Episode Summaries

Episode 1: Ikezuki

Kiso no Yoshinaka hears that Yoritomo is sending a punitive force. Kiso has the bridges at Uji and Seta dismantled to protect himself, and he dispatches his men to confront the force under Yoshitsune and Noriyori. The narrative then tells the story of two of Yoritomo's horses that are part of the force.

Yoritomo had two great horses named Ikezuki and Surusumi. The warrior Kajiwara Kagesue asks for Ikezuki, but Yoritomo gives him the horse Surusumi instead. Then Yoritomo gifts Ikezuki to another retainer, Sasaki Takatsuna. With this gift, Sasaki vowed to be first across the Uji river at the upcoming battle of Uji river. All of Yoritomo’s men leave Kamakura and head for the capital. Along the way, Kajiwara spots Ikezuki and learns it belongs to Sasaki. Kajiwara becomes very upset and confronts Sasaki, complaining that their lord favors him more even though they offer him equal service. Sasaki then lies, telling Kajiwara that he stole the horse because he didn’t have one good enough to cross the Uji river because the enemy had torn down the bridge. Kajiwara regrets that he didn’t think of stealing Ikezuki first.

Episode 1 Notes:

The various practices here are associated with New Years: greetings for the retired and reigning emperor; feasting; and greeting the gods. Traditionally, retainers in Kyushu sent trout as a greeting, and men from Kuzu village came from Yoshino to perform. None of these practices are observed. For a similar New Year, see Book 6, episode 1.
Mino and Ise are west of Nagoya, so quite close to the capital.
The Seta and Uji bridges were important eastern entry points to the capital region; the battle at Uji in Book 4 also involved the Uji bridge.
Noriyori and Yoshitsune are younger half-brothers of Yoritomo. Like him, they were spared following the Heiji rebellion. Yoshitsune will be celebrated as one of Japan's favorite heroes; Noriyori enjoyed less fame, and even here appears inferior to Yoshitsune.
Kajiwara Kagesue is the son of Kajiwara Kagetoki, one of Yoritomo's close retainers and a rival of Yoshitsune, as we shall see in later episodes.
Ikezuki is frequently written with characters meaning something like "Biter"; Surusumi is "Ink Black." More importantly, these are named steeds, marking them as exceptional. It should be noted, however, that all horses in Japan at the time were quite small, closer in size to ponies than horses familiar to us today.
The routes taken by the riders toward teh capital are both variants of the Tōkaidō, the eastern sea route running from the capital along the eastern seaboard.
Kiso's famous Four Heavenly Kings (Shitennō) are four generals here compared to the four heavenly kings of Buddhism. A number of famous (particularly Minamoto) leaders had their "four heavenly kings," including Yoshimitsu (link). For the Buddhist Four Heavenly Kings, see: http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/shitenno.shtml
This episode is intended to be humorous, but also to celebrate the developing warrior ethos. Episode two functions similarly.

Episode 2: First Across the Uji River

Yoritomo’s men proceede in two separate forces from Owari onward. The main force is led by Noriyori and the flanking force by Yoshitsune. They removed boards from the bridges at Uji and Seta and attached abatis to the frame. Yoshitsune, possibly testing his men, suggested going around to another crossing point because the river was high, but his men decide to cross the river here. Sasaki and Kajiwara bolt into the river and vie to be first across. Sasaki ultimately wins and announces that he is first across the Uji river. As the warrior Hatakeyama is crossing the river, his horse is shot and he proceeds on foot. The young warrior Shigechika, also without a mount, grabs hold of him, but then jumps over Hatakeyama to be the first to cross the river on foot; everyone laughs at his gumption. The battle begins, and Yoritomo's men crush Yoshinaka's, who begin to flee to the west.

Episode 2 Notes:

Omi is just to the northeast of Kyoto. Iga is to the southeast.
Hira,the Shiga mountains, and Naraga (mountain) are all between Lake Biwa and the capital.
The Tan League is a group of affiliated warriors in Musashi; it was one of the "seven leagues of Musashi."
For Byōdōin, see: here.
Note Sasaki's name announcing here, even though what he's claiming fame for is not actually participating in the battle.
Note the pseudo father-son relationship between Hatakeyama (another important retainer of Yoritomo) and Okushi Shigechika.

Episode 3: The Battle Beside the River

Yoritomo had been notified of who crossed the river first and Yoshinaka learned that his men were being defeated at the Uji river. Kiso goes to Rokujō to bit good bye to Go-Shirakawa, but he hears that the men from the east had already pushed to the Kamo river, so he decides to head toward the battle. Enroute, he stops at the house of a gentlewoman he has been seeing and lingers too long with her. One of the men in his service, Echigo no Chuda Iemitsu, chides Yoshinaka into returning to the battlefield by committing suicide to serve his lord in the afterlife. Yoshinaka heads for the Kamo riverbed, while Yoshitsune rushes into the city to protect Go-Shirakawa, who is very grateful for his arrival. Sensing the end is at hand, Yoshinaka heads towards Seta to search for Kanehira, beside whom he promised to die.

Episode 3 Notes:

Yoritomo's recording of the deeds of his men becomes the basis for the distribution of awards, something for which warrior governments would become noted.
The Kamo river is the eastern border of the city.
Yoshinaka's lingering with a lady friend allows the narrator the opportunity to celebrate the warrior ethos in the action of Iemitsu.
Yoshitsune's arrival at Go-Shirakawa's residence is thought at first to be that of Yoshinaka: both men would have carried the white banners of the Minamoto.
Yoshitsune here is "dressed" for his audience with Go-Shirakawa.
Note that Yoshinaka and Imai no Kanehira have pledged to die together on the battlefield, as we saw with Nakakane and Nakayori in Book 8, episode 11.
The conventional phrase "clouds or mists" is used here to describe a large enemy force, as we have seen elsewhere in battle descrition.
Yoshinaka heads east from the Kamo riverbed, toward Lake Biwa; this would also generally be the direction of his homeland in Kiso.

Episode 4: The Death of Kiso

Yoshinaka searches for Kanehira and finally finds him at Otsu, on the shore of Lake Biwa. Their numbers, already small, continue to dwindle as they meet and push through the much larger forces under Yoshitsune. Eventually, they are down to five, and Yoshinaka sends away his woman warrior (who appears here for the first time in the story); she has a final battle and then flees to the north. When only Yoshinaka and Kanehira remain, Kanehira urges his lord to go to a pine grove and commit suicide while he fends off the enemy. Enroute, Yoshinaka's horse gets stuck in a rice paddy, and, as he turns around to check on Kanehira, he is struck by an enemy arrow and dies. Kanehira commits suicide.

Episode 4 Notes:

Tomoe and Yamabuki are portrayed in the war tales as women warriors. In other versions, Yamabuki died at the battle of Tonamiyama (Book 7, episode 6). They appear in the legendary record but not in any histories.
(map, tanba and ryūge pass), seta
Kanehira is Yoshinaka's foster brother and closest retainer.
Otsu is at the southern end of Lake Biwa.
Yoshinaka wishes to find a worthy opponent. Here and elsewhere in the tale, being killed by someone of equal or superior rank is far preferable than dying at the hands of a nobody.
Yoshinaka is "dressed" and announces his name as he engages the enemy here, in conventional war-tale form.
Yoshinaka sends Tomoe away not simply because he is embarrassed to be seen with a woman on the battlefield, but also out of compassion and in order to leave someone to tell his story after his death. She becomes the object of many narratives and also several noh plays during the medieval tradition, and remains a popular "woman warrior" figure in Japanese popular culture as well.
Down to just himself and Kanehira, Yoshinaka's end is near. At this point, it would be more honorable to commit suicide than be killed by a lower-ranking warrior, and that is what he plans to do.
Note that Yoshinaka, who has been so careless about his abuses of the rice paddies, ends up mired in one. For more, see Selinger, Authorizing Warrior Rule, ch. 3.
Kanehira's suicide is one of the most dramatic in the tale.
There is a temple dedicated to Yoshinaka, Gichūji, located in Otsu. For more, see: https://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/ttp/ptg/PS/pg-502.pdf?q=lake-biwa-otsu-and-hikone. The temple also boasts a tomb (not the only one) of the famed haiku poet Matsuo Bashō. For more on Bashō (who wrote many poems about the Genpei War dead and traveled to the site of Yoshitsune's death, described in his poetic travelogue The Narrow Route to the Deep North), see: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Basho-Japanese-poet

Episode 5: The Execution of Higuchi

Imai’s older brother, Higuchi no Jiro Kanemitsu, learning that both Yoshinaka and Kanehira are dead, heads to the capital to fight one final battle. He and his men fight valiantly, but he is eventually convinced to surrender by the Kodama league, allies of Yoritomo who promise to trade their merit -- the awards they should win in battle -- for his life. Yoshitsune and Noriyori support this plan, and he is initially spared, but the nobles (and probably Yoritomo) are so enraged by this decision that the death sentence is reinstated. Higuchi is paraded through the streets with the heads of Yoshinaka and his last four men. He is executed the next day. The Taira are now in Fukuhara, and they build a fortress at Ichi-no-Tani.

Episode 5 Notes:

Kanemitsu is Kanehira's older brother. He goes to Nagano in Kawachi (in what is now Osaka) to try to fight Yukiie, who has been at this point supporting Yoshinaka.
Chino, one of Kanemitsu's men, announces his name, but here not to find a worthy enemy per se; rather, he hopes that his brother, fighting for the opposing force, will bear witness to his honorable death. This is one of the few places in the tale where the poignancy of civil strife that pits family members against each other, is expressed openly, although of course Yoshinaka is the cousin of Yoshitsune and Yoritomo.
The Kodama are another of the leagues of warriors from Musashi. Although they are allied with Yoritomo, they are also friends of Kanemitsu's.
A suikan robe and eboshi hat were typical courtly attire.
Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were rivals following their successful overthrow of the Qin dynasty (207 BCE). Liu Bang, like Yoshinaka, was of humble birth, Xiang Yu was noble. Eventually, Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu and established the Han dynasty as its first emperor. For more, see: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gaozu-emperor-of-Han-dynasty; https://www.britannica.com/biography/Xiang-Yu
The Taira are now on Honshu, at their former base of Fukuhara, in Settsu province (modern-day Kobe). Ichi-no-tani is the fortress they establish there.
The San'yōdō and Nankaidō are the provinces of the western seaboard of Japan.

Episode 6: Six Clashes

Tomomori and his sons, particularly Noritsune, engage former allies as well as Minamoto partisans at six locations close to Fukuhara: Shimotsui; Fukura; Minoshima; off Nishinomiya; Fukehi; and Imagi. Noritsune is unstoppable, killing many of the enemy, taking prisoners, and forcing the remainder into flight. He returns to Fukuhara and is praised by all.

Episode 6 Notes:

Awa and Sanuki are provinces on Shikoku island, traditionally a Taira stronghold.
Norimori, Michimori, and Noritsune are Taira generals. Norimori is Kiyomori's brother and father of Michimori and Noritsune.
Awaji is an island in the inland sea, just offshore from present-day Kobe (and very close, therefore, to Ichi-no-tani).
Tameyoshi was Yoritomo's grandfather, killed in the Hōgen rebellion.
Iyō is another Shikoku province.
Kawano leaves Shikoku for Aki, on Honshu.
Fukehi, in Izumi, is near present-day Osaka, to the south on the inland seaboard.
Kii is the province comprising most of the Ki peninsula, south of present-day Osaka.

Episode 7: The Roster of Forces at Mikusa

Noriyori and Yoshitsune head west to engage the Taira. The fourth of the second month was the anniversary of the death of Lord Kiyomori, so the Minamoto decided to wait to attack in respect of the rites for Kiyomori’s death. The rest of the chapter names the men on the Minamoto forces that were on their way to Mount Mikusa.

Episode 7 Notes:

Since Go-Shirakawa has already named a new emperor (Go-Toba), he is now worried primarily about the imperial regalia, which the Taira have taken. Antoku's return is secondary.
The Taira continue to act as if they controlled the government by making appointments to court positions.
Norimori's poem recognizes how dire their situation really is.
For Masakado's rebellion (940), see: (link)
The prelate Senshin is nephew of Kiyomori's widow and has accompanied the Taira. Jōnin is a son of Go-Shirakawa, residing on Mt. Hiei.
Koremori is eldest son of Shigemori and therefore the mainline heir to Kiyomori.
The westward direction was blocked on the fifth by a directional taboo. Such directional taboos were determined by the Yin-Yang bureau and were generally observed, since breaking them would bode ill for the attack (or any journey).
The hour of the hare is at about 6:00 AM.
The list of commanders setting out from the city is long and illustrious; we will meet some of these warriors later. Lists of this sort are common in the tale and generally believed to reflect its origins as a performance text.

Episode 8: The Battle of Mikusa

The Minamoto forces are waiting to attack on the slopes of Mikusa. Yoshitsune asks his men if they should wait until morning or attack at night. They decide to attack that night and they light their way by setting the houses and such on fire on the way to where the Taira forces are. The Taira did not suspect an attack, so they went to sleep after laying down their weapons and taking off their armor. The Minamoto attacked with full force and surprised the sleeping Taira causing them to flee, most of whom fled to Ichi-no-Tani.

Episode 8 Notes:

(map) which map?
Doi no Sanehira is a close retainer of Yoritomo and a good counselor to Yoshitsune.
Burning peasants houses for light is also described in the burning of Nara (Book 5, episode 14).
Tashiro's ancestry, like that of many elite warriors, can be traced to the son of an emperor. The son was made a commoner to officially remove him from the succession. He was given a title and rights to provincial land to support himself and his descendants.
Sukemori, Arimori, and Tadafusa have effectively fled, while Moromori ahd his men have returned to the fortress where the main force was encamped.

Episode 9: The Old Horse

Munemori asks Noritsune to set up defenses at Ichi-no-tani, which Noritsune does. Meanwhile, Yoshitsune and his men try to find a way to attack the fortress from the cliff behind it. One retainer suggests letting an old horse go ahead of them so that it can find the easiest path. They do so and follow the horse for a while before they set up camp. They then find an old hunter, who tells them that deer can pass down the cliff to the plains below. Yoshitsune takes the man's son as his retainer, and has the young man lead the way toward the rear of the fortress.

Episode 9 Notes:

Although we see Michimori and Noritsune assigned to the part of the fortress that Yoshitsune would attack, in reality, they did not engage Yoshitsune's men directly during the battle.
Michimori's wife is Kozaishō, whom we will encounter again shortly.
(map) Which map?
Note the poetic descriptions of the scene, primarily in "song", even though a bloody battle is about to be fought.
Musashibō Benkei is Yoshitsune's loyal retainer, and their relationship is something akin to that between Little John and Robin Hood. For more on Benkei, see: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Benkei
Note the flash-forward regarding Yoshihisa, which reminds us that, despite his role in winning the war, Yoshitsune will be hounded to his death by Yoritomo shortly thereafter.

Episode 10: First or Second to Engage the Foe

We are introduced to the Kumagai, who have been sent with Yoshitsune's forces. Wanting to be the first to attack, they leave Yoshitsune to join the frontal forces under Doi. He takes his son to slip in and be the first to make a frontal assault on the fortress. Another warrior, Hirayama, has the same intent. This episode describes this very small group of men calling forth Taira warriors and engaging them in front of the fortress. Both the Kumagai father and son and Hirayama fight bravely; when the younger Kumagai takes an arrow to the arm, his father urges him to fight on. All three survive this initial attack, which is described in hyperbolic terms in this episode celebrating warrior valor.

Episode 10 Notes:

Both Kumagai and Hirayama, though leaving the force they are part of, are both seen as valiant, as they are planning to engage the enemy bravely. The preference for individual rather than mass combat is consistent throughout the war tales (although to what degree it reflects historical accuracy is a matter of debate). However, this craving for individual glory is contained within the goal of winning the battle for their lord.
Note here, as in Book 4, a good warrior does not like to see his horse abused.
Kumagai and his son are first dressed, then, before the gate of the fortress, announce their names, following conventions of battle description in the tale. Note that the way Kumagai, Hirayama, and Narida vie to be first into battle echoes the race between Sakaki and Kagetoki across the Uji river earlier in episode 2.
Note the colloquial tone of the narrator, who asks himself who the warriors at the fortress were, and then goes on to list them. This suggests the oral performative roots of the tale.
For the Hōgen and Heiji rebellions, see here.
Note that when Kojirō is hit by an arrow, his father encourages him to protect his neck, and the two press onward. This is considered exemplary behavior, where warriors keep their goal -- winning the battle for their lord -- above familial worry. Episode 11 will show a contrasting view of paternal concern for a son.
In general, the engagements in this episode follow conventional patterns of engagement.

Episode 11: The Double Attack

An assault from Ikuta Wood begins with the Kawara brothers pushing ahead of the Minamoto forces to be the first to attack the fortress from that side; both are killed as they do so. Kajiwara Kagetoki, commanding a force in Ikuta Wood, signals his troops forward. One of his sons rushes out ahead, and Kajiwara rushes in pursuit to protect his son. They press into the Taira stronghold, then retreat. At this point, Kajiwara sees that one of his other sons has been left behind, and he presses forward again, finds his son, and the Minamoto assault then continues.

Episode 11 Notes:

Kawara no Tarō and Jirō are lower-ranking soldiers. Tarō is a name often given a first born, and Jirō a second born son. They are attacking the fortress from Ikuta Wood, to the east. Like the Kumagai, they are moving at night, ahead of the rest of the army.
Tomomori praises the bravery of the enemy, using the conventional epithet "worthy to face a thousand," which we find throughout the tale.
Kajiwara is responsible for the forces in Ikuta Wood.
Note that Kagetaka (the son) behaves similarly to the warriors in episode 10, but his father (Kagetoki), out of worry for his son, chases after him. This is the first attack.
Worry over the safety of his other son, Kagesue, is the cause for Kajiwara's second attack.
For Yoshiie's campaign in the north, see (link).
This episode paints Kagetoki ambivalently -- he is at once a brave warrior and a man motivated by family concerns. He will later emerge as an antagonist against Yoshitsune.

Episode 12: The Charge Down the Hiyodori Ravine

The frontal attack on the fortress rages on, favoring neither side. The tide changes when Yoshitsune leads a charge down the Hiyodori ravine behind the fortress, completely surprising the Taira. They light the fortress on fire, and the men inside flee to boats offshore. Boats sink under the weight of too many aboard, and it is decided that only high-ranking members of the Taira side can board, and those of lower ranks are hacked at with swords when they try to board. With all the others, Noritsune abandons the fortress and flees to the boats.

Episode 12 Notes:

Moritoshi is one of the Taira generals.
Yasukuni is one of the Minamoto generals mentioned in episode 7.
Noritsune had until this point been the bravest of the Taira, but even he flees as the fortress burns.

Episode 13: The Death of Moritoshi

Tomomori is effectively spared by a member of the Kodama league: Tomomori had formerly served as governor of Musashi, and the league feels it owes him at least the courtesy of escape. The episode focuses primarily on the Taira warrior Etchū no Zenji Moritoshi, known for his great strength, who is killed by trickery.

Episode 13 Notes:

Musashi and Sagami are provinces in the east.
The Kodama league is one of the seven leagues of Musashi province, where Tomomori was once governor.
Inomata Noritsuna is not otherwise important in the tale.
Inomata asks Moritoshi's name. Here the name announcing, a topic of their conversation, works in reverse: a name is given only after it is asked for.
This is a bad death for Moritoshi: he was deceived, and he was not actually in battle when he was killed.

Episode 14: The Death of Tadanori

As the Taira flee, the poet-warrior Tadanori is spied by Okabe no Tadazumi. Tadanori pretends to be a Minamoto, but is given away as an aristocrat by his blackened teeth. Tadanori continues to hide his identity as Tadazumi engages him. When he is about to kill Tadazumi, Tadazumi's page cuts off Tadanori's arm. Tadanori realizes that all is lost and asks to recite the name of Amida as he is killed. His identity is only discovered by his signature on a poem slip tied to his quiver. All mourn the loss of this master of poetry and war.

Episode 14 Notes:

When leaving the capital, Tadanori left a scroll of poems with Shunzei in the hopes that some of them would be chosen for the imperial poetry anthology Shunzei was compiling. He is famous as the tale's poet.
Note that Tadanori here hides his name.
Courtiers blackened their teeth; warriors from the provinces did not.
Tadanori was brought up at Kumano, among the mountain ascetics, which suggests that he is well trained as a warrior.
Tadanori's arm is cut off by a page; these men accompanied generals and, here and elsewhere, are crucial in their victories.
Calling the name (of Amida Buddha) as one dies is thought to help assure rebirth in Amida's Pure Land. For Pure Land Buddhism, see: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pure-Land-Buddhism.
Note that Tadanori is celebrated, as Yorimasa and Kakumei have been, as a man adept in both poetry and war.
Note that Tadanori's "name announcing" here is via the signature on his poem. One of the finest noh plays by Zeami, Tadanori, is about Tadanori's ghost.
This is a good warrior death.

Episode 15: Shigehira Taken Alive

Taira no Shigehira, Kiyomori's son and the man responsible for the burning of the Nara temples, tries to escape the battlefield accompanied by his foster brother, Morinaga. Shigehira's mount is hit by an arrow, slowing it down, and Morinaga abandons him as the Minamoto close in. Shigehira tries first to drown himself and then cut open his stomach, but he is captured alive and made a prisoner. The narrator notes the shamefulness of Morinaga's behavior

Episode 15 Notes:

Both Shigehira and Morinaga are "dressed" for battle.
As Shigehira's foster brother, Morinaga was the son of Shigehira's wetnurse, and the two would have been raised together; Morinaga would therefore be Shigehira's closest retainer, as Kanehira was for Yoshinaka (episodes 3 and 4). His treachery is unforgivable.
Shigehira flees from Ikuta Wood, at the eastern end of the battlefield, to Suma, at the western end.
Morinaga's red badge marks him as a Taira warrior.
An image of a memorial stone and tablet marking the spot in Suma Ward, Kobe, where Shigehira was captured:

Episode 16: The Death of Atsumori

As the battle come to an end, the Taira are fleeing from the battle field to the boats ashore to get away. Kumagai, a great warrior fighting for the Minamoto, sees a high-ranking warrior on the horse riding towards the shore and calls him back to fight. The man returns, engages Kumagai, and Kumagai easily wrestles him to the ground. When he is about to strike off the warrior's head, he realizes that this is a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy who is around the same age as his son. Although Kumagai did not want to kill him, seeing that there are soldiers catching up to him, he knows that this boy will inevitably die and decides to cut off his head and pray for him. Kumagai wraps the head in cloth and takes the flute he found in his clothes with him. Later, they realized that this boy is Taira no Atsumori, Tsunemori’s son who was a great flutist. Moved by this experience, Kumagai renounces the world and spends his life praying for the soul of Atsumori.

Episode 16 Notes:

This is one of the most famous scenes from the tale, although there is no documentation of it actually occurring; when Kumagai took the tonsure a decade later, it was after he lost a case concerning land ownership. Kumagai, we remember, was, with his son, the first to attack the fortress in episode 10.
Note that Atsumori is "dressed" with extravagant detail.
Kumagai motions him back with his fan; fans were used in battle for signalling.
Like Tadanori, Atsumori is recognizable as an aristocrat (and therefore a Taira) by his blackened teeth.
Like Tadanori, Atsumori does not give his name.
This provides a chance for us to learn of Kumagai's actual concern for his son's injuries (episode 10).
Atsumori's flute marks him as a musician; paired with the story of Tadanori's death, we witness the end of the courtly arts embodied by the Taira as the Minamoto warriors (outsiders to the capital and its culture) defeat them.
The genealogy of the flute embedded in this story echoes that of the biwa Seizan (Book 7). It also serves as something of a eulogy, praising Atsumori's skill.
This episode probably developed outside the tale as a hosshin setsuwa (enlightenment story), a story of how a person (here, Kumagai) came to understand Buddhist truth. Giō (Book 1, episode 6) appears to have similar origins.

Episode 17: The Death of Tomoakira

Many high-ranking Taira are killed, including Narimori and Tsunemasa. Tomomori and his son Tomoakira, who had been positioned at Ikuta Wood, try to escape. Minamoto forces attack, and the commander targets Tomomori, but Tomoakira intervenes and kills him, only to be killed by the man's page. Tomomori is able to escape to the boats, but he has to leave his beloved horse behind. Overcome with guilt for having been saved by his son's sacrifice, Tomomori laments his fate, and the other Taira weep with him.

Episode 17 Notes:

The Kodama leagues is one of the seven leagues of warriors from Musashi province.
Tomoakira is killed by a page, a warrior serving a general.
Note that Tomomori orders that his horse be spared; compassion toward horses was a mark of a good warrior. The horse's story here resembles (both in content and in its position in the story) the origin story of Atsumori's flute in the previous episode.
Tomomori's remorse about Tomoakira's death underlines the theme of father-son relations we have seen throughout this book; Munemori's comment that Tomoakira was just the age of his own son, Kiyomune, echoes Kumagai's about Atsumori in the previous episode.

Episode 18: Flight

More Taira die as they try to flee: Moromori (Shigemori's youngest son) dies trying to rescue a comrade; Michimori (Norimori's son) , is killed as he tries to commit suicide; teh Genji display the heads of over 2000 at Ikuta Wood. We learn that no fewer than ten Taira commanders have died, and countless others. The episode ends with a lyrical description of the Taira flight.

Episode 18 Notes:

Kii is the Ki peninsula, south of present-day Osaka.
Ashiya is east along the coast where the battle was fought; Suma and Akashi are slightly west. Awaji Straight separates Honshu from the island of Awaji; Eshima is on Awaji.

Episode 19: Kozaishō Drowns

One of Michimori’s follower came back to the boat that Kozaishou, Michimori’s wife, is on and reports to her that Michimori has died in battle. Kozaisho could not believe the news at first, but after a few days, her hopes diminish and stays in bed for days. Her nurse was very worried and Kozaisho tells the nurse about the dream that she had where Michimori walks towards her. She feels that her only way out is to jump into the water rather than missing him in agony. The nurse decides that if Kozaisho is going to suicide, she shall follow. As the nurse falls asleep next to Kozaisho, she walks towards the edge of the boat and looks up the moon for the west side. After she recites Buddhist verses, she jumps into the water. They were able to retrieve Kozaisho’s body, but she was long gone. So, they wrapped her in Michimori’s armor and let her sink into the water.

Episode 19 Notes:

Yashima is the destination of the boats; it is on Shikoku.
Note that Kozaishō, like her husband, instructs her closest attendant to carry her story and pray for her in the afterlife.
Sharing the same lotus (seat) in the afterlife is a plegde often made between couples.
The six (Buddhist) realms of existence are the slx realms into which one could be reborn. See: (link).
For the Four Modes of Birth, see (link).
The Western Paradise (the Pure Land) is where Amida resides. For more, see: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pure-Land-Buddhism
Kozaishō is wrapped in her husband's armor, metaphorically weighed down by his fate as a warrior as she is cast back into the sea.
Princess Shōseimon-in was the daughter of Emperor Toba.
Hoshhōji (temple) is in the east of Kyoto.
Men courted women by writing them poems; Kozaishō's long resistance to answering Michimori, as well as his persistence, are unusual and suggest that their bond is extremely close.
Michimori's letter is scented with incense, and he has a good calligraphic hand in addition to writing good poetry: all of these are signs of his worthiness as a lover.
Ono no Komachi, a poet of the ninth century, was considered by the early critic Ki no Tsurayuki (link to: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ki-Tsurayuki)to be among the "six poetic geniuses" of early Japan. Although little is actually known about her life, by the medieval period, she was known as a cold beauty who died an impoverished crone, punished in this life and the next for being cruel to men who loved her. For more, see: http://www.wakapoetry.net/poets/early-heian-poets/ono-no-komachi/
Note that the book ends with the mourning of a father for his son.

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