Yoshitsune

“ One of these guard-houses, at Ataka, is the scene of the drama. The giant halberdier, Benkei, almost as celebrated in Japanese history as Yoshitsune himself, devises a plan to pass the barrier. He disguises Yoshitsune as the baggage-bearer of the party, and, at a critical moment, disarms suspicion by beating him as though he were a common coolie. To the barrier-guards it seems incredible that the brilliant young nobleman, with whose exploits the whole empire is ringing, should be submitted to such a terrible indignity, and they allow the pilgrims to pass. ”

“ Ushiwaka now took the name of Yoshitsune. As he was the eighth son, it would have been more correct for him to have assumed the name of Hachiro, but as his uncle Tametomo the Archer, of whom you have already read, was named Hachiro, he purposely did not take this name. From this time forth our hero is known as Yoshitsune, and this name he has glorified forever by his wonderful bravery and many heroic exploits. In Japanese history he is the knight without fear and without reproach, the darling of the people, to them almost an incarnation of Hachiman, the popular God of War. ”

“ He could now fulfil the last words of his unhappy mother, and punish the Taira for all the evil they had wrought against the Minamoto. All the wild restlessness of his youth, which had driven him forth to wield his wooden sword against the rocks in the Kuramayama Valley and to try his strength against Benkei on the Gojo Bridge, now found vent in action most dear to a born warrior's heart. With several thousands of troops under him, Yoshitsune marched up to Kyoto and waged war against the Taira, and defeated them in a series of brilliant engagements. ”

“ Yoritomo sent Yoshitsune against their cousin, and the young Shōgun's glory sank, as quickly as it had risen, in defeat and death. He was thirty-one years old.
Yoshitsune (born in 1159) , called the Bayard of Japan, was a half-brother of Yoritomo, his mother being a concubine. She sacrificed herself to the demands of Kiyomori in order to save her son's life. The child was sent to a monastery to become a Buddhist monk, but he escaped and found shelter in the north. When Yoritomo rose against the Taira power, Yoshitsune joined him and became his greatest general. ”

“ For the sake of the lives of her sons, the latter became the concubine of Kiyomori, whom she did not love. The pathetic story still excites feeling in the heart of Japanese womanhood. Yoshitsune was assigned to a priestly career, but he proved unruly and fond of the arts of the samurai. Tradition ascribes to the child many a superhuman act of valor and military skill. At length he ran away to the northern province of Mutsu, where he was kindly received by the great local chieftain Fujiwara-no-Hidehira. ”

“ Here he sent a guard to receive the prisoners, but on the ground that Yoshitsune was guilty of treachery, Yoritomo refused him admittance into Kamakura. In vain did Yoshitsune protest against the unjust accusation; in vain did he write a touching letter avowing his unaltered love and devotion to Yoritomo; in vain did he recount all the hardships endured on the campaigns which the young and chivalrous general had undertaken at the command of his brother. He was not believed, and ingratitude was the only reward he received for devotion to his brother's cause. ”

“ Yoshitsune's father, Yoshitomo, had been killed in a great battle with the Taira. At that time the Taira clan was all-powerful, and its cruel leader, Kiyomori, did all he could to destroy Yoshitomo's children. But the mother of these children, Tokiwa, fled into hiding, taking her little ones with her. With characteristic Japanese fortitude, she finally consented to become the wife of the hated Kiyomori. She did so because it was the only way to save the lives of her children. She was allowed to keep Yoshitsune with her, and she daily whispered to him: "Remember thy father, Minamoto Yoshitomo! ”

“ Kagetoki indignantly replied: "A skilful general advances at the right moment and retires at the right moment. You know only the tactics of a wild boar." Yoshitsune angrily retorted, "I know not whether I am a boar or whether I am a deer, but I do know that I take pleasure in crushing a foe by attacking him." ”

“ Then Benkei turned to Yoshitsune, saying: "Wretched creature! it is all your fault that we come under suspicion all the time. You shuffle along in such a cowardly manner and put on such strange airs that people naturally suspect you. In future be more careful, and walk along like a man and not in such a mincing way, you fool!"
Thus Benkei feigned to lose his temper, and after scolding Yoshitsune roughly, finally lifted his staff and gave him several blows across the back, telling him to fall upon his knees and not presume to remain standing in the presence of the guard. ”

“ As Yoshitsune escorted the captive chief of the Taira clan, Munemori, to Kamakura, he not only received no recognition for his achievements, but also was refused admission to the presence of his brother. There were not lacking men around the latter to contrive the downfall of the great general. Shortly afterward Yoritomo sent to Kyōto a man of proved valor and strength, Tosabō Shōshun, with orders to destroy Yoshitsune, but Tosabō himself fell under Yoshitsune's sword in the attempt. Thereafter Yukiiye, Yoshitsune's uncle, induced the ex-emperor to authorize them to put down Yoritomo. ”

“ People do not deny or approve, strange enough, on seeing the flowers blooming and falling, on seeing the clouds coming and passing.
I used to fire my curiosity and desire of boyhood days with reading an old warrior’s astonishing tales and legends; one of my favourite heroes was Yoshitsune who in his boy’s time was taught mystery and fencing by a certain Tengu, a mountain elf of the Western hill from where a rainbow flashes and where the bright sun has his nightly bed. ”

“ I have not been able to obtain from any botanist the name of the tree from the bark of which the thread is made, but suppose it to be a species of Tiliaceæ.
[273] Yoshitsuné is the most popular hero of Japanese history, and the special favourite of boys. He was the brother of Yoritomo, who was appointed by the Mikado in 1192 Sei-i Tai Shôgun (barbarian-subjugating great general) for his victories, and was the first of that series of great Shôguns whom our European notions distorted into “Temporal Emperors” of Japan. ”

“ The profound pathos of the notion that Benkei, who had again and again risked his life in Yoshitsune's cause, should have been obliged to raise his hand against the man he loved, and the shockingly sacrilegious nature of such conduct on the part of a vassal towards his lord, appeal with intense force to the mind of every Japanese; force not to be estimated unless it is remembered that to have thrown himself upon the barrier-guards and fallen fighting, would have been an incomparably less painful and more orthodox alternative to the loyal halberdier than the course he adopted. ”

“ When of proper age he sent them to a monastery, ordering that they should be brought up as priests.
The elder boys consented to this, suffering their black hair to be shaved off and the robes of Buddhist neophytes to be put on them. But Yoshitsuné, the youngest, had no fancy for the life of a monk, and refused to let the razor come near his hair. Though dwelling in the monastery, he was so merry and self-willed that his pranks caused much scandal, and the pious bonzes knew not what to do with this young ox, as they called the irrepressible boy. ”

“ She was a woman of great beauty, and for that reason as well as because she was the mother of the romantic hero Yoshitsuné, she has often been chosen by Japanese artists as the subject of their pictures. Tokiwa and her three children, of whom Yoshitsuné was then an infant at the breast, fled at the breaking out of the storm upon Yoshitomo and the Minamoto clan. They are often represented as wandering through a storm of snow, Yoshitsuné being carried as an infant on the back of his mother, and the other two little ones pattering along with unequal steps at her side. ”

“ At the time of Yoshitsune's novitiate in the Kurama temple, the political power in Japan may be said to have been divided between the Taira, the provincial Minamoto, the Buddhist priests, and the Fujiwara, and of the last the only branch that had suffered no eclipse during the storms of Hogen and Heiji had been the Fujiwara of Mutsu. ”

“ His fluent and inconsistent explanations would be superfluous if he might show the dead man’s head, which he carries with him in a box; but that must, of course, only be revealed at the last moment to Yoshitsune as a proof of his loyal obedience, when he will be praised for his loyal devotion and retire to a Buddhist monastery, muttering “Life is a hollow dream.” The piece is a great deal more complicated than might be supposed from the foregoing analysis. Subsidiary peasants, beggars, and woodcutters turn out at opportune moments to be Taira or Minamoto warriors and court-ladies in disguise. ”

“ A still younger son, Yoshitsune, was destined to prove the most renowned warrior Japan ever produced. His mother, Tokiwa, one of Yoshitomo's mistresses, a woman of rare beauty, fled from the Minamoto mansion during a snow-storm after the Heiji disaster, and, with her three children, succeeded in reaching a village in Yamato, where she might have lain concealed had not her mother fallen into the hands of Kiyomori's agents. ”

“ We have already referred to the Tengu in the story of Yoshitsune and Benkei. [1] In this legend it will [Pg 352] be remembered that Yoshitsune, one of the greatest warriors of Old Japan, learnt the art of swordsmanship from the King of the Tengu. Professor B. H. Chamberlain describes the Tengu as "a class of goblins or gnomes that haunt the mountains and woodlands, and play many pranks. They have an affinity to birds; for they are winged and beaked, sometimes clawed. ”

“ No figure in Japanese annals is so popular as Benkei, the devil youth (Oniwaka) , credited with eight feet of stature, unless it be Yoshitsune, the valiant boy, who vanquished the giant in single combat on Gojō Bridge in Kyōto, and thus acquired a loyal and invincible henchman. The numberless adventures in which Benkei by strength or cunning ensures the success of Yoshitsune have been utilised again and again by painters and playwrights. ”

“ Yoshitsune attempts to rescue Benkei, but the latter prevents his master from disclosing his identity. The guardian, however, suspects the truth; but since he is secretly in favour of Yoshitsune, he releases Benkei, and after some hesitation grants the coveted passports and sends the whole party on their way.
The third play, like the first, was also Chinese; it was, however, much more elaborate. A Tartar General, while in Japan, has married a beautiful Japanese girl, and has taken her back with him to live in China. ”

“ It is a pity you have not profited by past experiences! I should have thought that you would have had no wish to see me again!"
With these words he was about to brandish his sword and attack the spectres, but Benkei, the wise and faithful Benkei, stepped up to his young master and stayed his hand, saying: "Not so, my lord. Swords are useless against ghosts. It is not wise to anger these poor earth-bound phantoms. The best way of dealing with them is to pacify them, so that they may find peace and go to their own place."
Yoshitsune yielded to Benkei and allowed himself to be put aside. ”

“ All Yoshitsune's followers, among whom were many brave, loyal, though headstrong young fellows, wanted to storm the guard-house and cut their way through the soldiers, but Benkei was strongly opposed to this and said: "No, no, that will never do! A quarrel would cost some of our lives, and we have few enough as it is. ”

“ As the coming battle is to be fought in order to decide the destiny of the Tairas and the Minamotos, we ought to fight openly on the battle-field. General Yoshitsuné is, therefore, extremely sorry to hear of Kajiwam Kagétaka's mean deed in privately attacking you when you were in your defenceless condition. But now, as to my message. General Yoshitsuné admired your poem, selected by Lord Shunzei, very much. ”

“ With the help of Hidehira and the faithful Benkei, he collected a small army of warriors and at once marched over to his brother's camp in Idzu. He sent a messenger ahead to inform Yoritomo that his youngest brother, now named Yoshitsune, was coming to aid him in his fight against the Taira. ”

“ Yoshitsune is the name of that legendary hero of Japan whose adventures form the plots for many a Kabuki play, and Sembonzakura signifies ten thousand cherry trees, suggesting something of the lustre and fame of Yoshitsune’s name.
Sushi-ya is a humble shop where rice sandwiches stuffed with vegetables or fish are sold. It was in this sushi-ya that a Heike prince lived in disguise. ”

“ A youth of such honor, virtue, courage, and martial fire Japan had rarely known.
In the war that soon arose between Yoritomo and the Taira the youthful Bayard served his brother well. Kiyomori, in sparing the sons of the Minamoto chief, had left alive the two ablest of all who bore that name. So great were the skill and valor of the young warrior that his brother, on the rebellion of Yoshinaka, made Yoshitsuné commander of the army of the west, and sent him against the rebellious general, who was quickly defeated and slain. ”

“ Then over Yoshitsune's head she waved it to and fro. "Clang-clang," sounded the armour, "clang—clang." Up sprang the warrior, seized the suit of armour, and with Shizuka's help dressed himself for battle. All this took place without a single word. Benkei and the rest of his soldiers soon joined him and the enemy were put to flight. Tosabo managed to escape and hide himself in the mountains of Kurama, near Kyoto, but he was caught and put to death at last.
To have been able to thwart and punish the assassins from Kamakura was a source of great satisfaction to Yoshitsune and his men ”