amoto Yoshitomo, son of Tameyoshi
and brother of Tametomo.

Minamoto Tametomo

Taira no Tadamasa Taira no Kiyomori, nephew of Tadamasa

Sutoku's party occupied the Shirakawa palace. Unfortunately for the
ex-Emperor the conduct of the struggle was entrusted to Fujiwara
Yorinaga, and he, in defiance of Tametomo's advice, decided to remain
on the defensive; an evil choice, since it entailed the tenure of
wooden buildings highly inflammable. Yoshitomo and Kiyomori took full
advantage of this strategical error. They forced the Shirakawa
palace, and after a desperate struggle,* the defenders took to
flight. Thus far, except for the important issues involved and the
unnatural division of the forces engaged, this Hogen tumult would not
have differed materially from many previous conflicts. But its sequel
acquired terrible notoriety from the cruel conduct of the victors.
Sutoku was exiled to Sanuki, and there, during three years, he
applied himself continuously to copying a Buddhist Sutra, using his
own blood for ink. The doctrine of the Zen sect had not yet prevailed
in Japan, and to obtain compensation in future happiness for the
pains he had suffered in life, it was essential that the exile's
laboriously traced Sutra should be solemnly offered to the Buddha. He
sent it to Kyoto, praying that the necessary step should be taken.
But by the orders of his own brother, the Emperor, the request was
refused, and the manuscript returned. Superstition ultimately
succeeded where natural affection had failed; for the ex-Emperor,
having inscribed maledictions on each of the five volumes of the
Sutra with blood obtained by biting his tongue, and having hastened
his demise by self-inflicted privations,--he died (1164) eight years
after being sent into exile--the evils of the time were attributed to
his unquiet spirit and a shrine was built to his memory.

*One incident of the fight has been admiringly handed down to
posterity. The duty of holding the west gate of the Shirakawa palace
fell to Tametomo and his handful of followers. The duty of attacking
it happened to devolve on his brother, Yoshitomo. To avert such an
unnatural conflict, Tametomo, having proclaimed his identity, as was
usual among bushi, drew his bow with such unerring aim that the arrow
shore off an ornament from Yoshitomo's helmet without injuring him in
any way. Yoshitomo withdrew, and the Taira took up the attack.

Not