Benkei

Japanese: 弁慶 - べんけい

Year of death: Bunji 5.4.29? (1189.5.16)
Year of birth: Unknown Monk from the end of the Heian period to the beginning of the Kamakura period. Musashibo. A confidant of Minamoto no Yoshitsune. His existence is confirmed through scattered references in "Azuma Kagami" and "The Tale of the Heike," but details are unknown. He is portrayed as a heroic warrior mainly in works from the Muromachi period ("The Tale of Yoshitsune," "The Tale of Benkei," and other Muromachi tales, Kojaku, Noh plays, etc.). Therefore, his life is colored by various traditional forms, folk beliefs, and legends, such as abnormal birth, demon child, abandoned child, Kumano faith, Tenjin faith, Kannon faith, military tactics, blacksmith group, giant legend, and superhuman strength legend, and he grows up as a person who embodies the desires of the people, possesses both good and evil, and is humorous. Childhood name was Oniwaka. Born in Kumano as the son of the Kumano betto. He already had a full set of hair and teeth at birth. As a child, he was entrusted to the care of Sakuramoto Sojo at the Saito temple of Mount Hiei, but was banished for debauchery. At that time, he shaved his head and took the name Benkei. He later secluded himself on Mount Shosha in Harima, but was also banished for debauchery. He then made a wish to go to Kyoto and seize 1,000 swords. He met Yoshitsune, who was carrying the last sword, at Gojo Tenjin Shrine, and the next day they fought in the grounds of Kiyomizu Kannon Temple, swearing to be master and servant. From then on, he devoted himself to Yoshitsune's subjugation of the Taira clan, and was always with Yoshitsune when he fled the capital. At Daimonoura, he appeased the vengeful spirits of the Taira clan, and they accompanied Yoshitsune to Hiraizumi, passing through danger at various checkpoints, and dying standing up in the Battle of Koromogawa in 1226. His story was incorporated into various early modern plays, but his role as a loyal retainer came to be emphasized.

(Yoko Sakurai)

Benkei

During the Muromachi period under Ashikaga Yoshimasa, there were master carpenters in the shogun's household who had nicknames such as Myojo (star) and Suigin (mercury), and Benkei seems to have been one of these nicknames. It first appeared in 1489 (Chokyo 3). It later became a family name. The Benkei family had carpentry jobs in Kitano and Gion, and in the Edo period they came under the command of Nakai and became a stipendant master carpenter family.

(Nagai Norio)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：文治5.4.29?(1189.5.16)
生年：生年不詳
平安末期・鎌倉初期の僧。武蔵坊。源義経の腹心の郎従。その存在は『吾妻鏡』『平家物語』に散見されて確認されるが,詳細は不明。主に室町時代になってからの諸作品(『義経記』『弁慶物語』ほかの室町物語,幸若,謡曲など)に,豪傑として英雄的に描かれる。従って,その生涯は実在を離れ,異常誕生,鬼子,捨子童子,熊野信仰,天神信仰,観音信仰,兵法,鍛冶屋集団,巨人伝説,怪力伝説など,様々な伝承の型,民間信仰,伝説に彩られ,民衆の願望を籠めた,善悪両面を兼備し,諧謔味も交えた人物として成長していく。幼名鬼若。熊野別当の子として熊野に生まれる。出生時にすでに髪,歯が生え揃っていた。幼時に比叡山西塔桜本僧正に預けられるが,乱行を働き,放逐される。そのとき,自ら剃髪して弁慶と名乗る。その後,播磨書写山に籠るが,やはり乱行故に放逐され,京都に出て1000本の太刀を奪う悲願を立てる。最後の1本の持ち主義経に五条天神で出会い,翌日清水観音境内で闘い,主従の契りをなす。以後,義経の平家討伐に尽力し,義経の都落ちのときにも常に従う。大物浦では平家の怨霊を鎮め,各地の関所では危険をくぐり抜け,平泉まで同行し,文治5年の衣川の合戦では立ったまま死ぬ。近世の諸演劇にも取り入れられるが,忠臣としての側面が強調されていく。

(櫻井陽子)