- β’
Yoshitsune defeated Benkei in Japan's most famous duel
βIt's called Benkay on the Bridge... it describes perhaps the most celebrated fight in the entire history of the samurai.β
- β’
Yoshitsune was raised as a monk in a monastery
βKiyomori's plan is that Yoshitsune will grow up in harmless and ignorant seclusion as a monk.β
- β’
Samurai legends blend historical facts with spiritual myths
βThey are hinting at aspects of his story that I think are genuinely mysterious, and they have evolved to try and explain things.β
- β’
The Taira clan controlled Kyoto and the imperial family
βThe Tyra have control over Kyoto, the great imperial capital. They have the imperial family under their thumb.β
- β’
Yoshitsune joined his brother to fight the Taira war
βThis is the year when he emerges from this kind of obscurity... to join his half-brother, Yoritomo.β
