Who Is Minamoto no Yoshitsune (Ushiwakamaru)?
The brilliant general who destroyed the Heike
Minamoto no Yoshitsune was the younger brother of Minamoto no Yoritomo and the Minamoto general who destroyed the Heike in the Genpei War. His childhood name was Ushiwakamaru, and he was also called Kurō Hōgan. He won battle after battle with surprising tactics, but later fell out with his brother Yoritomo and met his end at Hiraizumi in the far north.
In The Tale of the Heike, he defeats Kiso no Yoshinaka at the Battle of the Uji River and enters the capital. At Ichi-no-Tani, with advice from a local hunter and an old horse, he personally leads the charge down the cliffs of Hiyodorigoe, a slope said to be passable only by deer. At Yashima, he weeps over the death of his retainer Satō Tsuginobu, and risks his life to pick up his own bow after dropping it into the sea. At Dan-no-Ura, chased by Taira no Noritsune, he nimbly leaps onto an allied ship and escapes.
His leap from boat to boat at Dan-no-Ura later became known as the "eight-boat leap" (hassō-tobi). Sympathy for his tragic end even gave rise to a Japanese expression, hōgan-biiki, meaning to root for the underdog.
Episodes featuring this character5
NEWEpisode 9
He Sent Away His Best Samuraia Woman — The Death of Kiso Yoshinaka
Driven from the capital, Kiso no Yoshinaka flees to a lakeshore with only a handful of riders. He orders Tomoe, the fiercest woman warrior of all, to leave him, and resolves to die beside his childhood friend Imai no Kanehira. A lord and two loyal followers each choose their own path in this tale of a lakeside in the season of melting snow.
21 pages
NEWEpisode 10
They Said Only Deer Could Come DownBattle of Ichi-no-Tani (Hiyodori-goe) / Death of Tadanori
The Heike laugh that nothing but deer could come down the cliff behind their fortress at Ichi-no-Tani. Then Minamoto no Yoshitsune lets an old horse find the way through the mountains and leads his riders straight down the cliff to hit the fortress from behind. Taira no Tadanori, who left one of his poems with his teacher on the night the Heike fled the capital, is cut down in the chaos. But a single poem tied to his quiver turns him from an enemy's head with no name back into a poet.
20 pages
NEWEpisode 11
Under the Helmet, a Boy His Son's AgeThe Death of Atsumori
After the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani, Kumagai no Naozane is still hungry for glory. He waves his fan at a young warrior fleeing into the sea, calls him back, and pins him down. Under the helmet is the face of a boy about his own son's age. Then Naozane sees the flute at the boy's hip and remembers the music he heard before dawn.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 12
One Arrow, Two Armies, No Second ChanceNasu no Yoichi and the Fan Target / The Battle of Yashima
The Battle of Yashima. Satō no Tsuginobu dies taking an arrow meant for his lord, Minamoto no Yoshitsune. That evening, a Heike boat rows out with a crimson fan and a challenge. An unknown young archer, Nasu no Yoichi, swears to take his own life if he misses, and looses a single arrow while both armies watch. Then the cheering turns cruel. We learn why Yoshitsune risked his life for a dropped bow, and we follow the young archer into a long, lonely night.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 13
An Emperor, Age 8, Carried Into the SeaThe Battle of Dan-no-ura / The Death of Tomomori
To the sound of a biwa, the Heike's final day begins. Taira no Tomomori is the first of his clan to realize the battle is lost. He watches a betrayal, the young Emperor and his grandmother sinking into the sea, and Noritsune's last fight. Then, saying "I have seen all that I needed to see," he takes the hand of Ienaga, the retainer who grew up beside him like a brother, and leaps into the waves.
20 pages