The Tales of the Heike

by Burton Watson

  KUNITSUNA (1122–1181): [Gojō] major counselor, member of the northern branch of the Fujiwara, and father of Lady Dainagon-no-suke. Elsewhere in the Kakuichi version, Kunitsuna is remembered chiefly for his ostentatious displays of his wealth [7:20, Initiates 3; 3:3, 3:4, 4:2, 5:1, 6:10, 11:19].

  LORD NOTO: see Noritsune.

  LORD OF KAMAKURA: see Yoritomo.

  MASAKADO: Taira no Masakado (d. 940), rebel who laid claim to eight provinces in eastern Japan as a “Taira prince of the blood” before being crushed by imperial forces. A lengthy narrative concerning his rebellion survives in an early text, The Account of Masakado (Shōmonki) [1:1; 1:11, 4:12, 5:5, 5:11, 5:12, 6:12, 7:9, 9:7, 10:4].

  MICHICHIKA: Minamoto no Michichika (1149–1202), high-ranking courtier who accompanies Emperor GoShirakawa to Ōhara. Michichika also accompanies Emperor Takakura to the Itsukushima Shrine. His account of the pilgrimage, which survives, is the main source of the account in section 4:1. Michichika was an important figure in court politics after the war, a favorite of Emperor GoToba. Thirty-two of his poems are included in imperial anthologies [Initiates 3; 3:4, 5:1].

  MICHIMORI (d. 1184): son of Taira no Norimori, nephew of Kiyomori, and governor of Echizen Province. He is one of the commanders in the attack on the Nara temples and in the Hokuriku campaign against Yoshinaka. At the battle of Ichi-no-tani, he and his brother Noritsune are assigned to guard the Hiyodori Pass region. Michimori is killed in the fighting, and his wife, the Third-Rank Lady of Echizen (Kozaishō), commits suicide. In Michimori, a nō play written by Iami and revised by Zeami, the ghosts of Michimori and Kozaishō describe their last meeting and deaths [9:9, 11:3; 5:14, 7:2, 7:3, 7:6, 7:12, 7:13, 7:19, 9:6, 9:18, 9:19, 10:4].

  MICHINOBU: Kōno no Michinobu (1156–1223) of Iyo Province in Shikoku. After changing to the Genji side, Michinobu foils repeated attempts by the Heike and their allies to punish him for disloyalty and helps the Genji at the battle of Dan-no-ura. After the Genpei war, Michinobu is rewarded by the Kamakura shogunate but ultimately is exiled to Hiraizumi for his support of Emperor GoDaigo in the Jōkyū rebellion [6:7, 11:7; 6:6, 9:6, 11:2, 11:6].

  MICHIZANE: Sugawara no Michizane (845–903), minister of the right under Emperor Daigo. He fell victim to a fellow minister’s slander and was forced to accept a post in distant Dazaifu (Kyushu). He later is worshiped as the deity of the Kitano Shrine [10:7; 2:4, 3:16, 8:2].

  MIONOYA NO JŪRŌ: warrior serving under Yoshitsune. He has a lucky escape in an encounter with Kagekiyo at Yashima [11:5].

  MITSUMORI: Tezuka [no] Tarō Mitsumori, warrior from Shinano Province serving under Yoshinaka. He takes Sanemori’s head at the battle of Shinohara and is one of the last of Yoshinaka’s retainers to fall at Awazu [7:8; 9:4].

  MITSUYOSHI: Fujiwara no Mitsuyoshi (1132–1183), senior courtier. He loses his title of commander of the Military Guards of the Right in Kiyomori’s coup d’état of 1179. Mongaku visits him in Fukuhara in 1180 to obtain from Retired Emperor GoShirakawa an edict authorizing Yoritomo to attack the Heike, as Mongaku recalls later [3:16, 5:10, 12:7].

  MIURA NO SUKE: see Yoshizumi.

  MIURA TARŌ: Miura no Ishizakon no Tarō, Genji warrior [11:8].

  MOCHIHITO, PRINCE (1151–1180): second son of Retired Emperor GoShirakawa. He is also known as Prince Takakura. After he is persuaded by Yorimasa to give his name to the anti-Taira revolt of 1180, Prince Mochihito is killed after Yorimasa is defeated at the battle of Uji [4:11, 5:14; 4:3, 4:5–8, 4:10, 4:12–14, 5:1, 6:4].

  MONGAKU: religious name of Endō Moritō (1139–1203), Buddhist monk. The Kakuichi version credits “a religious awakening” for making him leave lay life at the age of nineteen, whereas other variants relate the story of how he accidentally kills Kesa Gozen, a married woman whom he loves. Mongaku becomes known as Saint Mongaku (Mongaku Shōnin) for his unstinting—and historically documented—efforts to rebuild Jingo-ji and other temples that had fallen into ruin. Exiled to Izu in 1180, he meets Yoritomo and incites him to revolt against the Heike, obtaining for him the support of Retired Emperor GoShirakawa. Mongaku intercedes on behalf of the last Heike heir, Koremori’s son Rokudai, saving him from execution. After Yoritomo’s death, Mongaku is exiled to the island of Oki, where he dies [12:9; 5:8–10, 12:2, 12:7, 12:8].

  MORIKATA: Emi no Jirō Morikata (1157–1185), Heike samurai commander. Active at the battle of Yashima, he is killed at the battle of Dan-no-ura [11:5; 9:8].

  MORIKUNI (1113?–1186): police lieutenant and father of the Taira commander Etchū no Zenji Moritoshi. He is a senior adviser to both Kiyomori and Shigemori. Morikuni later protests when Kiyomori orders that an unsuccessful general be put to death [2:6; 2:3, 2:7, 5:12, 6:10].

  MORINAGA: Gotōbyōe Morinaga, foster brother of Taira no Shigehira, whom he deserts at the battle of Ichi-no-tani. His cowardice is remembered in the war tale Chronicle of Great Peace (Taiheiki) [9:15].

  MORITOSHI: Etchū no Zenji Moritoshi (d. 1184), Heike samurai commander. He is killed at the battle of Ichi-no-tani [9:9, 9:12; 7:2, 7:4, 9:13).

  MORITSUGI: Etchū no Jirōbyōe Moritsugi (d. 1197), son of Moritoshi and Heike samurai commander throughout the conflict. Moritsugi survives the battle of Dan-no-ura and is not captured and executed until long afterward [4:11, 11:3, 11:5, 11:7; 7:2, 7:14, 7:19, 8:9, 9:10, 10:14, 11:11, 12:9].

  MOROMORI (d. 1184): grandson of Taira no Kiyomori, son of Shigemori, and younger brother of Koremori. He is killed at the battle of Ichi-no-tani [9:18, 10:1; 7:14, 7:19, 9:8, 10:10, 10:13].

  MOROSHIGE: Onda no Moroshige, Genji warrior from Musashi Province. He is killed by Tomoe [9:4].

  MOTOKIYO: Shinbyōe Motokiyo (d. 1221), retainer of Minamoto no Yoshitsune. He is executed by his own son during the Jōkyū rebellion [11:3, 11:5; 11:1].

  MOTOMICHI: Fujiwara no Motomichi (1160–1233), son-in-law of Taira no Kiyomori. He serves as regent (sesshō and kanpaku) during the Genpei war (1179–1183, 1184–1186) and again afterward [5:14; 1:5, 3:15–17, 3:19, 5:1, 5:11, 5:13, 7:13, 8:1, 8:2, 8:11, 9:5].

  MUNEMITSU: Yuasa no Shichirōbyoe Munemitsu of Kii Province. He recognizes Koremori in Kumano [10:10].

  MUNEMOCHI: Kano no Suke Munemochi of Izu Province, in whose custody Shigehira is placed when in Kamakura. A confident of Yoritomo’s, Munemochi appears in the chronicle Mirror of the East (Azuma kagami) and in The Tale of the Soga (Soga monogatari) [10:7].

  MUNEMORI (1147–1185): third son of Taira no Kiyomori. He becomes the head of the Taira clan after his father’s death in 1181, but repeatedly makes errors of judgment. After allowing himself to be captured at the battle of Dan-no-ura, Munemori is brought to Kamakura with his son Kiyomune and later is executed [1:5, 2:6, 6:7, 7:8, 9:9, 10:7, 11:3, 11:8; 1:12, 1:15, 2:3, 2:11, 3:4, 3:11, 3:18, 3:19, 4:1, 4:4–6, 4:13, 4:14, 5:12, 6:8, 6:10, 6:12, 7:4, 7:7, 7:12, 7:13, 7:15, 7:19, 7:20, 8:1, 8:3, 8:4, 8:6, 8:11, 9:6, 9:7, 9:17, 10:2–4, 10:6, 10:9, 10:11, 10:13, 10:15, 11:2, 11:6, 11:7, 11:10, 11:11, 11:13, 11:16–18].

  MUNETAKA: Yoichi Munetaka (Nasu no Yoichi), Genji archer from Nasu in Shimotsuke Province [11:4; 11:5].

  MUNETŌ: Abe no Munetō, northern Japanese “barbarian” (ebisu). With his elder brother Sadatō, he challenges imperial authority in the “former Nine Years’ War.” In 1062 he and his brother are defeated in battle by Yoriyoshi. Munetō surrenders and is exiled to Dazaifu (Kyushu) [10:12; 1:11, 5:5, 7:5].

  MUTSURU: Gengo Uma-no-jō Mutsuru of the Watanabe League [11:10].

  NAGATSUNA: Takahashi no Hangan Nagatsuna (d. 1183), Taira warrior at the battle of Uji. He later participates in the northern war against Yoshinaka, dying in the battle of Shinohara [4:11; 7:2, 7:7].

  NAHA NO TARŌ: Taira warrior at the battle of Uji [4:11].

  NAOIE: Kumagae Kojirō Naoie (1169–1221), son of Naozane and Genji warrior in Yoshitsune’s rear attack force. He is wounded in a challenge to the Heike position at the battle of Ichi-no-tani (9:16; 9:7, 9:10).

  NAOZANE: Kumagae Naozane (1141–1208), Genji warrior from Musashi Province. Naozane reluctantly takes
the life of Atsumori, an act that leads him to turn to a religious life. He is first under the command of Noriyori at the battle of Uji and then under Yoshitsune. Naozane is the first warrior to attack the Heike position at Ichi-no-tani. During the night attack, his son Kojirō Naoie is injured. Several variants describe how Naozane returns Atsumori’s head and belongings to his father, with additional episodes illustrating his bravery and concern for his son’s safety. He was a popular subject of later legend, prose, and nō and kabuki plays [9:16; 9:2, 9:7, 9:10, 9:16].

  NARICHIKA: Major Counselor Fujiwara no Narichika (1138–1177), principal Shishi-no-tani conspirator and father of Naritsune. On two earlier occasions, Narichika is involved in failed plots but is saved from severe punishment by his close relationship with Retired Emperor GoShirakawa and members of the Taira family: his sister was married to Shigemori; his daughter, to Koremori; and his son Naritsune, to Norimori’s daughter. For his part in the Shishi-no-tani plot, Narichika is sent into exile and subsequently is executed on Kiyomori’s orders. After his death, his resentful spirit is blamed for problems suffered by Empress Kenreimon’in in her pregnancy. In an effort to pacify the spirit, Narichika’s exiled son Naritsune is pardoned and allowed to return from exile [2:6, 3:1; 1:12, 1:13, 2:3–5, 2:8–11, 3:7, 3:15, 3:18, 4:3, 7:14].

  NARIHIRA: Ariwara no Narihira (825–880), Heian-period poet [7:20].

  NARITSUNE (d. 1202): Tanba Lesser Captain and son of Fujiwara no Narichika, a Shishi-no-tani conspirator. After the conspiracy is discovered, Naritsune is brought to Kiyomori for questioning. His father-in-law, Norimori, intercedes on his behalf, saving him from execution. Exiled to Kikai-ga-shima, he and Yasuyori spend their time on the island in prayer, in contrast to their fellow exile Shunkan. After their pardon, Naritsune and Yasuyori return to the capital, stopping on the way to see his father’s place of exile in Bizen. Reunited with his family in 1179, Naritsune lived for more than thirty years, rising in the court hierarchy. A different account of Naritsune’s life in exile is found in some later works. In one variant of The Tales of the Heike, Naritsune has a child by the daughter of a fisherman (Genpei jōsuiki, book 9). His relationship with the fisherman’s daughter is central to a puppet play by Chikamatsu Monzaemon (The Heike and the Isle of Women [Heike nyogo no shima], 1719 [kabuki version, 1720]) [2:10, 2:15, 3:1; 2:4, 2:5, 2:9, 3:2, 3:3, 3:7–9].

  NIIDONO: see Tokiko.

  NITTA: Priest Nitta of Kōzuke [4:11].

  NOBUTAKA: Fujiwara no Nobutaka (1126–1179), senior noble. One of his wives was Kiyomori’s daughter; another was a nobleman’s daughter who bore Emperor Takakura several children, including the future emperor GoToba. The nobleman’s daughter is thought to be the one who calls on Kenreimon’in in her first refuge [1:5, Initiates 2, 4; 1:5, 8:1].

  NOBUTSUNA: Tashiro no Kanja Nobutsuna of Izu Province, Genji warrior of imperial descent. He serves with Yoshitsune’s forces at the battles of Mikusa, Yashima, and Dan-no-ura. Soon after the battle of Dan-no-ura, Nobutsuna receives a letter from Yoritomo warning him not to obey Yoshitsune’s orders (Mirror of the East [Azuma kagami], entry of 1185.4.29) [11:3; 9:7, 9:8, 11:5].

  NOBUYORI: Fujiwara no Nobuyori (1131–1159). Together with Yoshitomo, Nobuyori instigates the Heiji rebellion in 1159, succeeding in bringing about the death of his rival Shinsei. On Kiyomori’s return, the rebellion is crushed and Nobuyori is executed [1:1; 1:3, 1:12, 2:6, 3:18, 5:5, 11:18].

  NORIMORI (1128–1187): son of Taira no Tadamori, younger brother of Kiyomori, father of Michimori and Noritsune, and consultant and middle counselor. When his son-in-law Naritsune is implicated in the Shishi-no-tani conspiracy, Norimori intervenes to save his life. He sends food to Naritsune in exile and is later instrumental in obtaining a pardon. Norimori takes little part in the fighting. The tale describes him as drowning himself at Dan-no-ura, but historical sources show him surviving the battle [2:15, 3:1; 1:15, 2:5, 2:9, 3:3, 3:4, 3:7, 7:12, 7:19, 9:6, 9:7, 9:19, 11:10].

  NORITSUNE (1159/1160?–1184/1185?): son of Taira no Tsunemori, elder brother of Michimori, nephew of Kiyomori, and governor of Noto Province (Lord Noto). Noritsune leads the Heike forces to victory on several occasions but is unable to halt Yoshitsune’s surprise attack on Ichi-no-tani. Active at the battle of Yashima, he takes his own life at Dannoura after failing to engage Yoshitsune in single-handed combat. The Kakuichi account of Noritsune’s flight from Ichi-no-tani, leading role in subsequent battles, and death at Dan-no-ura is fictional: two major historical sources, the chronicle Mirror of the East (Azuma kagami) and the diary by the nobleman Kanezane, confirm that Noritsune was in fact killed at the battle of Ichi-no-tani in 1184 [9:9, 11:3; 7:13, 7:19, 8:7, 9:6, 9:10, 9:12, 9:18, 9:19, 11:5, 11:6, 11:10].

  NORIYORI (d. 1193): son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, half brother of Yoritomo and Yoshitsune, and governor of Mikawa Province. He is known as Gama (or Kaba) no kanja after his birthplace. In the campaigns of books nine through eleven, Noriyori acts as the senior commander in chief of the Genji forces and Yoshitsune, the junior commander, but Noriyori’s own achievements fall far short of Yoshitsune’s. After the end of the war, he is unable to allay Yoritomo’s suspicions and finally is put to death [11:7; 8:11, 9:1–3, 9:5, 9:7, 9:11, 10:1, 10:14, 10:15, 11:1, 11:17, 12:5].

  NUN OF THE SECOND RANK: see Tokiko.

  ŌGO: Ōgo no Saburō Sanehide, Taira warrior at the battle of Uji [4:11; 10:14].

  ŌMURO: Taira warrior at the battle of Uji [4:11].

  ONO: Empress Dowager Ono, consort of Emperor GoReizei (r. 1045–1068) [Initiates 3].

  ONODERA: Onodera [no] Zenji Tarō Michitsuna, Taira warrior at the battle of Uji [4:11; 9:7].

  RETIRED EMPEROR: most of the references to “the retired emperor” are to GoShirakawa. Other retired emperors mentioned by name are GoToba, Takakura, and Toba.

  ROKUDAI: son of Taira no Koremori. After the fall of the Heike, his mother tries to hide him, but he is discovered by Hōjō Tokimasa. He is saved from execution by Mongaku, who obtains a pardon from Yoritomo on condition that Rokudai take religious orders. Despite Yoritomo’s suspicions, he survives past the age of thirty, to the year 1203 or later. Rokudai is finally put to death on orders of the lord of Kamakura. Depending on when the execution took place (and the evidence in the Heike variants and the chroniclers is contradictory), this lord is either Yoritomo (who died in 1199) or one of his successors, Yoriie or Sanetomo. Rokudai is the last direct male heir of Heike, ending the line of six generations from Masamori through Tadamori, Kiyomori, Shigemori, and Koremori to Rokudai [10:10, 10:12, 12:9; 7:14, 7:19, 10:1, 12:7, 12:8].

  ROKUYATA: see Tadazumi.

  SABURŌ: see Yoshimori (1).

  SADAMORI: Taira military commander and leader of a successful campaign against the rebel Masakado. Masakado is Sadamori’s cousin and responsible for his father’s death. Tales about Sadamori can be found in Tales of Times Now Past (Konjaku monogatari shū), 29:15, 29:25 [10:10; 1:11, 5:11, 5:12, 10:4].

  SADAMOTO: Ōe no Sadamoto (d. 1034), mid-Heian-period poet. He went to China around 1003, dying there in 1034. As a Buddhist prelate, he was known as Jakushō [Initiates 3].

  SADATŌ: Abe no Sadatō (1019–1062), northern Japanese “barbarian” (emishi). With his brother Munetō, he challenges imperial authority in the “former Nine Years’ War.” He dies after being captured in battle by Yoriyoshi. A Tale of Mutsu (Mutsu waki) is a narrative account of the war [10:12; 1:11, 5:5, 7:5].

  SADAYOSHI: Taira no Sadayoshi, governor of Chikugo Province and, later, of Higo Province. Books two and three describe Sadayoshi as attending both Shigemori and Kiyomori, performing errands and providing advice, as his father, Iesada, had done for Kiyomori and Tadamori. Although he later conducts a successful military campaign in Kyushu, he does not accompany the Heike on their flight from the capital [2:6; 2:3, 2:4, 2:7, 3:11, 3:12, 6:11, 7:13, 7:19, 10:13].

  SAIKŌ: religious name of Fujiwara Moromitsu (d. 1177), Buddhist monk close to Retired Emperor GoShirakawa. One of the chief Shishi-no-tani conspirators also respons
ible for maligning the Tendai abbot Meiun, Saikō is tortured and executed on Kiyomori’s orders. The account of the Heiji rebellion (1159) describes him as taking the tonsure when accompanying Shinsei on his flight from the capital [2:6; 1:9, 1:12, 1:13, 2:1, 2:3, 2:4, 2:6, 3:1, 4:2].

  SAITŌGO: son of Saitō Bettō Sanemori. Sanemori leaves behind Saitōgo and his brother Saitōroku when he goes to fight in the Hokuriku campaign. Koremori puts the brothers in charge of his son Rokudai when he flees the capital with the other Heike. When the heads of the Heike taken at the battle of Ichi-no-tani are paraded through the streets of the capital, the brothers go to see if Koremori’s head is among them [12:9; 7:14, 10:1, 12:7, 12:8].

  SAITŌROKU: younger brother of Saitōgo. After Rokudai is captured, he acts as a messenger, bringing news to the boy’s mother [12:9; 7:14, 10:1, 12:7, 12:8].

  SANEHIRA: Toi no Jirō Sanehira, commander of the Genji army. An easterner of Heike descent, he joins forces with Yoritomo in 1180. Sanehira serves in the armies of both Yoshitsune and Noriyori and performs important duties for Yoritomo. Some variants of The Tales of the Heike describe his role in helping Yoritomo escape by boat to Awa after the defeat at Ishibashiyama in 1180. A different account is given in the nō play Seven Warriors in Flight (Shiki ochi). After the Genpei war, Sanehira is sent by Yoritomo on important missions and is in the vanguard when Yoritomo goes to the capital in 1190 [9:4, 9:9, 9:16, 10:5; 5:4, 7:1, 9:7, 9:8, 9:10, 9:11, 9:16, 10:2, 10:14, 11:7, 11:13, 11:17].

  SANEMORI: Nagai no Saitō Bettō Sanemori (1126?–1183), eastern warrior from Musashi Province. He fights on Yoshitomo’s side in the Hōgen and Heiji rebellions (1156, 1159). After Yoshitomo’s defeat, he is absorbed into the victors’ army, serving Shigemori. When the Genji revolt in 1180, he decides to continue in his service to the Heike. At Fuji River, his tales of the fierce eastern warriors alarm the Heike forces, and they flee without fighting. His shame at joining in the panic leads him to participate in the Hokuriku campaign, despite his age and his realization that the Heike are bound to be defeated. Sanemori is survived by his sons Saitōgo and Saitōroku, whom he leaves to serve Koremori and Rokudai. In Zeami’s nō play Sanemori, the spirit of the warrior appears and recounts his own death [6:7; 5:11, 7:7, 7:8, 7:14].