OVA
Description
Minamoto no Yorimasa, a 12th-century Japanese samurai, poet, and military commander of the Minamoto clan, served eight emperors, holding positions like *hyōgo no kami* (head of the arsenal). Initially neutral in the Minamoto-Taira conflicts, he befriended Taira no Kiyomori and participated in the Hōgen Rebellion (1156), later supporting the Taira during the Heiji Rebellion (1160) which helped them crush the Minamoto.
Retiring from Kiyomori's service in 1179, Yorimasa eventually embraced his clan's cause. He entered the Buddhist priesthood and, in May 1180, allied with Prince Mochihito to rally Minamoto leaders and Buddhist temples against the Taira, sparking the Genpei War. Commanding Minamoto troops and Miidera warrior monks, he defended Prince Mochihito at Byōdō-in temple during the Battle of Uji (1180). Though the monks destroyed the bridge to hinder the Taira, their defenses fell. Wounded, Yorimasa performed ritual suicide (*seppuku*) at Byōdō-in to avoid capture, one of the earliest documented instances of this samurai act.
Yorimasa also achieved legendary fame by slaying a monstrous *nue* terrorizing Emperor Konoe. Using an arrow inherited from his ancestor Minamoto no Yorimitsu, he shot the creature atop the imperial palace at night, restoring peace and the emperor's health, for which he received the sword *Shishiō*.
His poetry appears in anthologies like the *Yorimasa Kashū*, *Shin kokin-shū*, and *Senzai wakashū*. His death poem expressed despair: *"Like a fossil tree / From which we gather no flowers / Sad has been my life / Fated no fruit to produce."* His daughter, Nijōin no Sanuki, was also a poet. His legacy encompasses military tactics, poetic contributions, and establishing *seppuku* as a samurai practice.
Retiring from Kiyomori's service in 1179, Yorimasa eventually embraced his clan's cause. He entered the Buddhist priesthood and, in May 1180, allied with Prince Mochihito to rally Minamoto leaders and Buddhist temples against the Taira, sparking the Genpei War. Commanding Minamoto troops and Miidera warrior monks, he defended Prince Mochihito at Byōdō-in temple during the Battle of Uji (1180). Though the monks destroyed the bridge to hinder the Taira, their defenses fell. Wounded, Yorimasa performed ritual suicide (*seppuku*) at Byōdō-in to avoid capture, one of the earliest documented instances of this samurai act.
Yorimasa also achieved legendary fame by slaying a monstrous *nue* terrorizing Emperor Konoe. Using an arrow inherited from his ancestor Minamoto no Yorimitsu, he shot the creature atop the imperial palace at night, restoring peace and the emperor's health, for which he received the sword *Shishiō*.
His poetry appears in anthologies like the *Yorimasa Kashū*, *Shin kokin-shū*, and *Senzai wakashū*. His death poem expressed despair: *"Like a fossil tree / From which we gather no flowers / Sad has been my life / Fated no fruit to produce."* His daughter, Nijōin no Sanuki, was also a poet. His legacy encompasses military tactics, poetic contributions, and establishing *seppuku* as a samurai practice.