Monday, July 04, 2005
Yoshitsune #21: Take to the Field! いざ出陣
Yoshitsune asks Masako for permission to bring Benkei, Jiro and Saburo with him when he visits Yoshitaka and Oohime. Masako agrees.
The 2 kids are ecstatic to see new playmates. Yoshinaka points out Benkei even though it is the first time they meet. Oohime calls Saburo "Kani-dono" (meaning Lord Crab). Apparently Yoshitsune has already done some "pre-introduction". (LOL) The kerai perform various stunts which totally amuse the kids.
Later that day, Yoshitsune thanks Benkei for playing with the kids. He tells Benkei he empathises with Yoshinaka and sees himself in him. Like Yoshinaka, he was also separated from his parents when young. Therefore he wants to do all possible to make sure Yoshinaka won't feel lonely like he did.
A few days later, Yoshitsune is having dinner with some of Yoritomo's men when Yoritomo and Masako arrive. One of them called Hiratsuka blurts out (while in a drunken stupor) that Yoshinaka is a threat and should be killed. This agitates Yoritomo greatly. Officially, Yoshinaka is brought into the household as Yoritomo's son-in-law. To insult his son-in-law in front of the others is as good as insulting the man himself. Yoritomo thus orders a death sentence on Hiratsuka.
Yoshitsune arrives just in time to witness the execution and is shocked at the brutality.
Later that night, Tokimasa calls for his daughter Masako. He asks Masako if she was the one who advised Yoritomo to execute Hiratsuka (to which she denies). He feels the punishment is too harsh and totally uncalled for. He thought Masako will feel the same but to his surprise, she says it is necessary so as to serve a warning to others.Tokimasa seems a tad disappointed that his daughter has turned into such a cold woman since her marriage to Yoritomo. Masako on the other hand, just feels that it is her job to do all she can to help her husband achieve his aims.
The next day, Yoshitsune runs into Yoritomo and Masako. Yoritomo feels that Yoshitsune is troubled over Hiratsuka's execution and summons him for dinner a few days later.
At the meeting, Yoritomo asks if he thinks his punishment was too severe and Yoshitsune replies "somewhat". Masako laughs at him for being too sympathetic. She tells him sternly, to accomplish big things, one must never let emotions get involved. (urusai na, omae!) Yoritomo then adds, Hirasaka wan't wrong in what he said per se. Just that by making that remark, Hiratsuka is actually opposing his decision. The execution is thus necessary to draw a distinction between master and servant. Yoritomo claims he needed to do it so as to keep his servants in obedience. To him, "reason" is priority over sentiments.
Yoshitsune: "Don't sentiments between master and servant matter to you?"
Yoritomo: "Good if they exist. But it doesn't matter if they don't."
Yoshitsune: "So you control your servants using fear?"
Masako: (laughs) "There's nothing wrong with that!"
Yoritomo reasons that to control his huge army in order to build a new country, he needs to rule like this. If he allows everyone to openly express their views like Hiratsuka, his clan will fall apart. He cites this as the reason why the Heike is going downhill. Yoshitsune begs to differ though. He thinks Heike has its good points too. Kiyomori made efforts to unite his family and made sure everyone gets to express their views. He also talked about Kiyomori's dream.
Yoritomo: "And has that dream come true?"
Yoshitsune: "... ..."
Masako: "Everyone can dream. But do you know why Kiyomori failed? Because he lacked the strength and let emotions got the better of him."
Yoritomo adds, it was also because of emotions that Kiyomori let him off years ago (giving him the chance to rise against the Heike again). Yoshitsune is speechless.
Meanwhile, Yoshinaka is fast leading his army towards the capital. He aims to capture the capital before Yoritomo does. The Heike realises they need to form an army quick to resist Yoshinaka's advancement. Tomomori suggests that Munemori leads this army as this battle may decide Heike's survival. Munemori refuses however, citing the reason that he has to stay in the capital to protect the emperor. (This man is just a coward... -_-;;;) They eventually appoint Koremori as the general. Koremori obviously is not happy to hear that, having failed once. But he accepts the job in the end. (Why not let Tomomori??)
Although the Heike troop started out much bigger, many soldiers desert the army along the way. The troop also split up in different ways halfway, with Koremori leading the bigger group through the mountains. Unfortunately, Yoshinaka is well-versed in mountain battle tactics, hence he manages to win Koremori even with a smaller army.
Koremori manages to survive the battle with a handful of soldiers. But they were all suffering from starvation and fatigue.
Yoshinaka's camp continues to march towards the capital and stop just outside it. Yoshinaka seems hesistant about invasion but Tomoe is all for it. (This woman is crazy for war indeed....) The wily Yukiie also does his part by enticing Yoshinaka to proceed.
Meanwhile Kagetoki informs Yoritomo of Yoshinaka's rapid advancement towards the capital. For some reason, they cannot let Yoshinaka reach the capital first and have his will. (I think Kagetoki said something like Yoshinaka will mess up their plan, which is to form an alliance with the imperial family so that they can control the entire country and get rid of the annoying Heike clan. The point here is that the alliance is meant to be a secret one, without the Heike's knowing. All this while, Yoritomo seems to be already communicating with Go-Shirakawa quietly by letters. So if Yoshinaka is going to just charge into the capital, he could either jeopardise ties with the imperial family, expose their plans, or both. But then again, i don't think Yoshinaka knows about Yoritomo's plan.) They decide they need to send a troop to "pay tribute" to Go-Shirakawa (to maintain good ties) as well as to check the movements of Yoshinaka. (and i think Kagetoki says something like the troop shouldn't be too big if not they will draw unnecessary attention and also invite others to attack Kamakura.)
Masako suggests Yoshitsune to lead this troop. Firstly, his followers are few (BUT LOYAL!!!) and she wants him out of Kamakura. The reason being if Hidehira from Hiraizumi is to launch an attack on Kamakura, having Yoshitsune around is like having a spy at home. Yoritomo doesn't think Yoshitsune will betray them but Masako insists they must play safe. (STUPID WOMAN... YOU WA SHUT UP!!! So ebil...>_<)
Yoshitsune accepts his first task without hesitation. Yoritomo gives him a small army (of 500 i think?) and tells him to take an onlooker role if Yoshinaka and Heike engage in a battle. Yoritomo will send Noriyori and his army after him too, but Yoshitsune is to enter the capital and check out the situation first.
Yoshitsune's kerai are over the moon when they hear their first mission. Finally, Yoritomo is letting them do something. (They are really ECSTATIC... crazy fellas... -_-)
Benkei bids farewell to Chidori. (I think he says he may not return for a long time but Chidori says she will wait. If he doesn't return, she will go and bring him back. Awww... raburabu...LOL)
Yoshitsune bids farewell to Yoshitaka and Oohime. Yoshitaka tells him if he meets his father, to tell him that he is alright. Oohime starts weeping when she finds out Benkei and the rest are all leaving too. By now, the two kids have already grown very attached to Yoshitsune and his kerai.
Yoshitsune finally takes his leave, accompanied by Kagehide.
~End of Episode 21~
The 2 kids are ecstatic to see new playmates. Yoshinaka points out Benkei even though it is the first time they meet. Oohime calls Saburo "Kani-dono" (meaning Lord Crab). Apparently Yoshitsune has already done some "pre-introduction". (LOL) The kerai perform various stunts which totally amuse the kids.
Later that day, Yoshitsune thanks Benkei for playing with the kids. He tells Benkei he empathises with Yoshinaka and sees himself in him. Like Yoshinaka, he was also separated from his parents when young. Therefore he wants to do all possible to make sure Yoshinaka won't feel lonely like he did.
A few days later, Yoshitsune is having dinner with some of Yoritomo's men when Yoritomo and Masako arrive. One of them called Hiratsuka blurts out (while in a drunken stupor) that Yoshinaka is a threat and should be killed. This agitates Yoritomo greatly. Officially, Yoshinaka is brought into the household as Yoritomo's son-in-law. To insult his son-in-law in front of the others is as good as insulting the man himself. Yoritomo thus orders a death sentence on Hiratsuka.
Yoshitsune arrives just in time to witness the execution and is shocked at the brutality.
Later that night, Tokimasa calls for his daughter Masako. He asks Masako if she was the one who advised Yoritomo to execute Hiratsuka (to which she denies). He feels the punishment is too harsh and totally uncalled for. He thought Masako will feel the same but to his surprise, she says it is necessary so as to serve a warning to others.Tokimasa seems a tad disappointed that his daughter has turned into such a cold woman since her marriage to Yoritomo. Masako on the other hand, just feels that it is her job to do all she can to help her husband achieve his aims.
The next day, Yoshitsune runs into Yoritomo and Masako. Yoritomo feels that Yoshitsune is troubled over Hiratsuka's execution and summons him for dinner a few days later.
At the meeting, Yoritomo asks if he thinks his punishment was too severe and Yoshitsune replies "somewhat". Masako laughs at him for being too sympathetic. She tells him sternly, to accomplish big things, one must never let emotions get involved. (urusai na, omae!) Yoritomo then adds, Hirasaka wan't wrong in what he said per se. Just that by making that remark, Hiratsuka is actually opposing his decision. The execution is thus necessary to draw a distinction between master and servant. Yoritomo claims he needed to do it so as to keep his servants in obedience. To him, "reason" is priority over sentiments.
Yoshitsune: "Don't sentiments between master and servant matter to you?"
Yoritomo: "Good if they exist. But it doesn't matter if they don't."
Yoshitsune: "So you control your servants using fear?"
Masako: (laughs) "There's nothing wrong with that!"
Yoritomo reasons that to control his huge army in order to build a new country, he needs to rule like this. If he allows everyone to openly express their views like Hiratsuka, his clan will fall apart. He cites this as the reason why the Heike is going downhill. Yoshitsune begs to differ though. He thinks Heike has its good points too. Kiyomori made efforts to unite his family and made sure everyone gets to express their views. He also talked about Kiyomori's dream.
Yoritomo: "And has that dream come true?"
Yoshitsune: "... ..."
Masako: "Everyone can dream. But do you know why Kiyomori failed? Because he lacked the strength and let emotions got the better of him."
Yoritomo adds, it was also because of emotions that Kiyomori let him off years ago (giving him the chance to rise against the Heike again). Yoshitsune is speechless.
Meanwhile, Yoshinaka is fast leading his army towards the capital. He aims to capture the capital before Yoritomo does. The Heike realises they need to form an army quick to resist Yoshinaka's advancement. Tomomori suggests that Munemori leads this army as this battle may decide Heike's survival. Munemori refuses however, citing the reason that he has to stay in the capital to protect the emperor. (This man is just a coward... -_-;;;) They eventually appoint Koremori as the general. Koremori obviously is not happy to hear that, having failed once. But he accepts the job in the end. (Why not let Tomomori??)
Although the Heike troop started out much bigger, many soldiers desert the army along the way. The troop also split up in different ways halfway, with Koremori leading the bigger group through the mountains. Unfortunately, Yoshinaka is well-versed in mountain battle tactics, hence he manages to win Koremori even with a smaller army.
Koremori manages to survive the battle with a handful of soldiers. But they were all suffering from starvation and fatigue.
Yoshinaka's camp continues to march towards the capital and stop just outside it. Yoshinaka seems hesistant about invasion but Tomoe is all for it. (This woman is crazy for war indeed....) The wily Yukiie also does his part by enticing Yoshinaka to proceed.
Meanwhile Kagetoki informs Yoritomo of Yoshinaka's rapid advancement towards the capital. For some reason, they cannot let Yoshinaka reach the capital first and have his will. (I think Kagetoki said something like Yoshinaka will mess up their plan, which is to form an alliance with the imperial family so that they can control the entire country and get rid of the annoying Heike clan. The point here is that the alliance is meant to be a secret one, without the Heike's knowing. All this while, Yoritomo seems to be already communicating with Go-Shirakawa quietly by letters. So if Yoshinaka is going to just charge into the capital, he could either jeopardise ties with the imperial family, expose their plans, or both. But then again, i don't think Yoshinaka knows about Yoritomo's plan.) They decide they need to send a troop to "pay tribute" to Go-Shirakawa (to maintain good ties) as well as to check the movements of Yoshinaka. (and i think Kagetoki says something like the troop shouldn't be too big if not they will draw unnecessary attention and also invite others to attack Kamakura.)
Masako suggests Yoshitsune to lead this troop. Firstly, his followers are few (BUT LOYAL!!!) and she wants him out of Kamakura. The reason being if Hidehira from Hiraizumi is to launch an attack on Kamakura, having Yoshitsune around is like having a spy at home. Yoritomo doesn't think Yoshitsune will betray them but Masako insists they must play safe. (STUPID WOMAN... YOU WA SHUT UP!!! So ebil...>_<)
Yoshitsune accepts his first task without hesitation. Yoritomo gives him a small army (of 500 i think?) and tells him to take an onlooker role if Yoshinaka and Heike engage in a battle. Yoritomo will send Noriyori and his army after him too, but Yoshitsune is to enter the capital and check out the situation first.
Yoshitsune's kerai are over the moon when they hear their first mission. Finally, Yoritomo is letting them do something. (They are really ECSTATIC... crazy fellas... -_-)
Benkei bids farewell to Chidori. (I think he says he may not return for a long time but Chidori says she will wait. If he doesn't return, she will go and bring him back. Awww... raburabu...LOL)
Yoshitsune bids farewell to Yoshitaka and Oohime. Yoshitaka tells him if he meets his father, to tell him that he is alright. Oohime starts weeping when she finds out Benkei and the rest are all leaving too. By now, the two kids have already grown very attached to Yoshitsune and his kerai.
Yoshitsune finally takes his leave, accompanied by Kagehide.
~End of Episode 21~
// posted by snuffles @ 1:53 AM 
