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Hashi-Benkei

橋弁慶


One moonlit night during the Heian period on the Gojo-no-Ohashi bridge in Kyoto,
strong Benkei happened to come across a good-looking page, Shanao, playing elegant melody with his bamboo flute. He saw the sword on the boy's waist, wanted to make
it his, and challenged him. Shanao jumped right and left escaping Benkei's blade of
Naginata, long-handled sword. Finally Benkei used up all his energy
and surrendered.

Shanao then was an eleven-year-old boy, while Benkei was a gigantic man. Shanao
learned war strategy from Kiichi-hogan and was patronized by him at Mt. Kurama.

This boy Shanao became Minamoto Yoshitsune, younger brother of Minamoto
Yoritomo who established Kamakura Shogunate, first military government after beating Tairano Kiyomori. The story is about the fateful encounter of later Yoshitsune and Benkei who remained loyal to Yoshitsune all through
his life.

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