Who Is Taira no Noritsune (Noto no Kami Noritsune)?
The Heike's strongest archer and fiercest fighter
Taira no Noritsune was a Heike general, the son of Kiyomori's younger brother Norimori, who held the post of Governor of Noto (Noto no Kami). He was known as the strongest archer in the Heike army and a man of enormous strength.
In The Tale of the Heike, at the Battle of Yashima, he aims his arrows from a boat at Yoshitsune alone, and shoots down Satō Tsuginobu, who shields his lord with his own body. At Dan-no-Ura, knowing the battle is lost, he searches for Yoshitsune and chases him from ship to ship, but Yoshitsune nimbly escapes. In the end, when the mighty brothers Aki no Tarō and Jirō grapple with him, he clamps one under each arm, says, "Come with me over the mountain of death," and leaps into the sea.
The Azuma Kagami, an official record of the Kamakura shogunate, says that Noritsune was killed at the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani, so accounts differ on when and where he died.
Episodes featuring this character2
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