of his
court.

During this period Kiyomori was making enemies, and in time became so
insolent and overbearing that a conspiracy was formed for his overthrow.
At the head of this was one of the royal princes, who engaged Yoritomo
in the plot. The young exile sent out agents right and left to rouse the
discontented. Many were won over, but one of them laughed the scheme to
scorn, saying, "For an exile to plot against the Taira is like a mouse
plotting against a cat."

But a conspiracy cannot be killed by a laugh. Yoritomo was soon in the
field at the head of a body of followers. A fierce fight took place in
the mountains, in which the young rebel fought bravely, but was
defeated and forced to flee for his life. Pursuit was sharp, and he
escaped only by hiding in a hollow log. He afterwards reached a temple
and concealed himself in the priests' wardrobe. At length he succeeded
in crossing the Bay of Yedo to Awa, on its northern side. Here he found
friends, sent out agents, and was not long in gathering a new army from
the old friends of the Minamoto and those who hated the tyrant. In a few
months he was at the head of a large and well-drilled force, with many
noted generals in command. The country was fertile and food abundant,
and day by day the army became larger.

But the Taira were not idle. Kiyomori quickly gathered a large army,
which he sent to put down the rebellion, and the hostile forces came
face to face on opposite sides of the Fuji River, the swiftest stream in
Japan. Between them rolled the impetuous flood, which neither party
dared to cross in the face of the foe, the most they could do being to
glare at one another across the stream.

The story goes that one of the Taira men, knowing that the turn of the
tide would favor their enemies, went to the river flats at night and
stirred up the flocks of wild fowl that rested there. What he hoped to
gain by this is not very clear, but it told against his own side, for
the noise of the flocks was thought by the Taira force to be due to a
night attack from their foes, and they fled in a sudden panic.

After this bloodless victory Yoritomo returned to his chosen place of
residence, named Kamakura, where he began to build a city that should
rival the capital in size and importance. A host of builders and
laborers was set at work, the dense thickets were cleared away, and a
new town rapidly sprang up, with streets lined with dwellings and shops,
store-houses of f