for permission to join his long-lost half brother’s sudden rebellion against the powerful Taira, his foster father disapproved. He had to choose between either staying with the man who had given him refuge and taught him so much, or running away to join a rebellion that could end in death. Here is where readers start to see Yoshitsune’s warrior-like bravery, as he decided on the latter because honoring the family name was one of a samurai’s most important duties.
The rebellion turned out to be a success, but the remaining Taira retreated to an island southeast of mainland Japan with the precious imperial regalia. Without the jewel, mirror, and sword, the next emperor of Japan could not be crowned so the new Minamoto army, led partially by Yoshitsune, chased after them. At one of the battles, Tsuginobu took an arrow that a Taira shot at Yoshitsune. Tsuginobu, along with Yoshitsune’s other close friends, was one of the few who remained loyal to his leader amidst all of the betrayal by samurai who preferred to live over dying in honor during this civil war. This shows the tremendous amount of respect that Yoshitsune had bred in his samurai with his leadership in the previous battles.
The Minamoto eventually reduced the Taira to nothing but distant relatives of the samurais, and almost immediately after their victory, serious tension built up between Yoshitsune and his half brother, Yoritomo.
As the top leader of the Minamoto, Yoritomo felt threatened by Yoshitsune’s sudden prominence, and with support from his advisors, he sent a group of assassins to his half brother’s dwelling. Although Yoshitsune and Yoritomo had had quarrels in the past, even he did not see this plot twist coming. At this point in the book, Yoritomo considered himself to be the most powerful samurai in Japan. However, I thought that he was more of a dictator because of the measures that he took to preserve his position, and a true samurai would never put his desire for power before family.
I think that Samurai Rising does an excellent job with portraying the unrest and violence in medieval Japan, with beheading after beheading. It also implies, through its main characters’ traits, that warriors and soldiers today can still follow the example of samurais who lived nine centuries
ago.