Yoshitsune 義経

The tragic warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune 源義経 (1159-89), whose many exploits both real and legendary are recounted in numerous stories, theater, and pictorial depictions. Many episodes are recorded in Heike monogatari 平家物語 (The Tale of the Heike) and Genpei seisuiki 源平盛衰記 (The Rise and Fall of the Genji and the Heike), but it is Gikeiki 義経記 (The Annals of Yoshitsune) that is most responsible for disseminating Yoshitsune legends that later were developed into *Noh 能, kōwakamai 幸若舞, jōruri 浄瑠璃, and *kabuki 歌舞伎 plays. The great popularity of the Yoshitsune legends particularly in theater, and their variety, made them a favorite subject for *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 painting and prints in the Edo period. The prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳 (1797-1861) are particularly well known. Yoshitsune usually is cast as a hero, but he is also seen as a beautiful, effeminate courtier-warrior whose tragic fate warrants a sympathetic response. A popular sobriquet for Yoshitsune was hōgan 判官 (also read hangan), his title as "Chief Constable," and the phrase hōgan biiki 判官贔屓 (sympathy for hōgan, then became sympathy for the underdog) came to epitomize the popular response to Yoshitsune and accounts for much of his popularity.
The major events in the Yoshitsune legend (retold in the chronicles noted above) are: (1) Born the son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo 源義朝 (1123-60) and Tokiwa Gozen 常盤御前, after his father's death and mother's remarriage, the boy Ushiwakamaru 牛若丸 was placed in the temple Kuramadera 鞍馬寺, north of Kyoto, where he learned shugendō 修験道 magic and military skills from the *tengu 天狗 goblin. (2) At age 16, Ushiwakamaru together with the gold-seller Kaneuri Kichiji 金売吉次 journeyed to Ōshū 奥州 (present-day Tōhoku 東北). On the way they were attacked by the bandit Kumasaka Chōhan 熊坂長範 but Ushiwakamaru killed him. To celebrate his coming of age, Ushiwakamaru took the name Kurō Yoshitsune 九郎義経. (3) At an inn in Yahagi 矢矧 (present-day Okazaki 岡崎, Aichi Prefecture), Yoshitsune had a romance with Jōrurihime 浄瑠璃姫, the daughter of the wealthy innkeeper. (Jūnidan zōshi 十二段草紙) (4) He finally reaches Ōshū where he meets Fujiwara Hidehira 藤原秀衡 (d. 1189). Returning to Kyoto, Yoshitsune takes advantage of the love of Kiichi Hōgen's 鬼一法眼 daughter Minatsuruhime 皆鶴姫 to steal the "Tiger chapter" of the secret Chinese book Liutao Sanlue (Jp: Rikutō sanryaku 六韜三略) from which he learned the principles of war. Kiichi discovered the theft and tried to murder Yoshitsune, but himself was killed in the attempt. (5) The fight between Yoshitsune and the warrior-priest *Benkei 弁慶 known as "Benkei at the Bridge" Hashi Benkei 橋弁慶. (6) In the tenth month of 1180, when Minamoto no Yoritomo 源頼朝 (1147-99) revolted against Taira no Kiyomori 平清盛 (1118- 81), Yoshitsune left Ōshū and met his older half-brother at the Kise 黄瀬 River. (7) Yoshitsune's military heroics against the Taira earned him both eternal fame and the animosity of suspicious Yoritomo. Yoshitsune's most daring and brilliant exploits include routing the forces of Kiso Yoshinaka 木曽義仲 (1154-84) at the Uji River (see *Ujigawa no kassen 宇治川の合戦), leading his troops down the precipitous Hiyodorigoe 鵯越 pass (see *Ichinotani kassen 一の谷合戦), and the surprise attack on the Taira camped at Yashima (see *Yashima kassen 屋島合戦). Yoshitsune's individual heroics include rescuing his bow at Yashima (see *Yuminagashi 弓流し) and jumping between boats at the battle of Dannoura 壇の浦 (see *Hassōtobi 八艘飛). (9) After Yoshitsune's success in the Genpei 源平 war, Yoritomo advised his officers to disobey Yoshitsune, and eventually dispatched soldiers to kill him at his Horikawa mansion in Kyoto (see *Horikawa youchi 堀川夜討). (10) After escaping, Yoshitsune and a number of loyal followers fled first by boat from Daimotsu-no-ura 大物浦 only to be caught in a storm. (11) Yoshitsune then disappeared in the Kansai 関西 region, reportedly hiding at Mt. Hiei 比叡, Mt. Yoshino 吉野 (see *Senbonzakura 千本桜), and even back in the capital, where he was shielded from Yoritomo's agents by sympathetic courtiers, warriors, and clergy. (12) Eventually Yoshitsune left the capital area and headed north along the Japan Sea coast to Hidehira's domain in Ōshū. The highlight of the flight north occurred at the Ataka 安宅 Barrier when Benkei's resourcefulness saved his small band of fugitives disguised as priests (see *Kanjinchō 勧進帳). After reaching Ōshū, Yoshitsune was protected by Hidehira, but after the old man's death, his son Yasuhira 泰衡 yielded to pressure from Yoritomo and turned on Yoshitsune. On the 30th day of the fourth month, 1189, Yoshitsune killed himself.
Related to the Yoshitsune legends are stories concerning his retainers Benkei and Satō Tadanobu 佐藤忠信, as well as his mother Tokiwa and his lover Shizuka 静.