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A LIFE SAVED BY A SPIDER AND TWO DOVES OF
Yoritomo Murray says that 'he lived from 1147 to 1199. He was
the
founder of the Shogunate — the first Japanese Mayor of the Palace, if
one may
so phrase it. A scion of the great house of Minamoto, as shrewd and
ambitious
as he was unscrupulous and inhuman, he was left an orphan at an early
age, and
barely escaped death as a lad at the hands of Kiyomori, the then
all-powerful
minister who belonged to the rival house of Taira.' In
this excellently-concentrated epitome of Yoritomo's fifty-two years of
life, it
will readily be seen that he must have had innumerable adventures.
Fighting
went on throughout his career; yet oddly enough, in spite of all this,
he died
comfortably in bed. In the earlier half of Yoritomo's time he was once severely defeated at a battle against Oba Kage-chika in the Ishibashi mountains, in the province of Izu. So bad had been his defeat that Yoritomo, with six of his most faithful followers, to use vulgar language, made a bolt of it. They ran, not over-boldly, but to save their skins, and in their haste to escape Oba Kage-chika's men they took, like hunted hares, to a large forest, hoping there to escape by lying concealed. After they had pushed their way into the thickest and heaviest part of the forest, they came to an enormous hi no ki tree, partly rotten, and containing a hollow which was large enough to hide them all. Yoritomo and his six followers eagerly sought refuge within the tree, for in their state of tiredness they could not long hope to escape the large and active forces of Oba Kage-chika, which were following up their victory by hunting out and cutting off all those who had fled. When he reached the edge of the forest, Oba Kage-chika sent his cousin Oba Kagetoki to search for Yoritomo, saying: 'Go, my cousin, and bring in our enemy Yoritomo. It is the opportunity of your life, for sure it is that he must be in this forest. I myself will endeavour, as our men come up, to place them so as to surround the forest.' Oba Kagetoki was not pleased with his mission, for at one time he had known and been friendly with Yoritomo. However, he bowed low to his cousin and went off. Half an hour after starting Oba Kagetoki came to the enormous tree, and found his old friend Yoritomo and his six faithful attendants. His heart softened, and, instead of carrying out his duty, he returned to Oba Kage-chika, saying that he had been unable to find the enemy, and that in his opinion Yoritomo had escaped from the wood. Oba Kage- Chika Feels in the Tree with his Bow Oba
Kage-chika was very angry, and openly said that he did not believe his
cousin —
that to escape from the wood was impossible in such a short time. 'Come!'
said he. 'Follow me, some fifteen or twenty of you; and you, my cousin,
lead
the way and show us where you went, and play fair, or you shall suffer
for it!'
Thus
bid, Kagetoki led the way, carefully avoiding the big tree, for he was
determined to save the life of Yoritomo if he could. By some
misfortune,
however, he chose an abominably bad path, and Kage-chika, having on a
particularly heavy suit of armour, cried out, 'Enough of your leading!
Let us
stick to the road by which we started. It is more likely to be the one
which
our fugitives took. In any case, this is no road at all where you lead
us, and
with heavy armour on it is impossible.' Thus
it was that in due time they reached the huge tree. Kagetoki was much
afraid
that his cousin would go into the hollow and find Yoritomo, and set to
think
how he could save him. Kage-chika
was about to enter the hollow tree when a bright idea occurred to
Kagetoki. 'Hold!'
said he. 'It is no use wasting time by going in there. Can't you see
that there
is a spider's web right across the entrance? It would have been quite
impossible for any one to get inside without breaking it. Kage-chika
was half-inclined to agree that his cousin was right; but, being still
a little
suspicious about him, he put in his bow to feel what was inside. Just
as his
bow was about to be thrust against Yoritomo's heavy armour (which would
naturally have revealed his presence), two beautiful white doves flew
out of
the top of the hole. You
are right, cousin,' said Kage-chika, laughing, when he saw the doves:
'I am
wasting time here, for no one can be in this tree with wild doves in
it,
besides the entrance being closed by a cobweb.' Thus
it was that Yoritomo's life was saved by a spider and two doves. When
he became
Shogun in later years, and fixed upon Kamakura as his place of
residence and as
the seat of government, two shrines were built in the temple of
Tsuru-ga-oka,
which itself is dedicated to Hachiman, the God of War. One is dedicated
to the
Emperor Nintoku, son of Ojin, the God of War, and the other to
Yoritomo, called
Shirahata Jinja. The shrines were erected to show Yoritomo's gratitude
to the
God of War, for doves are known in Japan as the messengers of war, not
of
peace. NOTE.
— I think that the shrine called by Murray 'Shirahata,' which
means White
Flag, is really 'Shiro hato,' the white doves. The
following
is from Murray: — The
Temple of Hachiman, the God of War, dating from the end of the twelfth
century,
stands in a commanding position on a hill called Tsuru-ga-oka, and is
approached by a stately avenue of pine trees leading up the whole way
from the
seashore. Though both avenue and temple have suffered from the ravages
of time,
enough still remains to remind one of the ancient glories of the place.
Three
stone torii lead up to the temple, which stands at the head of
a broad
flight of stone steps. Notice the magnificent icho tree, nearly 20 feet
in
circumference, and said to be over a thousand years old, and the
flowering
trees scattered about the grounds. Before
ascending the flight of steps, the minor shrines to the rear deserve
notice.
The nearer one, painted red and called Wakamiya, is dedicated to the
Emperor
Nintoku, son of the God of War. The farther one, renovated in 1890, is
called
Shirahata Jinja, and dedicated to Yoritomo. The style and structure are
somewhat
unusual, black and gold being the only colours employed, and iron being
the
material of the four main pillars. The interior holds a small wooden
image of
Yoritomo. A
side path leads up hence to the main temple, which is enclosed in a
square
colonnade painted red. The temple, which was re-erected in 1828, after
having
been destroyed by fire seven years previously, is in the Ryobu Shinto
style, with
red pillars, beams, and rafters, and is decorated with small painted
carvings,
chiefly of birds and animals. In the colonnade are several religious
palanquins
(mikoshi) used on the occasion of the semi-annual festivals (April 15
and
December 15), a wooden image of Sumiyoshi by Unkei, and a few relics of
Yoritomo. Most of the relics once preserved in the temple have been
removed to
the residence of the Chief Priest (Hakozaki Oyatsu-kwan), and are only
exhibited at festival times. Immediately
behind the temple of Hachiman is a small hill called Shirabata-yama,
whence
Yoritomo is said to have often admired the prospect. The base of the
hill is
enclosed and laid out as a garden. |