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Heike family and Genji family had fought each other for a long time. Yoritomo is the heir of Genji clan, and Yoshitsune who is an able general of Yoritomo's army is a younger brother of him. Yoshinaka is a cousin of them.

When Yoshinaka was getting a power more than Yoritomo, Yoritomo ordered to Yoshitsune to attack Yoshinaka. Yoshinaka was killed by Yoshitsune. This drama starts just after the death of Yoshinaka.

Matsuemon, whose real identity is Higuchi Jiro, a retainer of Yoshinaka lost a purpose of living after his lord Yoshinaka's death. The only method to live was left for Higuchi. The method was that he becomes an assassin to Yoshitsune who was an enemy of his lord.

When Higuchi knew Tsuchimatsu had been killed instead of Komawakamaru, he said it could be a loyalty of Tsuchimatsu who was his step-son. Children of warriors class must die for a loyalty to their parent. Higuchi said that Tsuchimatsu had died for a loyalty to his step-father at the result. It was along to his "Bushido".

"Bushido" , samurai spirit, is a moral rule of warriors class. Higuchi needed "Bushido" for living as a retainer of Yoshinaka. But the same "Bushido" kills Higuchi at last

In this play, Kajiwara Kagetoki doesn't appear on the stage. He is well known as a dirty commander who made Yoshinaka be killed by Yoritomo. Because Kajiwara accused Yoshitsune as the last enemy to Yoritomo. Yoshitsune is popular to Japanese more than Yoritomo, and Kajiwara is hated.

When Kajiwara ordered Higuchi to be a chief boatman of Yoshitsune, I feel that he knew Higuchi was going to assassinate Yoshitsune.

Kajiwara could have thought it was good, if Higuchi killed Yoshitsune or if Higuchi was killed. At the result, Higuchi could do nothing. He looks just a narrator of the play. If Higuchi had his own identity as a person, not as a retainer, he could have found his real life.

In 1192, Yoritomo started Kamakura shogunate government. But it wasn't the last of fighting.

If you wanted to know about "Bushido", you could find the book, the same title "Bushido", that was written by Nitobe Inazo in English. You will find the real samurai spirit, and the real Japanese spirit. Higuchi couldn't read the book. So he could have lived along to wrong "Bushido".