Gikeiki Characters
The Gikeiki has a large cast. At its center are Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the tragic hero, and Musashibō Benkei, the warrior monk of enormous strength. Around them are Lady Shizuka, Yoshitsune's older brother Minamoto no Yoritomo, Fujiwara no Hidehira, the lord of the north, and many more. This guide introduces the main characters in order of importance, with who each one is and what they do in the story.
All characters22
Minamoto no Yoshitsune Minamoto no Kurō Yoshitsune
The brilliant, tragic general hunted by his own brother
Minamoto no Yoshitsune is the Minamoto clan general who destroyed the Taira (Heike) clan at the end of Japan's Heian period, and the hero of the Gikeiki. He was the…
Appears in 13 episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Episode 13Musashibō Benkei Musashibō Benkei of the Saitō (Western Pagoda) of Mount Hiei
The mighty warrior monk who served Yoshitsune to the end
Musashibō Benkei is the immensely strong warrior monk who served Minamoto no Yoshitsune until the very end, and the most famous of all Yoshitsune's followers. In the…
Appears in 9 episodes: Episode 2, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 12, Episode 13Lady Shizuka Shizuka
The shirabyōshi dancer Yoshitsune loved
Lady Shizuka is the woman Minamoto no Yoshitsune deeply loved. She was famed as the finest shirabyōshi in Kyoto, a female performer of song and dance. Her mother, Iso…
Appears in 4 episodes: Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 11Minamoto no Yoritomo
Founder of the Kamakura shogunate and Yoshitsune's older brother
Minamoto no Yoritomo is the head of the Minamoto clan who founded the Kamakura shogunate, and Minamoto no Yoshitsune's older half-brother. He was known as…
Appears in 5 episodes: Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 10, Episode 11Lady Tokiwa Tokiwa
Mother of Ushiwaka (Yoshitsune)
Lady Tokiwa is one of the wives of Minamoto no Yoshitomo and the mother of Ushiwaka (Minamoto no Yoshitsune). She is said to have been famous in the capital for her…
Appears in 3 episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 6Minamoto no Yoshitomo
Father of Yoshitsune and Yoritomo
Minamoto no Yoshitomo is a Minamoto clan warrior of the late Heian period and the father of the brothers Minamoto no Yoritomo and Yoshitsune.
Appears in 3 episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 6Fujiwara no Hidehira
Lord of Hiraizumi who protected Yoshitsune
Fujiwara no Hidehira is the third head of the Ōshū Fujiwara clan, which ruled northeastern Japan from its base at Hiraizumi. He controlled gold-producing lands and held…
Appears in 3 episodes: Episode 2, Episode 6, Episode 13Satō Tadanobu Satō Shirōbyōe Tadanobu
The warrior who took his lord's place at Yoshino
Satō Tadanobu is a loyal retainer of Yoshitsune, the younger of the two warrior brothers from Ōshū whom Fujiwara no Hidehira sent to serve him. He is known as a master…
Appears in 4 episodes: Episode 6, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10Satō Tsuginobu Satō Saburōbyōe Tsuginobu
The elder brother who shielded Yoshitsune at Yashima
Satō Tsuginobu is the elder of the two warrior brothers from Ōshū whom Fujiwara no Hidehira sent to serve Yoshitsune, and the older brother of Satō Tadanobu.
Appears in 3 episodes: Episode 6, Episode 9, Episode 10Ki'ichi Hōgen
Kyoto diviner who guarded a secret book of strategy
Ki'ichi Hōgen is a diviner-priest (onmyōji) living at Ichijō Horikawa in Kyoto in the Gikeiki, who keeps the Rikutō (the Six Secret Teachings), a book of military…
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 3Kichiji the Gold Merchant (Kichiji Nobutaka) Kichiji
The gold merchant who led Yoshitsune to Ōshū
Kichiji the Gold Merchant is a wealthy merchant from Sanjō in Kyoto who travels to Ōshū in the far north every year to trade in gold.
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 2Kajiwara Kagetoki Kajiwara Heizō Kagetoki
The slanderer who drove the brothers apart
Kajiwara Kagetoki is a retainer of Minamoto no Yoritomo who slandered Yoshitsune to Yoritomo.
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 6Tosabō Shōshun Tosanobō Shōzon
The assassin Yoritomo sent after Yoshitsune
Tosabō Shōshun is a warrior monk sent to Kyoto on Minamoto no Yoritomo's orders to kill Yoshitsune. The Gikeiki writes his name with characters read Shōzon, while…
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 7Hōjō Masako
Yoritomo's wife, who spoke up for Shizuka
Hōjō Masako is the wife of Minamoto no Yoritomo and a central figure of the Kamakura shogunate, later called the ama shōgun, or "nun shogun."
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 11Iso no Zenji
Lady Shizuka's mother, a shirabyōshi dancer
Iso no Zenji is Lady Shizuka's mother, herself a shirabyōshi performer who passed on the art of song and dance.
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 11Fujiwara no Yasuhira
Hidehira's heir, who broke his father's last wish
Fujiwara no Yasuhira is the son of Fujiwara no Hidehira and the fourth head of the Ōshū Fujiwara clan.
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 13Yoshitsune's Wife Kita no Kata (daughter of the Koga Minister)
Yoshitsune's wife, who followed him all the way to Ōshū
Kita no Kata, Yoshitsune's wife, is Minamoto no Yoshitsune's principal wife; "Kita no Kata" is a title meaning the lady of the house. In the Gikeiki she is the daughter…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 12, Episode 13Kanefusa Jūrō Gon-no-kami Kanefusa
The old retainer who witnessed the end of Yoshitsune's family
Kanefusa is an elderly retainer who has served Yoshitsune's wife as her guardian since she was a child.
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 12, Episode 13Ise no Saburō Yoshimori
One of Yoshitsune's longest-serving retainers
Ise no Saburō Yoshimori is one of Minamoto no Yoshitsune's longtime retainers. In the Gikeiki, Yoshitsune meets him on the journey to Ōshū, and he becomes his follower.
Appears in 6 episodes: Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 12, Episode 13Shōmonbō
The monk who revealed Shanaō's true origins
Shōmonbō is a monk from Shijō in Kyoto who, in the Gikeiki, tells Shanaō (the future Yoshitsune) at Kurama Temple who he really is.
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2The Steward of Kumano (Benshō) Benshō, Steward (Bettō) of Kumano
Benkei's father
The Steward of Kumano (Kumano Bettō) is the title of the high-ranking monk who oversaw the three great shrines of Kumano (Kumano Sanzan). In the Gikeiki, the steward…
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 4The Ferryman of Nyoi Hei no Gonnokami
The ferryman who suspected Yoshitsune at the Nyoi crossing
The Ferryman of Nyoi, named Hei no Gonnokami, is the keeper of the Nyoi ferry crossing in Etchū Province (today's Toyama Prefecture) in the Gikeiki.
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 12