The Ten Foot Square Hut and Tales of the Heike Read online

  Meanwhile Kadowaki Taira-no-Chūnagon Norimori and Shuri-no-Taiyū Tsunemori placed heavy anchors on their armour and hand in hand leapt into the sea. Komatsu-no-Shin-sammi Chūjō Sukemori, his brother Komatsu-no-Shosho Arimori, and their cousin Sama-no-kami Yukimori, also followed their example and did likewise. But though the other members of the family thus leapt into the waves, Munemori and his son did not, but stood on the gunwale of the ship looking round to see what would happen. Seeing them thus hesitate, some of the Heike samurai, under pretence of pushing by hurriedly, thrust Munemori over into the sea, and his son, Uemon-no-kami Kiyomune, seeing this, sprang in after him.

  Now the others had put heavy objects on their shoulders and held on to each other so that they might be sure to sink, but these two did not do any such thing, but, being good swimmers, they swam about hither and thither, Munemori willing to sink or be rescued whichever his son might do, when Ise Saburō Yoshimori chanced to come up in a small boat and drag Kiyomune out with a rake, after which Munemori allowed himself to be pulled out also.

  Now, as we have said, none could face the arrows of Noto-no-kami Noritsune and live; and he had resolved to fight to the last this day. He was brilliantly attired in a hitatare brocaded on a red ground, and a suit of armour laced with Chinese silk; he wore a helmet decorated with lofty horns, and a sword mounted in gold and silver. In his quiver were twenty-four arrows feathered with black and white feathers, and with his Shigeto bow in his hand he shot them hither and thither, killing and wounding many of the foe. Then, when all his shafts were spent, he seized a great black-lacquered two-handed sword in one hand and a white-handled halberd in the other, and cut and slashed on all sides with reckless valour.

  Then Shin-Chūnagon Tomomori despatched a messenger to him saying: "Why add to your sins by slaying so many men of little repute? Can you find no famous adversary?" "True," replied Noto-no-kami, "I will try a fall with some great Captain." And shortening his halberd in his hand he cut his way through the ships, dealing blows vigorously on every side, but as he did not recognize Yoshitsune he took another splendidly armed warrior for him and sprang across to engage him. Now Yoshitsune was fighting close by, but somehow or other did not turn to attack Noritsune. The latter, however, having thus chanced to spring on board his ship, suddenly espied him and made at him to grapple.

  Yoshitsune, feeling himself unable to meet his onset, stuck his halberd under his left arm and leaped nimbly over to one of the ships of his own side, a distance of full twenty feet. Noto-no-kami, less skilled in such tricks, was unable to follow him, and seeing that there was no more to be done, he tore off and flung away the sleeves and skirts of his armour, keeping only the breastplate, and, standing on the deck-house of the ship with his hair loose and dishevelled, he flung out his arms and shouted loudly: "Let any of the Genji who thinks himself somebody come forth and grapple with me and take me prisoner! I should like to go down to Kamakura and have a word with Yoritomo! Who'll come and try?" But there was none who answered his challenge.

  Now there was a warrior named Aki-no-Taro Sane-mitsu, and he was so strong that he was said to possess the strength of twenty or thirty men. He had a retainer who was no less powerful than he, while his brother Jiro was also no ordinary warrior. "What is Noto Dono that we should fear him," they said; "he is no doubt a mighty warrior, but what of that? If he were a devil a hundred feet high, we three could settle him." And they got into a small boat and drew alongside the ship where Noritsune was, and boarded it and sprang at him together with their swords drawn.

  Noritsune on his part sprang forward also, and seizing Aki-no-Taro's retainer who was foremost, kicked him into the sea; then, taking Aki-no-Taro himself under his left arm, and his brother Jiro under his right and gripping them tight, he sprang over into the waves, shouting: "Come along, both of you, to the Mountain of Death!" And he was twenty-six years old that year.

  ENTRY OF THE SACRED MIRROR INTO THE CAPITAL

  Then Shin-Chūnagon Tomomori, who had been watching how the day was going, at length saw that nothing remained but to put an end to his life, and calling his foster-brother Iga-no-Hei-naisaemon Ienaga, he said: "Is it not time to fulfil the promise we made?" "Certainly;" replied Ienaga. And he assisted Tomomori to don two suits of armour, afterwards doing the same himself, and the two leaped into the sea clasped in each other's arms. Some twenty samurai who were with them at once followed them into the waves; but Etchū-no-Jirōhyōye Moritsugu, Kazusa-no-Gorōhyōye, Aku-shichibyōye Kagekiyo and Hida-no-Jirōhyōye managed to elude the enemy somehow and escape.

  And now the whole sea was red with the banners and insignia that they tore off and cut away, so that it looked like the waters of the Tatsuta-gawa when it is flecked with the maple leaves that the wind brings down in autumn, while the white breakers that rolled up on the beach were dyed a scarlet colour. The deserted empty ships rocked mournfully on the waves, driven aimlessly hither and thither by the wind and tide.

  The former Udaijin Munemori Ko, Taira Dainagon Tokitada, Uemon-no-kami Kiyomune, Kura-no-kami Nobumoto, Sanuki-no-Chōgō, Tokizane and Mune-mori's eight year old son Hyobu-no-Sho Masaakira, were captured alive, beside the priests Nii-no-Sozu Senshin, Hosshoji-no-Shugyo No-en, Chūnagon-no-Risshi Chugai and Kyoju-bo-no-Ajari Yuen, and the samurai Gendaiyu-no-Hangwan Toshisada, Settsu-no-Hangwan Morizumi, Tonaisaemon-no-Jo Nobuyasu, Kitsunai-saemon-no-Jo Toshiyasu, and Awa-no-Mimbu Shigeyoshi and his son; thirty-eight in all. Kikuchi-no-Jirō Takanao and Harada-no-Taiyū Tanenao had already laid down their arms and surrendered before the battle. Forty-three Court Ladies were taken also, including the Imperial Consort Kenrei-mon-in, the foster-mother of the Emperor Takakura and wife of Rokujo Motozane, Ro-no-Onkata another daughter of Kiyomori, Dainagon-no-suke, Sotsu-no-suke, Jibu-Kyo-no-Tsubone and others; forty-three in all.

  Thus by the fall of spring in the second year of Gen-ryaku,—a date of ill-omen indeed—the Emperor rested beneath the waves, while his Ministers and Courtiers tossed on the billows; the Imperial Consort and her Ladies were delivered into the hands of the Eastern barbarians to return to the Ancient Capital with all the Courtiers and Nobles as captives in the midst of myriads of foes, and their anguish must have been as deep as the regret of Chu Mai Ch'en at not wearing brocade, or the resentment of Wang Chao Chun when she set out for the land of the Tartars.

  On the third day of the fourth month Kurō Hōg-wan Yoshitsune dispatched Genpachi Hirotsuna as a messenger to the Hō-ō with the tidings that: "On the twenty-fourth day of the third month at the Hour of the Hare, at Ta-no-ura and Moji-ga-seki in the province of Buzen, and at Dan-no-ura and Akamagaseki in the province of Nagato, the Heike have been completely annihilated, and the Sacred Mirror and Sacred Seal will forthwith be returned to the Capital." When the Hō-ō heard this news he was exceedingly pleased, and calling Hirotsuna into the courtyard, demanded to be told all details of the battle, in his joy conferring on him the title of Sahyōye on the spot. On the fifth day His Majesty ordered To-Hōgwan Nobumori, one of the Imperial Guard, to go and see that the two Sacred Emblems were properly brought back; so he took one of the Imperial Horses and set oflf at full speed for the Western Provinces without even delaying to go back to his lodging.

  CONCERNING ROKUDAI

  Now Hōjō-no-Shiro Tokimasa was made Warden of Miyako to represent Yoritomo there, and in order that none of the male posterity of the Heike should escape him, he made proclamation that anyone, high or low, who could give him any information as to their whereabouts, should receive whatever he might wish. And regrettable to say, many in the Capital, anxious to gain rewards, made search and gave information, so that many were discovered.

  So much so that they seized upon even the children of the lowest servants, if they were handsome and of fair complexion, declaring: "This is the son of such and such a Chūjō, or: "This is the heir of such and such a Shosho:" and when the mother or father wept and lamented, they would say: "The foster-mother has said so;" or: "His nurse has told us:" and if they were quite young ch
ildren they would be thrown into the water or buried alive, or if they were older they would be strangled or stabbed, so that the grief and lamentation of their mothers and foster-mothers was beyond compare. Hōjō himself was pained at this wholesale slaughter, but as he had to obey orders he could do nothing.

  Among these descendants was Rokudai Gozen, the heir of Komatsu-Chūjō Koremori, who was now growing up, and as he was the grandson and heir, he searched everywhere to try and find him and put him to death, but all to no eflfect, and he was just about to return to Kamakura with his purpose unfulfilled, when a certain woman came to Rokuhara and said: "Westward from here, at a place called Shōbudani, to the north of the mountain temple of Daigakuji which lies behind Henjoji, the wife and children of Komatsu-Chūjō Koremori are in hiding."

  Hōjō was exceedingly pleased to hear this, and immediately sent some one to spy out the place. Going thither he found that in a certain temple building, there were several women and children carefully concealed, and as he peeped through a chink in the fence he saw a white puppy run out, followed by a very handsome boy; then a woman who looked like his foster-mother came out hurriedly and drew him in again, exclaiming: "How terrible if anyone should see you!" This is certainly he, thought the spy, as he hastened back and told what he had seen, and the next day Hōjō surrounded Shōbudani with soldiers and sent a messenger to the temple saying: "I have heard that Rokudai Gozen, the son of Komatsu-no-sammi Chūjō Koremori, is in this place, and Hōjō-no-Shiro Tokimasa, the representative of Kamakura Dono, wishes to see him, so please bring forth at once."

  When his mother heard this her senses reeled so that for a while she knew nothing, and Saito Go and Saito Roku, the child's two faithful retainers, tried to find some way to escape with him, but when they saw the soldiers surrounding them on all sides, they knew it was no use.

  So as it must be, his mother dressed him and smoothed his hair, weeping as she did so, and just before he started she put into his hand a beautiful little rosary of black wood, saying: "Take this, and be sure you repeat the Nembutsu as often as you can, that you may go to Paradise." "Since I must part with you today," replied the boy as he took it, "I wish if possible to go where my father is." At this his younger sister, who was about ten years old, cried out also: "I too want to go and see my father;" and she ran out after him, so that the foster-mother had to hold her back.

  Rokudai Gozen was twelve years old, but looked more grown up than most boys of fourteen or fifteen, and was very handsome and charming in his disposition. He tried hard to show a bold front to the enemy, but his tears ran down under the sleeve that he pressed to his face as he got into the palanquin, which then moved off surrounded by soldiers on all sides. Saito Go and Saito Roku walked on each side of their young master, and though Hōjō made two of his men get off their horses for them to ride, they declined, and walked barefoot all the way from Daigakuji to Rokuhara. His mother and the other lady flung themselves on the ground, gazing up to heaven in an agony of longing.

  Then the foster-mother, impelled by restlessness of spirit, wandered out of the Daigakuji and was walking about aimlessly in the vicinity, weeping as she went, when she met some one who told her that behind there dwelt a priest of the mountain temple of Takao, called Mongaku, who was very much trusted by Yoritomo in all matters, and that he wished to find a son of some Court lady to become his disciple. At this she was overjoyed, and at once making her way to Takao she begged to see Mongaku and thus addressed him, weep-in g bitterly the while: "My young lord, whom I have carried in my arms since he was born, and who is now twelve years old, was yesterday carried away by the soldiers. Could not your reverence beg his life, and bring him up as your disciple?" And she fell down before the monk, weeping unrestrainedly, so that he knew not what to do.

  Feeling compassion for her distress he asked her who the boy was. "It is the beloved child of the wife of Komatsu-Chūjō Koremori," she replied, "and we were bringing him up, but somebody must have said that he was the son of the Chūjō, so yesterday the soldiers came and took him." "Who was the warrior who took him?" asked the priest.. "He said his name was Hōjō-no-Shiro Tokimasa;" replied the lady. "Well I will go and see him;" declared Mongaku, and he went off there and then.

  So the priest went to Rokuhara and asked about the matter. "It is the order of Kamakura Dono," said Hōjō, "that every one of the male descendants of the Heike should be sought out and put to death, and among them is Rokudai Gozen, son of Komatsu-Chūjō Koremori. Unexpectedly I received news of him the day before yesterday, and yesterday went and brought him here; but indeed he is such a beautiful child that I am sorry I did not leave him where he was."

  "Well, may I see him?" asked Mongaku, and when he was taken to where the child was, he found him dressed in a double embroidered hitatare, holding in his hand the rosary of black wood. Such was the beauty of his hair and the elegance and nobility of his form and bearing, that he hardly looked like a creature of this world at all. Though his face was a little thin, and he had perchance not slept much that night, yet he looked indeed very lovable.

  When the child caught sight of the priest his eyes filled with tears for some reason or other, and Mongaku too moistened the sleeve of his black robe. "However great an enemy he might become in the future," he thought "how could anyone put him to death now?" Then, turning to Hōjō, he said: "It is no doubt a matter connected with a previous existence, but when I consider this child I am filled with a great pity for him. Will you not grant him a reprieve for twenty days, while I go down to Kamakura and obtain a pardon for him?

  "When I went up to the Capital in former days to procure an Imperial Edict to establish the position of Yoritomo, as I travelled all night through the plains around the Fujikawa, I lost my way and was nearly washed away and drowned, and then after that I met with robbers in Mount Takashi, and barely escaping with my life managed to effect an entrance into the 'Prison Palace' of Fukuhara and receive the Edict from the Hō-ō. In recognition of this service Yoritomo promised that whatever request I might make of him at any time, he would surely grant it, and moreover I have done him many important services since then. It is no new thing that I say, but as I have valued my duty more than my life, Yoritomo will not forget it, unless his high position has puffed him up." And he set out for Kamakura at the dawn of that day.

  Saito Go and Saito Roku, regarding the monk as a living Buddha indeed, pressed their hands together and wept. They then returned to Daigakuji and acquainted the child's mother with all that had happened, to her very great joy. With regard to the decision of Yoritomo, they were in suspense as to what it would be, but were cheered by his life being spared for twenty days, and ascribing it to the power of Kwannon of Hase, they put their trust in that deity. So things went on, and the twenty days sped by like a dream, but the monk did not come back. "How can this be?" they said with sinking hearts, and all their grief and anxiety assailed them once again. Hōjō also, as the twenty days that he had agreed to wait had passed, thought that Yoritomo had probably refused the pardon, and fretted impatiently at the delay, for he wished to start immediately for Kamakura.

  So at dawn on the seventeenth day of the twelfth month Hōjō-no-Shiro Tokimasa took the child Rokudai Gozen and departed from Miyako. Saito Go and Saito Roku went with him, walking on each side of the palanquin. Again Hōjō bade two of his men dismount that they might ride, but they declined saying: "As it is the last time we are quite content;" and so they went their way barefoot, weeping tears of blood. Thus pitifully parted from his mother and nurse, looking back on the Imperial City as it lay beyond the clouds, as for the last time he set out on the road to the far-off Eastern Provinces, the state of the child's feelings can well be imagined.

  If one of the samurai quickened his pace, his heart sank, thinking he was coming to cut off his head; and if one of them chanced to speak to him: "Now is the end," he would guess in dismay. He thought it might be at Shi-no-miya-kawara, but they passed on through Sekiyama and came to the beach of Otsu. He won
dered if it would not be at Awazu-no-hara, but by that time the dusk had already fallen. And so they went on, station by station and province by province until they came to the province of Suruga, where it seemed that his fleeting life would end.

  At a place called Sembon-no-matsubara the palanquin was set down and the young lord ordered to get out, a leather mat being spread for him to sit on. Then Hōjō hastily sprang from his horse, and approaching the child spoke as follows: "I have brought you thus far because I thought we might meet the monk on the way, but if I take you over the Hakone mountains I know not what Kamakura Dono would say. So I shall say that I executed you in the province of Ōmi. As this was foreordained from a previous life, how is it possible anyhow to escape it?"

  Then the young lord, seeing that his time was come, pulled back with his beautiful little hand the long hair that hung about his shoulders, whereat the soldiers of the guard exclaimed: "See how he is yet master of himself;" and they all moistened the sleeves of their armour. Then, looking toward the west, he joined his hands together, and repeating the Nembutsu in a loud voice ten times, stretched out his neck for the blow. Then Kudo Saburo Chikatoshi, who had been chosen as the executioner, seized his sword and moved round behind him from the left, and was just about to strike, when his eyes darkened and his senses reeled, so that he could not see where to aim his weapon. "I cannot do it," he exclaimed, hardly knowing what he did: "pray choose some one else;" and he threw down his sword and withdrew.