A Medieval Warrior in Early Modern Japan: A Translation of the Otogizōshi Hōgan Miyako Banashi

Minamoto no Yoshitsune 源義経 (1159–1189) is one of the most prominent and celebrated figures of premodern Japanese literature and theater. The extensive scope of fictional portrayals of Yoshitsune, however, sharply contrasts with the lack of information available about the man himself; extant sources are silent on many basic details of his biography and provide little indication of his character. He was the youngest of many sons fathered by Minamoto no Yoshitomo 源義朝 (1123–1160), who died in the aftermath of the Heiji 平治 Insurrection (1159), having played a major role in that unsuccessful attempt to wrest control of the court away from Taira no Kiyomori 平清盛 (1118–1181). As a result of measures taken to ensure that Yoshitomo’s family never again rose up to challenge the Taira, Yoshitsune grew up far removed from the machinations of the court and was not considered important enough to be accorded much notice in contemporary records. What little is known about Yoshitsune dates to the last year of the Genpei 源平 War (1180–1185), when he achieved some measure of fame as a victorious commander of the army led by his half brother, Minamoto no Yoritomo 源頼朝 (1147–1199), the future Kamakura shogun. Yoshitsune was rewarded for his achievement with the court appointment hōgan 判官, and this title became his sobriquet in later centuries.¹ Shortly following the conclusion of the war, the relationship between Yoshitsune and Yoritomo soured, in part because of disagreements over how the former should have been recognized for his performance as a commander.² In 1185, unable or unwilling to challenge his half brother, Yoshitsune fled to Hiraizumi 平泉 in the northeastern territory of Ōshū 奥州, where he received the protection of the local ruler Fujiwara no Hidehira 藤原 秀衡 (?–1187).³ Yoshitsune reportedly died four years later, in 1189, when his residence was attacked by Hidehira’s heir, Fujiwara no Yasuhira 藤原泰衡 (?–1189). This was two years after the death of Hidehira.⁴

In hindsight, the lacunae in Yoshitsune’s biography may have been critical in establishing Yoshitsune’s enduring popularity: it is precisely the gaps in what we know about his life that became the focus of the vast majority of tales about Yoshitsune throughout the medieval and early modern periods. Storylines often hinge upon filling in unknown details about where he lived and what he did prior to the Genpei War, how he learned to be such a capable leader and strategist, who or what was responsible for his animosity with Yoritomo, how and why he fled to Ōshū, and the circumstances of his death.

Hōgan miyako banashi 判官みやこはなし (The Tale of Yoshitsune in the Capital), the text translated below, is a case in point.⁵ This otogizōshi 御伽草子 describes a well-known episode from the imagined life of Yoshitsune that explains the origins of Yoshitsune’s remarkable military talent.⁶ The same episode appears in a variety of other texts from different literary and theatrical genres. In this group of stories, Yoshitsune acquires supernatural skills by gaining access to a powerful military treatise (heihō 兵法), identified variously as Ichi maki no sho 一巻の書 (The Book of One Scroll), Tora no maki 虎の巻 (The Tiger Scroll), or Rikutō 六韜 (The Six Secret Teachings). Texts bearing these titles actually existed, but medieval and early modern tales ascribe to them reputations that are larger than life, typically depicting them as capable of granting great powers to anyone who can decipher their words.⁷ But the linking of Yoshitsune to such military treatises is not universal; other tales provide different explanations for his talents. In one, he travels to a different realm of existence where he is trained by tengu 天狗, mythical creatures that were often associated with mischief-making in medieval tales. In another, Yoshitsune trains himself by slashing at trees in the forest.⁸

If we were to gauge the appeal of Yoshitsune as a warrior-hero by the sheer quantity of tales written about him, few other literary figures would compare. Among extant librettos and tales that date to the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, approximately sixty are intimately concerned with either Yoshitsune or...