her face to face and speak words of farewell. If things stay as they are, I shall not be able to close my eyes even in death." Sukenari went to see their mother, took his leave, and asked that she see Tokimune as well. At first she sternly refused, but when Sukenari pressed his forehead to the ground and, in tears, described in detail the anxiety and dread that weighed on Tokimune, her heart softened, and she summoned Tokimune and met him. The brothers asked to be given garments. Their mother took off what she was wearing and gave it to them, and admonished them: "Many warriors and common people will gather at the hunting ground. Take care never to start a quarrel." The brothers hesitated and could not bring themselves to leave, tears falling in streams. They withdrew, then came forward again, looking back again and again. Their mother found this strange.

¶The brothers went to Hakone and met Gyōjitsu. Gyōjitsu perceived their purpose and took out two precious swords that had been kept in the shrine and gave them to them. They then went to Fujino and, using every means, stalked Suketsune, but could not find an opening for some time. Then they heard a rumor that Yoritomo would soon return to Kamakura, and the brothers worried, saying, "Such a time will not come easily again. We must not let this chance pass," and resolved: "Tonight we will hurry into the encampment and strike down Suketsune." They therefore passed in front of the encampment disguised as night watchmen and entered Suketsune's sleeping quarters. But Suketsune had already moved to another room. The brothers were at a loss and did not know what to do. Then Honda-no-Chikatsune, a retainer of Hatakeyama-no-Shigetada, came by. Chikatsune, who had long wished to see the brothers fulfill their aim, pointed out the place where Suketsune was and went away (Note: following the Soga Monogatari).

¶That night Suketsune had summoned courtesans and held a drinking party together with Ōtōnai, a Shinto priest of Kibitsu, and had fallen asleep deeply drunk. The brothers, holding up torches, looked at one another's faces and said, "To kill a man asleep in drunkenness is like cutting down a corpse," and, stepping into the room, shouted in a great voice, "Sukenari and Tokimune avenge their father!" Suketsune woke in alarm and, taking up his sword, tried to rise, but the brothers brought their blades down and hacked him to pieces, and killed Ōtōnai as well. A courtesan cried out in terror, "The Soga brothers have avenged their father!"

¶The time was the twenty-eighth day of the fifth month; in a thunderstorm and pitch darkness the encampment fell into uproar. Heko-no-Uma-no-jō and Aikō-no-Saburō and others came out in confusion and fought. The brothers killed or wounded more than ten men, but their strength gave out and they were exhausted. Sukenari crossed blades with Nitta-no-Tadatsune and was at last cut down. He was twenty-two years old. Seeing Sukenari's death, Tokimune thrust straight toward the shogun's encampment. A young attendant, Gorōmaru, disguised in women's clothing, waited for Tokimune to pass and seized him from behind, and the men all together pinned him down (Note: the Azuma Kagami and the Soga Monogatari were consulted).

¶Yoritomo sent Wada-no-Yoshimori and Kajiwara-no-Kagetoki to inspect Suketsune's corpse. The next day Yoritomo sat in his tent with the generals ranged around him and summoned Tokimune. He ordered Kanō-no-Munashige and Shinkai-no-Tokimitsu to question him as to why he had killed Suketsune. Tokimune glared and rebuked the two, saying: "Ever since my grandfather the lay monk (Sukechika) died, his descendants have fallen on hard times. We could not draw close to you, so why should I state my circumstances to you? I wish to speak a single word directly to Lord Yoritomo and die." Yoritomo admired these words and questioned him himself. Tokimune answered: "From childhood until today, Sukenari and I never forgot our wish for vengeance for a single moment. Today that wish has been fulfilled. Having committed an offense against the shogunate, we meant in any case to accept punishment and take our own lives. Moreover, Suketsune was our enemy, yet he was your favored retainer; the lay monk Jakushin (Sukechika) was your enemy, yet he was our grandfather. You doted upon our enemy and treated our grandfather as your foe; how could we not feel resentment?" His spirit was fierce and bold, and all who heard him were shaken. Yoritomo loved his courage and wished to spare him from the death penalty, but Suketsune's son Inubōmaru wept and begged that he be put to death, and in the end he was beheaded. He was twenty years old. Yoritomo obtained the letter that Sukenari and Tokimune had left for their mother, read it with tears falling, and ordered that it be placed in the archive (Note: following the Azuma Kagami).

¶Sukenobu was also at the hunting ground at this time, and Yoritomo summoned him, consoled and counseled him, had him return to his province to pray for the repose of the two sons, and exempted the Soga estate from its tax (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Soga Monogatari). Later people built a shrine at Fujino and worshiped the two there (Note: following the Soga-sha Engi).

¶Sukeyasu's youngest son, the risshi, a monk of the rank of Precepts Master, had become a priest, but Inubōmaru sought to kill him as well. When Yoritomo summoned him, the risshi took his own life on the spot (Note: following the Azuma Kagami. Observe: the Soga Monogatari says that Yoritomo ordered him beheaded).

Nyū-no-Hiroyoshi

¶Sukenari had a beloved concubine named Tora, a courtesan of Ōiso (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). Sukenari often went to Ōiso to amuse himself, took a fancy to Tora, and gave her his heart. Tora in turn loved Sukenari. Many powerful men vied to court her, but Tora paid no regard to any of them. Once, Wada-no-Yoshimori came to her house to drink sake and summoned Tora to pour for him, but Tora did not appear. Yoshimori was angry and sought to punish her. Tora's mother, frightened, urged her daughter on, but Tora would not consent, saying, "Lord Soga is poor and Lord Wada is rich and prosperous. How could I bear to change my heart according to wealth or poverty?" Sukenari happened to be at Tora's side at that moment, so Yoshimori demanded that Sukenari also come out with Tora and drink. Though the wine went round, Tora to the end never drank with Yoshimori, and took up the cup only to offer it to Sukenari (Note: following the Soga Monogatari).

¶When Sukenari accomplished the vengeance and died in battle, Yoritomo summoned Tora and asked her about the circumstances. Soon Tora was released and sent home. Grieving and yearning for him, she wept and mourned, climbed Mount Hakone, and asked the monk Gyōjitsu to hold a memorial service for Sukenari's repose. She composed a fujumon, a memorial text (Note: a written text of dedication for a memorial rite), mourning Sukenari, and offered the horse Sukenari had ridden as alms. She then became a nun and went to Zenkōji in Shinano. She was nineteen at that time (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). It is said that afterwards she returned to Ōiso and lived at Komadera (Note: following the Soga Monogatari).

Shimotsuke-no-Kimisuke

¶The father of the brothers Nakahara-no-Akikane and Akinobu was named Akifusa, who served four emperors, Go-Uda, Fushimi, Go-Nijō, and Hanazono, and held the post of Daihanji, Senior Judge. Emperor Go-Daigo, because Akifusa was thoroughly versed in the law, had him take part in affairs of government and treated him with great generosity. When the emperor planned the overthrow of Hōjō-no-Takatoki, the matter leaked out, and all the ministers who had joined in the plot beforehand were sentenced to exile or put to death. Even so, the emperor grew only angrier and at last meant to raise troops; he secretly summoned Akifusa and consulted him. Akifusa remonstrated: "Ever since last month's incident, the hearts of the people have been in turmoil and the warriors have grown ever more stubborn. The court's strength is feeble, and I fear that we cannot overcome them. If the scheme should fail even once, the consequences would be beyond measure. I beg Your Majesty to reflect most carefully." Fearing that these words would leak out, the emperor secretly ordered Taira-no-Narisuke to remove Akifusa.

¶At that time, near Ungo-ji temple, there were two men, Seo-no-Hyōe-tarō and his younger brother Kyōbō, both known as men of chivalry. Narisuke lured them with money and goods and begged them to stab Akifusa. The two agreed. When Akifusa happened to visit Kiyomizu-dera, Hyōe-tarō, disguised as a traveler, watched as Akifusa went out the west gate and bowed in reverence toward Otokoyama in the distance, then drew his sword and cut off his head. He ran down the stone steps and fled as if flying. Akifusa's attendants took up his sword and pursued, but could not catch him.

¶When Akikane and Akinobu heard of this, they rushed to the place where their father had died and carried his body home. Day and night the two schemed to avenge him, but did not know who had done it. By every means they followed the trail, and at last established that it was Hyōe-tarō's doing. As it happened, Akikane had fallen ill, so Akinobu, wearing armor beneath his robes and riding in a small carriage, led more than forty men, government slaves and private retainers, all armed, and surrounded Hyōe-tarō's residence before dawn. They dug up the ground and searched but found nothing. Akinobu was disheartened and was about to withdraw when one of his retainers happened to look up at the ceiling beams and noticed the hem of a garment showing slightly; he pried open the ceiling boards with a naginata. Hyōe-tarō, realizing he could no longer escape, drew his sword and tried to leap down. The retainer slashed at his thigh and Hyōe-tarō fell. Hyōe-tarō could not get up, but still swung his sword left and right. The retainer stabbed him to death from behind. Akinobu then had the residence torn down, bound the younger brother Kyōbō, and withdrew with Hyōe-tarō's head raised in front of the carriage. It is said that all who saw it along the road felt their anger relieved (Note: following the Taiheiki, the Shimazu-family text and the Imagawa-family text. Observe: the name of Akinobu does not appear in the Tōji Shugyō Nikki, which treats the vengeance as the deed of Akikane).