Mt.Fuji from Koshigoe wharf, Kamakura—TripAdvisor UK

Within the classic Tales of the Heike, there is a sub-story of two famous historical brothers Minamoto no Yoritomo and his younger brother Minamoto no Yoshitsune. In 1185, Yoshitsune was the hero of the war between the Genji and Taira. As he returned to Kamakura, he stopped at Koshigoe to wait to meet his older brother and sent a letter to him to prove his loyalty to him. However, Yoritomo never met him. Instead, the jealous older brother sent assassins, and thus Yoshitsune committed ritual suicide as was the custom of samurai warriors. Though Yoritomo became the first Shogun of the Kamakura Era, his brother has been loved by the Japanese people for nine centuries.

           Kabuki play

    shouts for the hero

    and sidekick Benkei

Haibun: Prose and Haiku by Carmen Sterba