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Description
Minamoto Yoshitsune's story is the subject of many stories and plays which treat him as an archetype of doomed valor. The brother of Minamoto Yoritomo, who founded the shogunate, Yoshitsune was placed in a monastery after his father's death in an abortive rebellion in 1160 against the rival Taira family. He escaped and according to legends spend time among the Tengu learning fencing and other attainments. In 1180 Yoshitsune joined a rebellion against the Taira clan launched by his half-brother Yoritomo. He led a successful campaign in 1184 against his cousin Yoshinaka who had driven the Taira out of Kyoto the previous year; later that year he led a successful surprise night attack on the Taira forces at the castle at Ichinotani. In 1185 he finally annihilated the Taira in the naval battle of Dannoura, which is depicted in the print. During the battle the great Taira warrior Noritsune attempted to cut his way through the Minamoto forces to reach and kill Yoshitsune. He finally reached Yoshitsune's boat, but the latter, seeing Noritsune's approach, leaped into another boat and escaped. Jealous of his half-brother, Yoritomo began to hound him, his suspicions exacerbated by the retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa's attempts to use Yoshitsune against him. Following an assassination attempt by his brother, Yoshitsune fled north late in 1185, but most of his followers died in a storm at sea. Seeking refuge in the castle of Takatachi, they were betrayed by Fujiwara Yasuhira. Yoshitsune was forced into suicide in 1189, after killing his wife and daughter. (Henri L. Joly, Legend in Japanese Art, pp. 582-86.)
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