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The Legend of Kiyonaga

A.C.2000 has sounded like science fiction still now. In Kabukiza Theater the new millennium had been opened with “Dannoura Kabuto Gunki”.

Kagekiyo who is a hero of the drama doesn't appear on the stage. Kankuro performed Shigesato, he kept the stage without Kagekiyo to stay under the tight control. Tamasaburo performed a courtesan Akoya, her beauty and her feeling moved all of the audiences. When Tamasaburo played three musical instruments, nobody could see anything but her.

Kagekiyo is the hero of “Dannoura Kabuto Gunki”, he was a warrior who was living from the ending of Heian Period to the beginning of Kamakura Period. He was a commander of Taira family. He had taken part in various battles in Taira-Minamoto War. The final battle of the incident was Dannoura battle in 1185. Kagekiyo could survive it. But he gave up to Yoritomo who was the first shogun of Kamakura Shogunate Government in 1195. Then Kagekiyo was going on a fast, and had died.

Taira-Minamoto War was a similar incident of "War of the Roses" in England. Both of them were clan war. Please think Taira family was York, and Minamoto family was Lancaster. Taira and Minamoto families had fought each other for a long time. When the final battle had ended, almost commanders and warriors of Taira family were killed or committed a suicide. Then Taira family had gone to the ruin. Minamoto family started Kamakura Shogunate Government in 1192.

After “The Tale of Heike” was written, “Kagekiyo” was written in the Middle Ages of Japan as a musical story. It was well known as the legend of Kagekiyo. According to “Kagekiyo”, after Dannoura battle he became an assassin to revenge to Minamoto family. He planned and tried to assassinate Yoritomo, but he couldn’t. It was tried 37 times. Then he had hidden himself to a house of his father-in-law. Yoritomo ordered to discover him. Kagekiyo wasn’t discovered so easy. But his mistress Akoya informed his hiding place to the authority. Kagekiyo was furious very much, and he killed her children and then escaped. The children's father was Kagekiyo himself.

After Kagekiyo disappeared, Yoritomo got angry with Akoya. Yoritomo ordered to bind up securely her and to throw her into a river. Kabuki fans don’t want to see such a scene of Akoya who is performed by Tamasaburo.

Finally of “Kagekiyo”, he had rid of the revenge that was against Minamoto family from his mind and made up his mind to promise his allegiance for Yoritomo. Kagekiyo removed his eyes to prove his mind. When he went to Kiyomizu temple, his eyes had been returned and became to be able to see everything again.

There are a lot of theories that Kagekiyo was a blind person. They said Kagekiyo was the founder of a biwa minstrel. Most biwa minstrels were blind. Biwa minstrels were telling about “The Tale of Heike”.

After Kagekiyo survived at Dannoura battle, he was the only man to be able to talk about Taira-Minamoto War who was standing at Taira family side. “The Tale of Heike” was a history of Taira family that had gone to the ruin that was told by Kagekiyo. And biwa minstrels were telling about it for coming ages. It might not have been wrong to say that Kagekiyo was the founder of them.

Perhaps, the commander who survived Dannoura battle didn’t have any methods to live on except planning to revenge to Minamoto family. And because he survived the battle, Kagekiyo had to be carrying the deep-seated grudge of Taira family by himself alone. Kagekiyo must have been living in history as a tragic hero that has no causal relationship with his mind.