Minamoto no Yoshitsune

Japanese: 源義経 - みなもとのよしつね

A military commander from the end of the Heian period to the beginning of the Kamakura period. The ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the younger brother of Minamoto no Yoritomo. His childhood names were Ushiwakamaru, Shanaomaru, and Kuro. He was appointed as a Kebiishi (police officer) and took the name Kuro Hangan.

[Takahashi Tomio]

The Legend of Ushiwakamaru

Yoshitsune was born to Minamoto no Yoshitomo, the Left Horse Captain, and Tokiwa (Tokiwa Gozen), a miscellaneous servant of the Kujo-in Imperial Court. After his father Yoshitomo was defeated and killed in the Heiji Rebellion, Yoshitsune was sent to Mount Kurama and forced to enter the Buddhist priesthood as his mother remarried Ichijo Okurakyo Naganari. However, instead of practicing Buddhism, he is said to have devoted himself to martial arts, claiming to avenge his father's death. Before he knew it, he had escaped Mount Kurama and wandered around the country, working hard among the local people, until he arrived in Hiraizumi, where he was protected by Fujiwara Hidehira. Then, in 1180 (Jisho 4), upon hearing that his brother Yoritomo had raised an army, he left Hiraizumi and joined the campaign at Kisegawa in Suruga Province, where he attempted to subjugate the Taira clan together with Yoritomo. Nothing is known about Yoshitsune's life at Kurama Temple or the circumstances of his journey east. Details about his attendants are also completely unknown. For this reason, the "Heiji Monogatari" and "Gikeiki" contain various "Ushiwaka tales," such as Tengu's swordsmanship instruction, his meeting with Benkei, and the legend of Kinbai Kichiji.

[Takahashi Tomio]

The magistrate of the Kamakura Shogunate

After Yoshitsune was organized under Yoritomo's command, he was called "Kuro-no-shu" and treated as the son of an honorable Minamoto clan. As the "Kamakura Shogun," he became the general in the pursuit of the Taira clan together with his half-brother, Minamoto no Noriyori. In records from Kyoto, he is always considered Yoritomo's chief general. Thus, in January 1184 (Genryaku 1), Yoshitsune first defeated Kiso Yoshinaka (Minamoto no Yoshinaka) and seized control of the capital. In February, he defeated the Taira forces at Ichinotani, discouraging them from entering Kyoto. In February of the following year, 1185 (Bun'ei 1), Yoshitsune surprised the Taira forces floating in the Western Sea at Yashima and won a major victory. Taking advantage of the victory, Yoshitsune cornered them in the gap between the Kanmon Straits and finally annihilated the Taira forces in the Battle of Dannoura. This happened on March 24, 1185.

Naturally, Yoshitsune should have been rewarded for his great achievement, but he incurred Yoritomo's wrath due to a complaint by Kajiwara Kagetoki, a samurai general who was Yoritomo's supervisor, and was not allowed to enter Kamakura. He sent the so-called "Koshigoe letter" to Yoritomo's aide, Oe Hiromoto, explaining his feelings, but his explanation was not accepted, and Yoshitsune was exiled.

[Takahashi Tomio]

Conflict with family members

There were many reasons why Yoshitsune was not accepted by Yoritomo. However, the root of the reason was that, as the head of the Minamoto clan, Yoritomo based his power on the organization of his Fudai retainers, while Yoshitsune did not have such an organization of his own retainers, and everything depended on the personal ability of Yoshitsune and his "Teroto." As a result, battles that should have been fought as a collective action of the entire organization through the vassals ended up being acted on Yoshitsune's own accord, which brought him into conflict with Yoritomo's retainers and ultimately resulted in his alienation by Yoritomo.

The Kyoto side was sympathetic to Yoshitsune, partly because they wanted to check Yoritomo. They allowed the Emperor to enter the palace, and temples and shrines in the Kinai region secretly and openly hid him. On October 18, 1185, Yoshitsune forced the Emperor to issue an imperial edict to pursue Yoritomo. However, on November 6, Yoshitsune was shipwrecked at Daimotsuura while trying to descend to the Western Sea, and then wandered from place to place to escape pursuit. Yoritomo installed shugo and jito (local governors) to rigorously pursue and capture Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune fled to Hiraizumi again, relying on Fujiwara Hidehira, but after Hidehira's death, he was attacked by Hidehira's son Fujiwara Yasuhira, and on April 30, leap year 1189, he committed suicide with his wife and children at Koromogawa no Tachi.

[Takahashi Tomio]

Fact and legend

Much of Yoshitsune's biography is unclear, and he is also toyed with by a strange fate, so his life has been narrated as a heroic legend. In particular, sympathy for his young life, in which he died in poverty under the strict persecution of the establishment ruler Yoritomo, became the so-called "favoritism towards the underdog," creating one of Japan's representative heroic legends. However, up until "The Tale of the Heike" and "The Rise and Fall of the Genpei" there is still historical substance. After "The Tale of Yoshitsune," dramatization progressed, and in the form of joruri (a type of puppet theater) and kabuki (a type of theater), Yoshitsune entered the world of completely fictionalized stories.

[Takahashi Tomio]

"Minamoto no Yoshitsune" by Takayanagi Mitsutoshi (1960, Bungeishunju Shinsha)" ▽ "Minamoto no Yoshitsune: A Collection of Biography by Watanabe Tamotsu, new edition (1986, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Minamoto no Yoshitsune and the Genpei Wars" by Suzuki Toru (2004, Kawade Shobo Shinsha)" ▽ "All about Minamoto no Yoshitsune" by Okutomi Takayuki, new edition (2004, Shinjinbutsu Oraisha)" ▽ "Minamoto no Yoshitsune, new edition (2004, Shinjinbutsu Oraisha)" ▽ "Minamoto no Yoshitsune" by Yasuda Motohisa, new edition (2004, Shinjinbutsu Oraisha)" ▽ "Minamoto no Yoshitsune - The Life and Legend of Yoshitsune" by Kazue Kyoichi (Kobundo, Athens Shinsho)" ▽ "Minamoto no Yoshitsune" by Kadokawa Minamotoyoshi and Takada Minoru (Kadokawa Shinsho)" ▽ "Yoshitsune and the Japanese" by Wakamori Taro (Kodansha Gendai Shinsho)" ▽ "The Legend of Yoshitsune, by Tomio Takahashi (Chuko Shinsho)" ▽ "Minamoto no Yoshitsune, by Kadokawa Minamotoyoshi and Takada Minamoto no Yoshitsune (Kodansha Academic Library)" ▽ "Minamoto no Yoshitsune, by Gomi Fumihiko (Iwanami Shinsho)" ▽ "Imaizumi Masataka, "Yoshitsune and Shizuka Gozen: What Happened to Them Afterwards -- What Do the Legends of Their Survival, Left in Various Places, Tell Us?" (PHP Bunko)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

平安末～鎌倉初期の武将。源義朝(よしとも)の九男、源頼朝(よりとも)の弟。幼名牛若(うしわか)丸、遮那(しゃな)王丸、九郎。検非違使(けびいし)に任ぜられて九郎判官(ほうがん)と号した。

［高橋富雄］

牛若丸伝説

義経は左馬頭(さまのかみ)源義朝と九条院雑仕常盤(ぞうしときわ)（常盤御前）との間に生まれ、平治(へいじ)の乱に父義朝が敗死したあと、母が一条大蔵卿(おおくらきょう)長成に再嫁したので、彼は鞍馬山(くらまやま)に送られ、仏門に入らされた。しかし、彼は、仏道の修行はせずに、父の仇(あだ)を報いると称して武道に励んだと伝えられる。そしていつのまにか鞍馬山を抜け出し、土民の中に交じって苦役しながら諸国流浪のすえ、平泉(ひらいずみ)にたどりつき、藤原秀衡(ひでひら)の庇護(ひご)を受ける。そして、1180年（治承4）兄頼朝(よりとも)の挙兵を聞いて、平泉を抜け出して、駿河(するが)国黄瀬川(きせがわ)に参陣、頼朝とともに平家討伐を図る。義経の鞍馬寺における生活、その東(あずま)下りの事情などはいっさい不明である。彼の従者などについても詳細はまったく不明である。そのために『平治物語』や『義経記(ぎけいき)』などは、天狗(てんぐ)の剣術指南、弁慶(べんけい)との出会い、金売吉次(きちじ)伝説など、さまざまな「牛若物語」を構え出している。

［高橋富雄］

鎌倉殿の代官

頼朝の麾下(きか)に組織されてから後の義経は「九郎主」とよばれて、栄誉ある源家一門の御曹子扱いとなる。そしてその「鎌倉殿の代官」として、庶兄源範頼(のりより)とともに平家追討の大将軍となる。京都側の記録ではつねに彼が頼朝の首席代官とみなされている。こうして1184年（元暦1）正月、まず木曽義仲(きそよしなか)（源義仲）に大勝、都の覇権を握った。さらに2月、平軍を一ノ谷に撃破して、その入京の気勢をくじいた。そして翌85年（文治1）2月、西海の海に浮かぶ平軍を屋島に奇襲して大勝し、勝ちに乗じてこれを関門海峡のはざまに追い詰め、壇ノ浦の戦いについに平軍を全滅せしめた。ときに1185年3月24日のことである。

　当然、義経はその大功を賞せられるべきところであったが、彼は頼朝の目付役たる侍大将梶原景時(かじわらかげとき)の訴えにより、頼朝の勘気に触れ、鎌倉に入ることができなかった。頼朝の側近、大江広元(おおえのひろもと)にあてて、いわゆる「腰越状(こしごえじょう)」を送り、その心中を訴えても、その弁疏(べんそ)は聞き入れられず、義経は追放の身となった。

［高橋富雄］

御家人との対立

義経が頼朝にいれられなかったのには、いろいろな理由があった。しかしその根本は、頼朝が源家の棟梁(とうりょう)として譜代(ふだい)の郎党組織のうえにその権力を構えているのに、義経にはそのような固有の郎党組織がなく、義経およびその「手郎党」の個人的力量にすべてがかかっていたところにある。そのため、すべて御家人(ごけにん)を通して組織全体の集団行動として戦われるべき合戦が、義経の独断専行という形になり、頼朝の御家人たちと対立し、ひいては頼朝に疎外される結果ともなったのである。

　京都側は頼朝を牽制(けんせい)する意味合いもあって、義経に同情的であった。院の昇殿を許し、畿内(きない)の寺社は陰に陽にこれをかくまった。1185年10月18日、義経は強要して頼朝追討の院宣(いんぜん)を得た。しかし11月6日、西海に下ろうとして大物浦(だいもつのうら)に難船したのちは、各所に転々して追及の手を逃れた。頼朝は守護、地頭(じとう)を設置して厳しくこれを追捕(ついぶ)させた。藤原秀衡を頼って再度平泉に逃れた義経は、秀衡死後その子藤原泰衡(やすひら)の襲撃にあい、89年閏(うるう)4月30日、妻子とともに衣川館(ころもがわのたち)に自害して果てた。

［高橋富雄］

史実と伝説

義経の伝記は不明なところが多く、かつ数奇な運命にもてあそばれているため、その生涯はかっこうの英雄伝説として物語化されている。とくに体制支配者頼朝の厳しい追及のもとに窮死するその若き生涯への同情は、いわゆる「判官贔屓(ほうがんびいき)」となって、日本における代表的な英雄伝説をつくりあげた。しかし、『平家物語』『源平盛衰記』まではまだ歴史性がある。『義経記』以降脚色化が進み、浄瑠璃(じょうるり)、歌舞伎(かぶき)に至って完全なる創作の世界に入ることになった。

［高橋富雄］

『高柳光寿著『源義経』（1960・文芸春秋新社）』▽『渡辺保著『人物叢書　源義経』新装版（1986・吉川弘文館）』▽『鈴木亨著『源義経と源平の合戦』（2004・河出書房新社）』▽『奥富敬之著『源義経のすべて』新装版（2004・新人物往来社）』▽『安田元久著『源義経』新版（2004・新人物往来社）』▽『数江教一著『源義経――義経伝と伝説』（弘文堂・アテネ新書）』▽『角川源義・高田実著『源義経』（角川新書）』▽『和歌森太郎著『義経と日本人』（講談社現代新書）』▽『高橋富雄著『義経伝説』（中公新書）』▽『角川源義・高田実著『源義経』（講談社学術文庫）』▽『五味文彦著『源義経』（岩波新書）』▽『今泉正顕著『義経と静御前　二人の「その後」――各地に残された生存伝説は何を語るのか』（PHP文庫）』

[参照項目] | 一ノ谷の戦い | 院宣 | 梶原景時 | 金売吉次 | 義経記 | 黄瀬川 | 源平盛衰記 | 源平の合戦 | 腰越状 | 衣川館 | 地頭 | 壇ノ浦の戦い | 常盤御前 | 藤原秀衡 | 藤原泰衡 | 平家物語 | 平治物語 | 弁慶 | 源範頼 | 源義朝 | 源義仲 | 源頼朝 | 屋島の戦い | 義経伝説

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