Who Is The Ferryman of Nyoi?

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.

When Yoshitsune and his men pass by disguised as mountain ascetics on their flight to Ōshū, he grows suspicious and asks whether one of them is Lord Hōgan (Yoshitsune). To clear the suspicion, Benkei beats his master Yoshitsune with a fan. Thinking that no retainer would ever strike his lord, the ferryman drops his doubts and lets the boat go.

This episode was later reshaped in the Noh play Ataka and the kabuki play Kanjinchō, where it becomes the scene of Benkei facing the barrier keeper Togashi at the Ataka checkpoint in Kaga.