MOON SAGA novel book club (Prologue)
So I translated the 2014 MOON SAGA novelization, and the entire thing can be downloaded in PDF format here: http://moon-struck.net/story/
However, there's been a dearth of discussion in the fandom since it mostly moved to Tumblr, so to get people talking, I'd like to make a discussion post for each chapter. Assuming other people are interested enough to participate, etc.
Anyway, I'd like to be fairly hands off with the moderation, but in the end this is my journal and I'll decide what goes. Criticism and snark towards the novel itself, and the writing and views presented within is acceptable (as is praise and positive comments, of course!) Being a jerk directly to people is not acceptable. Criticism of Gackt himself is not strictly off limits but should be relevant to the novel.
Here's the prologue:
Prologue
Clouds, like silk floss soaked in watery ink, slowly drifted to conceal the full moon.
Sitting on the stairs that led to the main hall of the temple and looking up at the night sky, the man watched the moon sadly as it was swallowed by darkness, but then sighed, his breath white in the cold, and slowly closed his eyes.
The moonlight that had lit the temple grounds vanished, and the man's figure was hidden in shadow. But even his silhouette made the muscular shape of his body clear.
The man's name was Minamoto no Yoshinaka.
He had been raised in the Kiso valley of Shinano Province 1, and was also known as Kiso Yoshinaka.
In the year 1180, the fourth year of the Jishō era, around one month after Minamoto no Yoritomo had raised an army for his "Defeat of the Heike", he had raised his own army so as not to lag behind Yoritomo. At that time, he was twenty-seven years old.
Though he was somewhat rough mannered from his upbringing in the mountain villages of Kiso, Yoshinaka was a great man, and during his advance along the Hokuriku route from Echigo, he had challenged one hundred thousand Hokuriku and Heike troops with a force of fifty thousand and taken victory in the Battle of Kurikara. This occurred in May 1183, the second year of the Juei era.
After that, he pursued the Heike, who were in control of the capital, Kyoto, further west, and in July of that year, his army entered the capital before even that of Yoritomo, the leader of the main branch of the Genji clan.
But now, Yoshinaka sat alone under the cold winter skies, in the grounds of a decaying temple in Awatsu, Ōmi Province 2.
It was January, 1184, the third year of the Juei era, a mere six months after he had entered Kyoto.
Snow. In the pitch darkness, flakes of white began to flutter down from the sky. The snowflakes wandered in the breeze, before slowly falling to the ground and melting away.
Not a sound was to be heard.
Yoshinaka merely watched the snowflakes on the ground as they vanished. Though the clouds hid the moon, the area was faintly lit. It was a strange night.
"Though we were not born on the same day, at the same time," Yoshinaka whispered suddenly.
"We pledge an oath of brotherhood to help each other in times of need, to avenge the nation from above and pacify the citizens from below, and rescue those who are suffering... Though we cannot wish to have been born on the same day, of the same month, of the same year-"
In the overwhelming silence, Yoshinaka's voice faded like the snow.
"-we wish to die on the same day, of the same month, of the same year." 3
These were the words he had exchanged in Kamakura with his friends, just before he departed on Yoritomo's orders to defeat the Heike around Hokuriku.
Come to think of it, it was a full moon just like tonight…
Yoshinaka realized suddenly, as his thoughts lingered on it.
But now, it was impossible for that wish to come true.
Tomoe, who accompanied me since Shinano and fought by my side, is no longer in the world of the living.
Every single person around me has gone.
When I think about it, my armor, which usually doesn't bother me at all, feels so heavy.
My life has been spent in battle with armor on my body and a sword in my hand- now that I think about it, that short time I spent in Kamakura may have been the one and only time in my life that I was able to spend peacefully…
The face of a man, smiling at him like a boy without a care in the world, welled up in Yoshinaka's mind. Yoshinaka’s lips reflexively curled into a smile.
Suddenly, there was a gust of wind, kicking up snow in every direction. When Yoshinaka looked up, there was the face of the man he had just been thinking of.
Am I hallucinating?
He pondered for a moment, but the man was not smiling. His eyes were shining with a complicated light, a mixture of fury and inexpressible sadness. His features were handsome, but the gleam in his eyes did not suit the youthfulness remaining in them.
"Well. Long time no see, Yoshitsune,"
Yoshinaka said to the man standing before him.
Minamoto no Yoshitsune.
Their fathers were brothers, and therefore Yoshitsune was Yoshinaka's cousin. Yoritomo was Yoshitsune's older half-brother. Yoshinaka already knew that Yoritomo had given the order to Yoshitsune to “Defeat Yoshinaka”.
This day was bound to arrive. No matter how much he wished otherwise.
Ever since he had met Yoshitsune in Kamakura, the thought had dwelt in his mind.
Yoshinaka's father, Minamoto no Yoshikata, had lost a territorial struggle within the Genji clan, and been killed by Yoritomo and Yoshitsune's half brother, Minamoto no Yoshihira. Yoshihira himself had been executed after his defeat by the army of Taira no Kiyomori during the Heiji Rebellion.
Yoshinaka understood well that Yoritomo had taken a dim view of him since. It was also probable that Yoshinaka's acceptance of his uncle, Yukiie, who had fled to him after refusing to be subordinate to Yoritomo, had further displeased Yoritomo.
Even among those who shared Genji blood, those who interfered with the ambitions of others would be targeted without hesitation. Father against son, brother against brother.
That was the way of the world, and the art of surviving as a warrior.
Therefore, to express that he held no enmity toward Yoritomo, Yoshinaka had gone to Kamakura to request an audience with him. And it was there that he had met Yoshitsune.
Among the probing intentions of those fascinated by power, who lived under the words "master and servant", only Yoshitsune stood apart. He held respect for of course his brother Yoritomo, but also his vassals Musashibō Benkei, Ise Saburō, and the Satō brothers, Tsugunobu and Tadanobu, and opened his heart earnestly to them. Even when one of his vassals made a sharp-tongued comment, he would shrug it off with a smile and, "Ahaha! Is that so?" treating them as friends and equals. Furthermore, quite apart from the dauntless ones who spoke fiercely of "overthrowing the Heike", he seemed to have little interest even in the revival of the Genji clan. On the contrary, he disliked it when blood was spilled in battle.
Though Yoshinaka was not from the main Genji bloodline, and was sneered at by Yoritomo's vassals as "the wild monkey from the provinces who doesn't even know the proper way to ride in an ox-cart", Yoshitsune greeted him with an artless smile. As they shared sake and tales of the mountain villages they had been raised in, they developed an immediate rapport, and soon were rarely apart. And when they were together, they were sure to be accompanied by Benkei, Saburō, the Satō brothers, and Yoshinaka's consort, the beautiful female warrior Tomoe Gozen.
Yoshinaka's year and a half stay in Kamakura was spent living among these friends. And those memories had become something that filled his heart with warmth, and were difficult to forget.
Though we cannot wish to be born on the same day, of the same month, of the same year, we wish to die on the same day, of the same month, of the same year.
This was the future that Yoshinaka had wished for with Yoshitsune and the others before he departed to defeat the Heike.
However, their reunion was not to be on the battlefield fighting together against the Heike, but as a rebel and the general ordered to defeat him. It was a cruel thing.
Their wish "to die on the same day" would not be granted.
The only thing that would be granted to them was that one of them would die this day.
"Yoshinaka!...What on earth are you doing?"
Yoshitsune shouted the name of the man he had once adored as though he were forcing it out of himself.
Yoshinaka responded with a question of his own.
"How did you know I was here?"
"...Kage told me."
"I see. And yet it seems Kage has not followed you here... Does that mean he dropped dead along with En?”
"…"
Yoshitsune was biting his lip hard, with a pained expression. Because of his honest personality, he could not lie. Even with the enemy to be defeated in front of his eyes, he had no concept of feeling out his opponent in order to give himself an advantage. That was one of the things that had drawn Yoshinaka to him.
"It's a shame to have lost En, but I'm glad that he took down my most dangerous opponent. Now, all that is left is for you and I to fight... Yoshitsune."
"Why!? We're friends, aren't we? Why did you rebel against my brother? The rumors in the capital are terrible! They say that your army are forcing their way into houses and looting food, clothes and everything in sight-"
Yoshinaka interrupted his words.
"And all of that is because that beloved brother of yours refused to send us provisions! While he was ordering us to defeat the Heike in the Hokuriku area, the harshest of all, he refused me any reinforcements and sent no provisions. Can you imagine the impoverished state of my army when we entered Kyoto? How many of my troops died regrettable deaths, fighting while suffering from starvation, without even the strength to swing their swords!"
"That...had to be... some kind of mistake…"
"A mistake!? No matter how many messengers I sent to Kamakura, I was always told to ‘hold out for a little longer’! And at Mizushima, he pretended that he would provide back up, and then betrayed us! Thanks to that…"
Yoshinaka fixed Yoshitsune with a glare like a demon.
"Tomoe was killed."
Yoshitsune's face contorted in pain. It was as if a spear had been thrust into his heart.
"Our army was used as a decoy to lure the Heike, and with no reinforcements, we were pushed back. She... Tomoe took on countless soldiers in an effort to hold them back, so that I could lead the retreat."
In November 1183, the second year of the Juei era, the Heike clan, forced to leave the capital by the fierce attack of Yoshinaka's army, crossed over to Shikoku by boat and set up camp on Yashima Island in Sanuki Province 4.
Ordered to defeat the Heike by the cloistered emperor Go-Shirakawa, Yoshinaka attempted to attack the island of Yashima from Mizushima in Bitchu Province 5, however, believing that a naval battle would be disadvantageous due to his inexperience with naval warfare, it was decided that the strategy would be to lure the opponent onto land. A small number of Yoshinaka's soldiers would act as a decoy, and pretend that they were losing and on the retreat, so that they would be pursued. Then, hidden reinforcements from Kamakura would appear from every direction and surround the enemy.
However, when the battle began, there was no sign of the reinforcements at the promised time. Even though Yoshinaka and his troops were cornered, the army from Kamakura were held back. By the time Yoshinaka realized that he had been tricked, his army had been shattered. His fleeing horsemen were picked off one by one, and scattered in all directions. No matter how many of the enemy he cut down, they continued to press in on him, one after another, and arrows whistled past his ears. Just as Yoshinaka thought it was the end for him, Tomoe Gozen leapt to his side.
"My lord! I will hold them. Please, my lord, you must escape!"
"What are you saying, Tomoe? How can I leave you behind? Don't stop your horse, charge right through!"
Before Yoshinaka could stop her, Tomoe had swung her horse around and charged him forward, plunging into a regiment of thirty or more cavalry.
"Come, if you dare challenge me! I, Tomoe, vassal of Yoshinaka, shall be your opponent!"
"Tomoe! Stop it, TOMOE-!"
Yoshinaka shouted, and tried to turn back, but once again he was surrounded by the enemy. Tomoe was pulling the soldiers who approached her from their horses one after another, and cutting them down while firmly in her own saddle, but she was struck by an arrow that seemed to come from nowhere, and finally fell from her horse.
"Tomoe!"
Fallen to the ground, Tomoe was immediately surrounded by soldiers holding naginata. 6
"NO-!"
Yoshinaka shouted, though he knew it would not be heard. He watched as Tomoe, still dauntlessly fighting back with her sword, slowly collapsed to the ground.
At the very least, I want to die with the image of my lord in my eyes…
Her consciousness fading, Tomoe cast her gaze around weakly, but she was surrounded by enemy soldiers and couldn't see him.
Escape to somewhere. And live-
"My...lord…"
Tomoe called to her love with everything she had.
But the sound of her voice was swept away by Yoshinaka's howl of grief that shook the very sky itself.
When Yoshinaka returned to Kyoto in despair, what awaited him was an even crueler reality.
From the beginning, Yoritomo had been planning to send an envoy to the cloistered emperor Go-Shirakawa, insinuating that the Heike's flight from Kyoto was due to their fear of Yoritomo's power, and the way Yoshinaka conducted himself as if he had achieved greatness on the battlefield was sheer audacity. Yoritomo was the true heir of the main Genji bloodline. The cloistered emperor was completely biased towards Yoritomo, and he sent a messenger to Yoshinaka to reproach him for his army's looting and misconduct in the capital.
Yoshinaka understood everything.
Yoritomo was afraid that Yoshinaka would accumulate military accomplishments and become even more powerful.
“The Genji clan does not need two leaders.”
That was what Yoritomo was thinking. Yoshinaka’s fury and resentment of Yoritomo reached its peak.
“Yoritomo, you bastard! We risked our lives fighting to defeat the enemies of the imperial court, and now you frame us as the enemy! Unforgivable!... I won’t allow this!”
His enemy was no longer the Heike, but Yoritomo himself.
And if the cloistered emperor was going to join hands with Yoritomo, then it would be the same. Yoshinaka could not allow it.
He would raise an army, capture Go-Shirakawa and imprison him, and burn the imperial palace to the ground. From then on, Yoshinaka himself became an “enemy of the imperial court”.
When Yoritomo received news of this, he immediately sent an army from Kamakura to Kyoto to hunt down Yoshinaka and kill him. Yoshitsune was made the general of this army for the cruel reason that he was the person closest to Yoshinaka.
The army led by Yoshitsune arrived at the Uji River in January 1184, the third year of the Juei era. They defeated Yoshinaka’s army on its banks, but Yoshinaka was not among them. From there, they entered the capital, and headed to the emperor to rescue him, but strangely, the soldiers of Yoshinaka who were guarding the emperor yielded with little resistance. When they questioned a captured soldier, he said that these were Yoshinaka’s orders.
“Now that we have become enemies of the imperial court, there is no one and nothing who will support us but our own sense of justice. But do not throw your lives away in vain. When the army from Kamakura comes again, you should yield to them. Live, for the sake of your many comrades who perished in battle. Live, and tell the world about our righteousness!”
After telling his soldiers this, Yoshinaka had vanished.
He had slipped away from Kyoto and headed for Ōmi Province. And now, he was facing down Yoshitsune at the decaying temple.
So it is unavoidable. Perhaps this is what they call fate.
He whispered in his heart.
“By the way, Yoshitsune... You were in love with Tomoe, weren’t you?”
Yoshinaka asked, his demonic expression changing to a softly mocking one.
The snowstorm had ebbed, and now glittering snowflakes danced in the breeze. In the sky, the beautiful full moon showed herself once more. In the moonlight, it was clear that Yoshitsune’s face had turned completely red, and before he could help himself, Yoshinaka blurted out,
“You really are an open book. Well, it wasn’t just me, I think Saburō and the others noticed too... Tomoe was such a wonderful woman that even I fell in love with her. It’s no wonder that you were attracted to her.”
“You- You idiot! Now is no time to be talking about things like that! I’ve been ordered to kill you!”
Yoshitsune’s response was vehement. Yoshinaka was unperturbed. Just like the time they had spent together in Kamakura, he was smiling, enjoying Yoshitsune’s reactions.
“I know that. That’s why he sent you. The one I’d most hate to fight. Hmph, it’s just like Yoritomo to do that...”
“It’s true that Yoritomo has ordered me to kill you. But that isn’t my aim. Yoshinaka, I have no intention of killing you… I beg you, come with me to Kamakura without putting up resistance. I’ll talk to my brother. I promise to protect your life.”
“Yoshitsune, this is why you are naive. Do you really think he will agree to that? Yoritomo has the soul of a schemer. You’re safe as long as he can use you as a chess piece, but if your power grows enough to pose a threat to him, he’ll dispose of you just like that. Even if you have no intention of betraying him. That’s the kind of man he is!”
“No! My brother has just misunderstood you, that’s all! So I’ll explain the situation to him, you’ll see!”
Yoshinaka sighed heavily.
“...Honestly. I’m dumbfounded by how stupidly trusting you are. Whatever you do, watch that you don’t make the same mistake that I did. And, I’ll agree to go to Kamakura.”
“R-Really?”
The smile of relief that appeared on Yoshitsune’s face was instantly wiped away by Yoshinaka’s following words.
“But only one of us will walk that road. You, or I. I’ll go to Kamakura and take Yoritomo’s head. Tomoe, and the rest of the soldiers who trusted me were not killed by the Heike. They were killed by Yoritomo!”
“This isn’t what Tomoe would want at all!”
“What Tomoe wants or doesn’t want has ceased to matter. This is my vengeance. There is no turning back. I made a blood pact with a Mononoke. That I would allow him to consume my life once I had killed Yoritomo… I summoned En. The one who killed the Mononoke haunting you, Kage, was him. Do you understand now? This is the cursed blood of the Genji, our fate as ‘Mononofu’… But, enough talk. I don’t want Saburō, Benkei and the others to catch up to us. Draw your blade, Yoshitsune!”
Yoshinaka stood slowly, his great sword held effortlessly in his hand. He began to walk towards Yoshitsune.
“I am serious. Any hesitancy in my soul was eaten by En. All that’s left is hatred for Yoritomo...”
“No. I won’t fight you.”
Yoshitsune stared straight at Yoshinaka, not making a move. When Yoshinaka came within two meters of Yoshitsune, he attacked with a sudden movement. Yoshitsune twisted and avoided the blade, but the next attack came swiftly after.
“Gah...”
“If you don’t want to die like a dog, then draw your blade!”
Yoshitsune quickly leapt at Yoshinaka and grabbed at his sword arm. The next instant, Yoshinaka landed a sharp kick to his abdomen, sending him flying backwards. Before he had time to regain his balance, he looked up to see Yoshinaka with his sword raised above his head. Yoshitsune immediately drew the dagger strapped to his lower leg, and stopped the blade just in time. Both of their arms trembled slightly as they pushed against each other.
“Come on and awaken, Yoshitsune. Let’s see that ‘power’ of yours!”
“…!”
The moment Yoshitsune flinched, Yoshinaka pulled his sword back and attacked again. Yoshitsune fell as he tried to dodge to the side, then slowly rose from his knees. Blood poured from his left arm and dripped from his fingertips.
“Yoshinaka… You-!”
“I told you, I am serious. The next blow will be the last… If you don’t use your power, then you are certain to die.”
Yoshinaka steadied his breath, and closed in, raising his sword again.
The sharp sound of the blades clashing echoed across the winter sky. Stubbornly fighting a defensive battle, Yoshitsune was gradually pushed into a corner. And at last, Yoshinaka’s sword caught him, and began to tear through his flesh. But, in that instant, Yoshinaka’s body was thrown forward several meters, and slammed into the ground.
“Aghh…?”
Not understanding what had happened, Yoshinaka desperately tried to stand, groaning from the fierce pain that shot through his entire body.
“Wh...What…?”
In the moonlight, Yoshitsune’s face was as pale as snow, and he watched Yoshinaka with a faint smile. His eyes had a strange, red gleam, and there was madness in his gaze.
WHO HAS AWAKENED ME FROM MY LONG SLEEP… YOU?
It was an unearthly voice that made every hair on Yoshinaka’s body stand on end.
“...Who the hell are you?”
A DEMON.
THE DEMON THAT DWELLS WITHIN THIS MORTAL...
“A demon… you say?”
Yoshinaka opened his eyes and stared at Yoshitsune. There was something unidentifiable and otherworldly emanating from his body. The space around where he stood appeared distorted, like a mirage.
Somehow it seems I have awakened something beyond belief. Yoshinaka realized. An irresistible excitement began to course through his veins.
“Ha… Hahahaha! So, I, the man who was once known as ‘The Demon Yoshinaka’, am to meet a real demon in the end. Not bad. Not bad at all. Now, will I consume the demon, or will it consume me?”
He said, and slowly stood, using his sword for support. The demon stood perfectly still, watching Yoshinaka with eyes like a snake fixed on its prey.
I CAN SEE YOUR SWORD AS IF IT WERE NOT MOVING AT ALL.
NOW THEN, HOW SHALL I KILL YOU?
OR WILL YOU RUN AWAY WITH YOUR TAIL BETWEEN YOUR LEGS?
“I will not run. This is the path I have chosen… I am grateful to you, monster. Yoshitsune would not have been able to kill me. And I’d find it hard to sleep at night if I killed someone like him. You, on the other hand, are the perfect opponent for me.”
Yoshinaka said to the demon, gritting his teeth against the grinding pain. It seemed like his ribs were broken. He knew that he only had the strength remaining for one last attack.
“...Now.”
Yoshinaka’s lips curled into a slight smile.
He took a breath, and swiftly stepped forward, swinging his sword up with all his strength.
His sword, which should have caught the demon’s flesh, instead cut through empty air.
The next instant, a great shock ran through Yoshinaka’s body once again.
The world slowly turned upside down. For a moment, his open eyes took in the clear winter sky, but at last, a deep and final darkness slowly overtook his field of vision.
Tomoe, wait for me.
Yoshitsune…
I’m thankful that I met you.
Alone, the full moon sorrowfully bore witness to the scene.
----------------------------
1Now Nagano Prefecture.
2Now Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture.
3This is a version of the “Oath of the Peach Garden” from the 14th century Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
4Now part of Takamatsu City in Kagawa Prefecture.
5Now Kurashiki City in Okayama Prefecture.
6A Japanese weapon with a curved, single edged blade on the end of a long pole.
However, there's been a dearth of discussion in the fandom since it mostly moved to Tumblr, so to get people talking, I'd like to make a discussion post for each chapter. Assuming other people are interested enough to participate, etc.
Anyway, I'd like to be fairly hands off with the moderation, but in the end this is my journal and I'll decide what goes. Criticism and snark towards the novel itself, and the writing and views presented within is acceptable (as is praise and positive comments, of course!) Being a jerk directly to people is not acceptable. Criticism of Gackt himself is not strictly off limits but should be relevant to the novel.
Here's the prologue:
Prologue
Clouds, like silk floss soaked in watery ink, slowly drifted to conceal the full moon.
Sitting on the stairs that led to the main hall of the temple and looking up at the night sky, the man watched the moon sadly as it was swallowed by darkness, but then sighed, his breath white in the cold, and slowly closed his eyes.
The moonlight that had lit the temple grounds vanished, and the man's figure was hidden in shadow. But even his silhouette made the muscular shape of his body clear.
The man's name was Minamoto no Yoshinaka.
He had been raised in the Kiso valley of Shinano Province 1, and was also known as Kiso Yoshinaka.
In the year 1180, the fourth year of the Jishō era, around one month after Minamoto no Yoritomo had raised an army for his "Defeat of the Heike", he had raised his own army so as not to lag behind Yoritomo. At that time, he was twenty-seven years old.
Though he was somewhat rough mannered from his upbringing in the mountain villages of Kiso, Yoshinaka was a great man, and during his advance along the Hokuriku route from Echigo, he had challenged one hundred thousand Hokuriku and Heike troops with a force of fifty thousand and taken victory in the Battle of Kurikara. This occurred in May 1183, the second year of the Juei era.
After that, he pursued the Heike, who were in control of the capital, Kyoto, further west, and in July of that year, his army entered the capital before even that of Yoritomo, the leader of the main branch of the Genji clan.
But now, Yoshinaka sat alone under the cold winter skies, in the grounds of a decaying temple in Awatsu, Ōmi Province 2.
It was January, 1184, the third year of the Juei era, a mere six months after he had entered Kyoto.
Snow. In the pitch darkness, flakes of white began to flutter down from the sky. The snowflakes wandered in the breeze, before slowly falling to the ground and melting away.
Not a sound was to be heard.
Yoshinaka merely watched the snowflakes on the ground as they vanished. Though the clouds hid the moon, the area was faintly lit. It was a strange night.
"Though we were not born on the same day, at the same time," Yoshinaka whispered suddenly.
"We pledge an oath of brotherhood to help each other in times of need, to avenge the nation from above and pacify the citizens from below, and rescue those who are suffering... Though we cannot wish to have been born on the same day, of the same month, of the same year-"
In the overwhelming silence, Yoshinaka's voice faded like the snow.
"-we wish to die on the same day, of the same month, of the same year." 3
These were the words he had exchanged in Kamakura with his friends, just before he departed on Yoritomo's orders to defeat the Heike around Hokuriku.
Come to think of it, it was a full moon just like tonight…
Yoshinaka realized suddenly, as his thoughts lingered on it.
But now, it was impossible for that wish to come true.
Tomoe, who accompanied me since Shinano and fought by my side, is no longer in the world of the living.
Every single person around me has gone.
When I think about it, my armor, which usually doesn't bother me at all, feels so heavy.
My life has been spent in battle with armor on my body and a sword in my hand- now that I think about it, that short time I spent in Kamakura may have been the one and only time in my life that I was able to spend peacefully…
The face of a man, smiling at him like a boy without a care in the world, welled up in Yoshinaka's mind. Yoshinaka’s lips reflexively curled into a smile.
Suddenly, there was a gust of wind, kicking up snow in every direction. When Yoshinaka looked up, there was the face of the man he had just been thinking of.
Am I hallucinating?
He pondered for a moment, but the man was not smiling. His eyes were shining with a complicated light, a mixture of fury and inexpressible sadness. His features were handsome, but the gleam in his eyes did not suit the youthfulness remaining in them.
"Well. Long time no see, Yoshitsune,"
Yoshinaka said to the man standing before him.
Minamoto no Yoshitsune.
Their fathers were brothers, and therefore Yoshitsune was Yoshinaka's cousin. Yoritomo was Yoshitsune's older half-brother. Yoshinaka already knew that Yoritomo had given the order to Yoshitsune to “Defeat Yoshinaka”.
This day was bound to arrive. No matter how much he wished otherwise.
Ever since he had met Yoshitsune in Kamakura, the thought had dwelt in his mind.
Yoshinaka's father, Minamoto no Yoshikata, had lost a territorial struggle within the Genji clan, and been killed by Yoritomo and Yoshitsune's half brother, Minamoto no Yoshihira. Yoshihira himself had been executed after his defeat by the army of Taira no Kiyomori during the Heiji Rebellion.
Yoshinaka understood well that Yoritomo had taken a dim view of him since. It was also probable that Yoshinaka's acceptance of his uncle, Yukiie, who had fled to him after refusing to be subordinate to Yoritomo, had further displeased Yoritomo.
Even among those who shared Genji blood, those who interfered with the ambitions of others would be targeted without hesitation. Father against son, brother against brother.
That was the way of the world, and the art of surviving as a warrior.
Therefore, to express that he held no enmity toward Yoritomo, Yoshinaka had gone to Kamakura to request an audience with him. And it was there that he had met Yoshitsune.
Among the probing intentions of those fascinated by power, who lived under the words "master and servant", only Yoshitsune stood apart. He held respect for of course his brother Yoritomo, but also his vassals Musashibō Benkei, Ise Saburō, and the Satō brothers, Tsugunobu and Tadanobu, and opened his heart earnestly to them. Even when one of his vassals made a sharp-tongued comment, he would shrug it off with a smile and, "Ahaha! Is that so?" treating them as friends and equals. Furthermore, quite apart from the dauntless ones who spoke fiercely of "overthrowing the Heike", he seemed to have little interest even in the revival of the Genji clan. On the contrary, he disliked it when blood was spilled in battle.
Though Yoshinaka was not from the main Genji bloodline, and was sneered at by Yoritomo's vassals as "the wild monkey from the provinces who doesn't even know the proper way to ride in an ox-cart", Yoshitsune greeted him with an artless smile. As they shared sake and tales of the mountain villages they had been raised in, they developed an immediate rapport, and soon were rarely apart. And when they were together, they were sure to be accompanied by Benkei, Saburō, the Satō brothers, and Yoshinaka's consort, the beautiful female warrior Tomoe Gozen.
Yoshinaka's year and a half stay in Kamakura was spent living among these friends. And those memories had become something that filled his heart with warmth, and were difficult to forget.
Though we cannot wish to be born on the same day, of the same month, of the same year, we wish to die on the same day, of the same month, of the same year.
This was the future that Yoshinaka had wished for with Yoshitsune and the others before he departed to defeat the Heike.
However, their reunion was not to be on the battlefield fighting together against the Heike, but as a rebel and the general ordered to defeat him. It was a cruel thing.
Their wish "to die on the same day" would not be granted.
The only thing that would be granted to them was that one of them would die this day.
"Yoshinaka!...What on earth are you doing?"
Yoshitsune shouted the name of the man he had once adored as though he were forcing it out of himself.
Yoshinaka responded with a question of his own.
"How did you know I was here?"
"...Kage told me."
"I see. And yet it seems Kage has not followed you here... Does that mean he dropped dead along with En?”
"…"
Yoshitsune was biting his lip hard, with a pained expression. Because of his honest personality, he could not lie. Even with the enemy to be defeated in front of his eyes, he had no concept of feeling out his opponent in order to give himself an advantage. That was one of the things that had drawn Yoshinaka to him.
"It's a shame to have lost En, but I'm glad that he took down my most dangerous opponent. Now, all that is left is for you and I to fight... Yoshitsune."
"Why!? We're friends, aren't we? Why did you rebel against my brother? The rumors in the capital are terrible! They say that your army are forcing their way into houses and looting food, clothes and everything in sight-"
Yoshinaka interrupted his words.
"And all of that is because that beloved brother of yours refused to send us provisions! While he was ordering us to defeat the Heike in the Hokuriku area, the harshest of all, he refused me any reinforcements and sent no provisions. Can you imagine the impoverished state of my army when we entered Kyoto? How many of my troops died regrettable deaths, fighting while suffering from starvation, without even the strength to swing their swords!"
"That...had to be... some kind of mistake…"
"A mistake!? No matter how many messengers I sent to Kamakura, I was always told to ‘hold out for a little longer’! And at Mizushima, he pretended that he would provide back up, and then betrayed us! Thanks to that…"
Yoshinaka fixed Yoshitsune with a glare like a demon.
"Tomoe was killed."
Yoshitsune's face contorted in pain. It was as if a spear had been thrust into his heart.
"Our army was used as a decoy to lure the Heike, and with no reinforcements, we were pushed back. She... Tomoe took on countless soldiers in an effort to hold them back, so that I could lead the retreat."
In November 1183, the second year of the Juei era, the Heike clan, forced to leave the capital by the fierce attack of Yoshinaka's army, crossed over to Shikoku by boat and set up camp on Yashima Island in Sanuki Province 4.
Ordered to defeat the Heike by the cloistered emperor Go-Shirakawa, Yoshinaka attempted to attack the island of Yashima from Mizushima in Bitchu Province 5, however, believing that a naval battle would be disadvantageous due to his inexperience with naval warfare, it was decided that the strategy would be to lure the opponent onto land. A small number of Yoshinaka's soldiers would act as a decoy, and pretend that they were losing and on the retreat, so that they would be pursued. Then, hidden reinforcements from Kamakura would appear from every direction and surround the enemy.
However, when the battle began, there was no sign of the reinforcements at the promised time. Even though Yoshinaka and his troops were cornered, the army from Kamakura were held back. By the time Yoshinaka realized that he had been tricked, his army had been shattered. His fleeing horsemen were picked off one by one, and scattered in all directions. No matter how many of the enemy he cut down, they continued to press in on him, one after another, and arrows whistled past his ears. Just as Yoshinaka thought it was the end for him, Tomoe Gozen leapt to his side.
"My lord! I will hold them. Please, my lord, you must escape!"
"What are you saying, Tomoe? How can I leave you behind? Don't stop your horse, charge right through!"
Before Yoshinaka could stop her, Tomoe had swung her horse around and charged him forward, plunging into a regiment of thirty or more cavalry.
"Come, if you dare challenge me! I, Tomoe, vassal of Yoshinaka, shall be your opponent!"
"Tomoe! Stop it, TOMOE-!"
Yoshinaka shouted, and tried to turn back, but once again he was surrounded by the enemy. Tomoe was pulling the soldiers who approached her from their horses one after another, and cutting them down while firmly in her own saddle, but she was struck by an arrow that seemed to come from nowhere, and finally fell from her horse.
"Tomoe!"
Fallen to the ground, Tomoe was immediately surrounded by soldiers holding naginata. 6
"NO-!"
Yoshinaka shouted, though he knew it would not be heard. He watched as Tomoe, still dauntlessly fighting back with her sword, slowly collapsed to the ground.
At the very least, I want to die with the image of my lord in my eyes…
Her consciousness fading, Tomoe cast her gaze around weakly, but she was surrounded by enemy soldiers and couldn't see him.
Escape to somewhere. And live-
"My...lord…"
Tomoe called to her love with everything she had.
But the sound of her voice was swept away by Yoshinaka's howl of grief that shook the very sky itself.
When Yoshinaka returned to Kyoto in despair, what awaited him was an even crueler reality.
From the beginning, Yoritomo had been planning to send an envoy to the cloistered emperor Go-Shirakawa, insinuating that the Heike's flight from Kyoto was due to their fear of Yoritomo's power, and the way Yoshinaka conducted himself as if he had achieved greatness on the battlefield was sheer audacity. Yoritomo was the true heir of the main Genji bloodline. The cloistered emperor was completely biased towards Yoritomo, and he sent a messenger to Yoshinaka to reproach him for his army's looting and misconduct in the capital.
Yoshinaka understood everything.
Yoritomo was afraid that Yoshinaka would accumulate military accomplishments and become even more powerful.
“The Genji clan does not need two leaders.”
That was what Yoritomo was thinking. Yoshinaka’s fury and resentment of Yoritomo reached its peak.
“Yoritomo, you bastard! We risked our lives fighting to defeat the enemies of the imperial court, and now you frame us as the enemy! Unforgivable!... I won’t allow this!”
His enemy was no longer the Heike, but Yoritomo himself.
And if the cloistered emperor was going to join hands with Yoritomo, then it would be the same. Yoshinaka could not allow it.
He would raise an army, capture Go-Shirakawa and imprison him, and burn the imperial palace to the ground. From then on, Yoshinaka himself became an “enemy of the imperial court”.
When Yoritomo received news of this, he immediately sent an army from Kamakura to Kyoto to hunt down Yoshinaka and kill him. Yoshitsune was made the general of this army for the cruel reason that he was the person closest to Yoshinaka.
The army led by Yoshitsune arrived at the Uji River in January 1184, the third year of the Juei era. They defeated Yoshinaka’s army on its banks, but Yoshinaka was not among them. From there, they entered the capital, and headed to the emperor to rescue him, but strangely, the soldiers of Yoshinaka who were guarding the emperor yielded with little resistance. When they questioned a captured soldier, he said that these were Yoshinaka’s orders.
“Now that we have become enemies of the imperial court, there is no one and nothing who will support us but our own sense of justice. But do not throw your lives away in vain. When the army from Kamakura comes again, you should yield to them. Live, for the sake of your many comrades who perished in battle. Live, and tell the world about our righteousness!”
After telling his soldiers this, Yoshinaka had vanished.
He had slipped away from Kyoto and headed for Ōmi Province. And now, he was facing down Yoshitsune at the decaying temple.
So it is unavoidable. Perhaps this is what they call fate.
He whispered in his heart.
“By the way, Yoshitsune... You were in love with Tomoe, weren’t you?”
Yoshinaka asked, his demonic expression changing to a softly mocking one.
The snowstorm had ebbed, and now glittering snowflakes danced in the breeze. In the sky, the beautiful full moon showed herself once more. In the moonlight, it was clear that Yoshitsune’s face had turned completely red, and before he could help himself, Yoshinaka blurted out,
“You really are an open book. Well, it wasn’t just me, I think Saburō and the others noticed too... Tomoe was such a wonderful woman that even I fell in love with her. It’s no wonder that you were attracted to her.”
“You- You idiot! Now is no time to be talking about things like that! I’ve been ordered to kill you!”
Yoshitsune’s response was vehement. Yoshinaka was unperturbed. Just like the time they had spent together in Kamakura, he was smiling, enjoying Yoshitsune’s reactions.
“I know that. That’s why he sent you. The one I’d most hate to fight. Hmph, it’s just like Yoritomo to do that...”
“It’s true that Yoritomo has ordered me to kill you. But that isn’t my aim. Yoshinaka, I have no intention of killing you… I beg you, come with me to Kamakura without putting up resistance. I’ll talk to my brother. I promise to protect your life.”
“Yoshitsune, this is why you are naive. Do you really think he will agree to that? Yoritomo has the soul of a schemer. You’re safe as long as he can use you as a chess piece, but if your power grows enough to pose a threat to him, he’ll dispose of you just like that. Even if you have no intention of betraying him. That’s the kind of man he is!”
“No! My brother has just misunderstood you, that’s all! So I’ll explain the situation to him, you’ll see!”
Yoshinaka sighed heavily.
“...Honestly. I’m dumbfounded by how stupidly trusting you are. Whatever you do, watch that you don’t make the same mistake that I did. And, I’ll agree to go to Kamakura.”
“R-Really?”
The smile of relief that appeared on Yoshitsune’s face was instantly wiped away by Yoshinaka’s following words.
“But only one of us will walk that road. You, or I. I’ll go to Kamakura and take Yoritomo’s head. Tomoe, and the rest of the soldiers who trusted me were not killed by the Heike. They were killed by Yoritomo!”
“This isn’t what Tomoe would want at all!”
“What Tomoe wants or doesn’t want has ceased to matter. This is my vengeance. There is no turning back. I made a blood pact with a Mononoke. That I would allow him to consume my life once I had killed Yoritomo… I summoned En. The one who killed the Mononoke haunting you, Kage, was him. Do you understand now? This is the cursed blood of the Genji, our fate as ‘Mononofu’… But, enough talk. I don’t want Saburō, Benkei and the others to catch up to us. Draw your blade, Yoshitsune!”
Yoshinaka stood slowly, his great sword held effortlessly in his hand. He began to walk towards Yoshitsune.
“I am serious. Any hesitancy in my soul was eaten by En. All that’s left is hatred for Yoritomo...”
“No. I won’t fight you.”
Yoshitsune stared straight at Yoshinaka, not making a move. When Yoshinaka came within two meters of Yoshitsune, he attacked with a sudden movement. Yoshitsune twisted and avoided the blade, but the next attack came swiftly after.
“Gah...”
“If you don’t want to die like a dog, then draw your blade!”
Yoshitsune quickly leapt at Yoshinaka and grabbed at his sword arm. The next instant, Yoshinaka landed a sharp kick to his abdomen, sending him flying backwards. Before he had time to regain his balance, he looked up to see Yoshinaka with his sword raised above his head. Yoshitsune immediately drew the dagger strapped to his lower leg, and stopped the blade just in time. Both of their arms trembled slightly as they pushed against each other.
“Come on and awaken, Yoshitsune. Let’s see that ‘power’ of yours!”
“…!”
The moment Yoshitsune flinched, Yoshinaka pulled his sword back and attacked again. Yoshitsune fell as he tried to dodge to the side, then slowly rose from his knees. Blood poured from his left arm and dripped from his fingertips.
“Yoshinaka… You-!”
“I told you, I am serious. The next blow will be the last… If you don’t use your power, then you are certain to die.”
Yoshinaka steadied his breath, and closed in, raising his sword again.
The sharp sound of the blades clashing echoed across the winter sky. Stubbornly fighting a defensive battle, Yoshitsune was gradually pushed into a corner. And at last, Yoshinaka’s sword caught him, and began to tear through his flesh. But, in that instant, Yoshinaka’s body was thrown forward several meters, and slammed into the ground.
“Aghh…?”
Not understanding what had happened, Yoshinaka desperately tried to stand, groaning from the fierce pain that shot through his entire body.
“Wh...What…?”
In the moonlight, Yoshitsune’s face was as pale as snow, and he watched Yoshinaka with a faint smile. His eyes had a strange, red gleam, and there was madness in his gaze.
WHO HAS AWAKENED ME FROM MY LONG SLEEP… YOU?
It was an unearthly voice that made every hair on Yoshinaka’s body stand on end.
“...Who the hell are you?”
A DEMON.
THE DEMON THAT DWELLS WITHIN THIS MORTAL...
“A demon… you say?”
Yoshinaka opened his eyes and stared at Yoshitsune. There was something unidentifiable and otherworldly emanating from his body. The space around where he stood appeared distorted, like a mirage.
Somehow it seems I have awakened something beyond belief. Yoshinaka realized. An irresistible excitement began to course through his veins.
“Ha… Hahahaha! So, I, the man who was once known as ‘The Demon Yoshinaka’, am to meet a real demon in the end. Not bad. Not bad at all. Now, will I consume the demon, or will it consume me?”
He said, and slowly stood, using his sword for support. The demon stood perfectly still, watching Yoshinaka with eyes like a snake fixed on its prey.
I CAN SEE YOUR SWORD AS IF IT WERE NOT MOVING AT ALL.
NOW THEN, HOW SHALL I KILL YOU?
OR WILL YOU RUN AWAY WITH YOUR TAIL BETWEEN YOUR LEGS?
“I will not run. This is the path I have chosen… I am grateful to you, monster. Yoshitsune would not have been able to kill me. And I’d find it hard to sleep at night if I killed someone like him. You, on the other hand, are the perfect opponent for me.”
Yoshinaka said to the demon, gritting his teeth against the grinding pain. It seemed like his ribs were broken. He knew that he only had the strength remaining for one last attack.
“...Now.”
Yoshinaka’s lips curled into a slight smile.
He took a breath, and swiftly stepped forward, swinging his sword up with all his strength.
His sword, which should have caught the demon’s flesh, instead cut through empty air.
The next instant, a great shock ran through Yoshinaka’s body once again.
The world slowly turned upside down. For a moment, his open eyes took in the clear winter sky, but at last, a deep and final darkness slowly overtook his field of vision.
Tomoe, wait for me.
Yoshitsune…
I’m thankful that I met you.
Alone, the full moon sorrowfully bore witness to the scene.
----------------------------
1Now Nagano Prefecture.
2Now Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture.
3This is a version of the “Oath of the Peach Garden” from the 14th century Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
4Now part of Takamatsu City in Kagawa Prefecture.
5Now Kurashiki City in Okayama Prefecture.
6A Japanese weapon with a curved, single edged blade on the end of a long pole.