01x16 - Densetsu no makuake

[bunniefuu]

KONGO

Kongo is the guardian god of Buddhism.

It is a befitting name
for a child who was born

to support the Genji.

Thank you.

What an honor to have
Sir Kamakura name him.

Can I go peek at Kongo?

Please do.

I'm so glad you've returned.

I sent Tokuro because you showed
no signs of returning.

I'm sorry to have troubled you.

You are necessary for Kamakura.

Koshiro told me everything
about the incident.

You, my father-in-law, are the only
person who can unite the gokenin.

I appreciate your confidence.
I will do my best for you.

Kamakura will change…

Ever since, the gokenin are
terrified they will be next.

What they also found out from the incident

is that if someone else is blamed,
that territory could become theirs.

The time when the gokenin
were friends has ended.

That's why I came back.

Who knows when I'll be accused of treason?

I wonder what the future holds?

I have no idea but…

there's only one way
for the Hojo to survive.

That’s to win the Genji's favor
and follow them loyally…

even more than before.

That's the only way.

Yoritomo paid a huge price
and united the gokenin.

Yoshitsune is waiting for
reinforcements from Kamakura.

The w*r is drawing near.

Mother. I finally understand.

From now on, I am the one
who must be the conduit

between Sir Kamakura and the gokenin.

Everything's fine… now that
your father has returned.

I think there are things
the gokenin can tell only me.

It is my job to listen and do what I can.

That's my duty as the first lady.

A safe house for the gokenin?

That's right.

Listen to me.

From now on you should look outwards.

If you have time to take care
of the gokenin,

think about how we can be
as powerful as the Heike in Kyoto.

You must have children.

A boy will become the heir,

a girl can be married off to a noble.

That's how the Heike became powerful.

Manju is the heir.

If something happens to him, what then?

There should be three more at the least.

This concerns you too.

Me too?

Since you're still young,
you should have ten.

I will also give birth to
a suitable Hojo heir.

Ladies, let's do our best.

Emperor Go-Shirakawa has issued
an imperial decree.

I'm to be hunted down and k*lled.

It's clear Yoshinaka is behind this.

I will not forgive him
for manipulating the emperor.

Therefore, we will vanquish him.

Sirs Wada, Doi, Hatakeyama,
Chiba and Okazaki.

You will meet up with Sir Kuro's army
already on the march.

The supreme commander will be
my brother Noriyori Minamoto.

The w*r magistrate, Kagetoki Kajiwara.

I will inform you
of the battle array later.

I will remain here and prepare

for a possible attack
from Hidehira from the north.

Hojo and Hiki will look after
the palace in my absence.

You can rest assured…

I, Hiki, will protect you, Sir Kamakura.

Sir Kamakura promises that

the territories of Yoshinaka and of Heiki

will be divided among you
when we defeat them.

Alright!

Please be careful.

I hate to go when Kongo was just born…

Because of him, I have decided
once again to live for another.

I'm fine… as long as I have him.

I wonder if the world will be
at peace when Kongo grows up.

That depends on you, Sir Koshiro.

That's what I believe.

I'm not at all confident.

Your first task is to come home safely.

The new year 1184 came and,

Noriyori's main army
departing from Kamakura

joined forces with Yoshinaka's
advance army at Sunomata.

KAMAKURA - SUNOMATA

Why don't you have a seat?

No, thanks.

Did something happen?

He can't forgive me
for k*lling Sir Kazusa.

Sirs. Sir Kuro is here.

Kuro!

Brother.

I looked forward to this.

Thanks for holding off.

Sir Kamakura was worried
you'd jump the g*n.

As a matter of fact,

I had a little skirmish
with Kiso's soldiers last night.

-What?
-I tried to stop him but…

They instigated it.

Don't tell Sir Kamakura.

Tell Sir Kamakura I ordered it.

Sir Kaba…

I'll get scolded
and that will be the end of it.

I’m the one with the most to lose

if Sir Kamakura orders you
back to Kamakura.

I've got this.

Just watch. I will get Yoshinaka's head.

Hurry! They're coming.

KYOTO, YOSHINAKA'S LODGING

Kamakura's main army is fast
approaching Omi.

Don't they have any intention
of joining forces with us?

Unfortunately, we've already
engaged in a skirmish.

Send a letter. Tell them

we have a pledge… Let's attack
the Heike together.

Yes, My Lord.

KYOTO

We'll reach Omi tomorrow.

Brother, march through Seta
and attack Kyoto from the front.

-And you?
-I'll will go south to Uji,

from there to Kyoto.

I see…

The enemy won't like opening up
many fronts.

The way to attack Kyoto is
from Seta and Uji.

Brilliant strategy, Sir Kuro.

Then, my troops and Sir Doi's
will go with Sir Kaba.

I won't take orders from you.

Why not?

-I am the w*r magistrate.
-Shut up.

Sirs.

Let’s not fight amongst ourselves
before a major battle.

Sir Kajiwara k*lled Sir Kazusa
on Sir Kamakura's orders.

If you want to blame someone,
blame Sir Kamakura.

Those who don't understand reason,
return to Kamakura.

Now, now… that's enough.

This is laughable.

Excuse me.

A letter from Yoshinaka.

-What?
-What is it?

He says he wants to
fight the Heike together.

He must be daydreaming.

How shall we reply?

Behead the messenger
and send his head back.

k*lling a messenger
is against samurai code.

I want Yoshinaka to blow his top.

The one who loses his cool
will lose the battle.

Wada.

-Go.
-Me?

Hurry.

This is really…

I see. Yoshinaka still doesn't
see us as the enemy.

If we were the enemy,

he would be desperate to find out
how many soldiers we have.

Right now, I bet he doesn't
even know that.

-Koshiro.
-Yes.

Start a rumor that we have only 1,000 men.

That’ll put him off his guard.

Understood.

I've never seen Sir Kuro so alive.

A fully drawn bow
has finally been released.

This is Yoshitsune's answer.

-Let's prepare for w*r immediately.
-No, wait.

Don't rise to the bait.

If they're provoking us,

it means they're preparing
a trick of some kind.

Are they going attack from two directions?

The map.

If the major army is advancing from Seta,

the rear attack…

SETA

…will be from Uji.

-What is it?
-Reporting, sir.

Yoshitsune's army has gone south.

Okay. Just as I thought.

Kuro's headed for Uji.

Your hunch was right.

And their numbers?

Just 1,000.

One thousand?

Has Yoritomo left the majority
of his army in Kamakura,

fearing Hidehira Fujiwara's attack
from the north?

We have nothing to fear.

Victory is ours.

UJI RIVER, YOSHITSUNE'S CAMP

January 20th, early morning…

Yoshitsune mobilized his troops
on the banks of the Uji River.

This is much more than 1,000.

At a guess, there's more than 10,000.

That's double our numbers.

I should have checked myself.

I got taken by Kuro.

What shall we do?

-Kanehira.
-Yes?

Remove those bridge planks immediately.

Yes, sir.

Yoshitsune's scheme is about
to bury Yoshinaka.

-Tomoe.
-Yes?

I'm abandoning Kyoto.

The enemy is destroying the bridge.

I expected that.

-Hatakeyama.
-Yes?

Take an advance army and cross the river.

We will be easy bait for their arrows.

Don't worry.

Their attention will be elsewhere.

Select two warriors

and have them battle noisily
for the advance position here.

While the enemy's attention
is drawn there,

your forces can cross the river.

I'll prepare at once.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty?

Your Majesty.

As of today, I, Yoshinaka Minamoto
will leave Kyoto

and return to the Hokuriku region.

It is heartbreaking

to leave this place
without eliminating the Heike

but I wasn’t up to the task.

I thought I should take you to Hokuriku…

but it is not righteous to do so.

I believe Yoritomo will accomplish
what I could not.

I pray for the fulfillment of
Your Majesty's cherished dream,

the destruction of the Heike,
and the return of the imperial regalia.

Although I wanted to see
Your Majesty one last time,

I can't even have that.
That’s all down to me.

We will probably never meet again.

This is farewell.

Is he gone?

Now that I think of it,
he was a tragic person.

Talking of righteousness…

That self-seeking attitude is
no different from the Heike.

Yoshinaka retreated to Omi,

the Kamakura army,
having broken through the Uji River,

entered Kyoto from Yamato Oji.

I'm cold….

Closer.

Yes, My Lord.

Yoritomo Minamoto's brother,
Yoshitsune Kuro.

I came to save Your Majesty
on my brother’s order.

Kyoto is now safe.

Kuro. Take some time to relax.

Thank you.

I can't do that.

Sir Kuro…

I, Yoshitsune Kuro will behead Yoshinaka,

then head west and eliminate the Heike.

I have no time to rest.

Well said.

Once the w*r simmers down,
I'll have to look for a bride.

How about my younger sisters?
There's still two left.

That's not a bad idea.

I'd like a new wife too.

You already have a wife.

My wife is as quiet as a mouse.
She's no fun.

They're looking our way.

This is so different from Bando.

The women are so graceful.

Hi.

Yoshinaka headed for Omi
after he abandoned Kyoto

but Noriyori's army was waiting for him.

KYOTO

Tomoe.

You escape to safety.

Deliver this to Yoshitaka in Kamakura.

Get caught on purpose and go to Kamakura.

They won't k*ll a woman.

-No.
-But, don't resist.

If you do, they will k*ll you.

I'll follow you to the ends of the Earth.

This is farewell.

There!

You must be Yoshinaka's mistress.

Where are you headed?

We'll show you a good time.

Don't underestimate me.

Let me through.

I am Yoshinaka Minamoto's
number one vassal.

My name is Tomoe.

k*ll her.

That's enough.

What a woman!

I like you.

I guess this is it.

I will be your shield.

Over there…

there's a pine grove.

I see. It's a great place to k*ll myself.

I did all that I could.

I regret nothing.

If there is one thing I regret…

We keep getting news from Kyoto.

First, from Inspector Sanehira Doi.

What's this?

This is an important letter.
I'll write it.

-No…
-I'll write it.

He's not used to writing letters…
so it's illegible.

That country samurai.

From, Head of Samurai, Yoshimori Wada.

He's included some drawings
and I can see the effort,

but this is illegible too.

The picture is cute.

That's not what I require.

-Next.
-This is from Sir Koshiro.

Oh?

Give him credit, it's credible.

But there's too much detail.

I can't take it all in.

I will talk to him about that.

From Sir Kajiwara.

He reports succinctly and to the point

on the progress of the w*r
and the gokenin's prowess…

a very readable document.

Aren't you going to read it?

I know what's written there.

I got a message from Kuro
first thing this morning.

He k*lled Yoshinaka.

Congratulations.

That Kuro. He does rise to the occasion.

I heard Sir Kiso died in battle.

Does Sir Yoshitaka know?

He hasn't been told.

It's not going to go well for him.

Don't worry. I'll handle it.

I won't let Sir Yoshitaka die.

Let's play.

Alright.

There.

Heike's army is gathered in Fukuhara.

We can attack either
from Ikuta in the east

or Ichinotani from the west.

KYOTO

But if we attack head on,
we will sustain huge casualties.

Then how?

We attack from the north.

We descend from the mountains?

We split the army in two

and Sir Kaba attacks from Ikuta.

While he is attracting the enemy

Sir Kuro attacks their flank
from the mountain side.

The Heike will be surprised
if we descend from the mountain.

Sir Kajiwara knows battle strategy.
That's a brilliant plan.

What do you think?

I like attacking from the mountain.

But… the rest is garbage.

It's not even worth discussing.

Let's hear your reasons.

My plan.

First, we attack the Heike force
in Mt. Mikusa, north of Fukuhara.

That's like telling them we're
attacking from the mountain side.

Surprise them by attacking
from the mountain?

A child could come up with that idea.

Which means the enemy
would also know that.

Then, better yet, we show them our hand.

What for?

You want me to explain everything?

Please, if you will.

To scatter the enemy.

The armies that are protecting
the east and west

will have to protect the north too.

Which means there’ll be less
soldiers in each army.

Having done that,
we will take them by surprise.

We'll attack from an unexpected direction.

And where will that be?

-I'm still thinking.
-What?

I'll assess the situation at that time
with my own eyes, then decide.

I've never heard of such a vague plan.

Brother. So, I'm going to launch
a night attack

on Mt. Mikusa tomorrow.

Tomorrow? It'll take at least
two days to get there.

-Yes. But I'll do it in a day.
-That's impossible.

In w*r you do the impossible.

Out of the question.

I understand how you feel,
but the terrain there isn't flat.

What? Are Bando samurai
all talk and no action?

Sir Kajiwara. Your thoughts?

Sir Kuro is correct.

What he says makes sense.

My man!

If you agree with him, Kagetoki…

Okay. We'll go with Kuro's plan.

Thank you for what you said just now.

Normally,

I should have come up with
the plan Sir Kuro proposed.

I'm mad at myself
for not going that extra step.

He was born to do battle.

He's an embodiment of
the god of w*r Hachiman Bodhisattva.

Kagetoki. You may go.

Yes, sir.

-Koshiro. You stay here.
-Yes, sir.

What is it?

Well. I had another idea.

Let's send a letter
to Emperor Go-Shirakawa.

To the emperor?

I want him to order the Heike
to enter into peace negotiations.

Peace negotiations?

We have the emperor instruct them
to avoid w*r with the Genji.

I would be happy if

that order reached them
the day after tomorrow on the 6th.

-But…
-We'll pretend

we didn't know about the emperor's order
and attack on the 7th.

The enemy will not be ready.

We'll win.

What's wrong with a surprise attack?

Kuro has proposed something interesting.

Write to Munemori Taira immediately.

Tell him I will act as a go-between
between them and Genji.

Excuse me?

We're going to trick the Heike.

I'll get on it at once.

I think you and this Genji son will
get along very well.

This is my cup of tea.

FUKUHARA, HEIKE'S CAMP

The emperor desires peace.

Peace?

That goes counter to father's will.

But the future of the clan
is also important.

The supreme commander must be strong.

Father.

Peace treaty?

Yoshitsune launched a night raid
on the Heike army at Mt. Mikusa…

MT. MIKUSA

…then proceeded to Fukuhara
through the mountains.

Watch your step.

I scouted the area with a local.

It's all cliffs from here on.

But there's one place that slopes gently.

Hiyodori Pass.

We could possibly
race down it with horses.

Hiyodori Pass…

Racing down a gentle slope
won't outsmart them.

Though it's gentle it's still a cliff.

No one would think
anyone would attack from there.

What’s that mountain ahead?

Mt. Hachibuse.

CROSSING

MT. HACHIBUSE

There was one prominent cliff.

Arinoto.

We'll descend that mountain.

That's reckless.

It's like this.

It's not a slope a horse can handle.

I can do it.

Enough of your nonsense.

Even if you can do it,

if the soldiers can't there's no point.

If we go down that way,
lots of soldiers will die in vain.

If you're a general
think about your troops.

Why don't you yield to Sir Kajiwara?

Who said we'll ride down on a horse?

Not on a horse?

First, we let the horses go.

Because horses can't go backwards
they'll have to go forward.

Once they go down on their own,
the people go next.

I see. It's logical.

Bando samurai won't
do such an ungraceful thing as

getting off a horse
when we're about to attack.

There is no looking good in w*r.

I'm not going to let my soldiers
die in vain for that.

Never mind. Don't come with me.

I'll go alone with my troops.

Sir Kuro has few soldiers.

Will you go with him?

I'll get down the cliff
even if I have to carry my horse.

It will be a story passed down
in my clan for generations to come.

Why?

Why is he the only one
who can come up with such ideas?

He's grown.

Didn't you join the w*r?

The Miura are the rear guard.
We’ll march eventually.

This is my child.

Hatsu.

Miss Hatsu.

I want to talk to you.

It's complicated between her mother and I.

I've heard something about that.

Unfortunately, she died
soon after giving birth to her.

Could you take care of her until I return?

That's not possible.

One or two babies…
what difference does it make?

A lot.

I'll have them deliver her clothes
and food later.

Please don't.

She'll be a good playmate for Kongo.

Early morning of February 7th.

With 70 mounted soldiers,

Yoshitsune has reached
the top of Mt. Hachibuse's cliff.

Look at this.

It's everywhere on the cliff.

What is it?

Deer droppings.

Don't worry.

If the deer can go down,

so can horses.

Get off your horses.

I'm betting my future on these droppings.

At the entrance to Ikuta,
east of Fukuhara,

Noriyori and Tomomori's Forces clash.

Attack.

This battle,
known as the Battle of Ichinotani,

the largest offense and defense
of the Genpei wars had begun.

Draw your bows.

Fire.

Our troops are at a disadvantage.

ICHINOTANI, HEIKE'S MAIN CAMP

Emperor. Do not worry.

The enemy will not come to Ichinotani.

Attack!

Look.

He’s the embodiment
of Hachiman Bodhisattva.

TO BE CONTINUED

I will never forgive Sir Kamakura.

k*ll Yoshitaka.

We are no longer what we used to be.

That's how history is made.

There's something wrong with you all.

We can't survive
if you go against Yoritomo.

You have to commit…

Koshiro.

NEXT TIME