he sea where a thousand
war-vessels were assembled; the east flank rested on a forest, and
the west was strongly fortified.

On March 21, 1184, the Kamakura armies delivered their assault on
this position; Noriyori with fifty-six thousand men against the east
flank at Ikuta; Yoshitsune's lieutenants with twenty thousand men
against the west at Suma. Little progress was made. Defence and
attack were equally obstinate, and the advantage of position as well
as of numbers was with the former. But Yoshitsune himself had
foreseen this and had determined that the best, if not the only, hope
of victory lay in delivering an assault by descending the northern
rampart of mountains at Hiyodori Pass. Access from that side being
counted impracticable, no dispositions had been made by the Taira to
guard the defile. Yoshitsune selected for the venture seventy-five
men, among them being Benkei, Hatakeyama Shigetada, and others of his
most trusted comrades. They succeeded in riding down the steep
declivity, and they rushed at the Taira position, setting fire to
everything inflammable.

What ensued is soon told. Taken completely by surprise, the Taira
weakened, and the Minamoto, pouring in at either flank, completed the
rout which had already commenced. Munemori was among the first of the
fugitives. He embarked with the Emperor Antoku and the regalia, and
steered for Yashima, whither he was quickly followed by the remnants
of his force. Shigehira, Kiyomori's fifth son, was taken prisoner.
Michimori, Tadanori, and Atsumori were killed. Several illustrative
incidents marked this great fight. Michimori's wife threw herself
into the sea when she heard of her husband's death. Tomoakira, the
seventeen-year-old son of Tomomori, deliberately sacrificed himself
to save his father, and the latter, describing the incident
subsequently to his brother, Munemori, said with tears: "A son died
to save his father; a father fled, leaving his son to die. Were it
done by another man, I should spit in his face. But I have done it
myself. What will the world call me?" This same Tomomori afterwards
proved himself the greatest general on the Taira side. Okabe
Tadazumi, a Minamoto captain, took the head of Tadanori but could not
identify it. In the lining of the helmet, however, was found a roll
of poems and among them one signed "Tadanori:"

Twilight upon my path,
And for mine inn to-night
The shadow of a tree,
And for mine host, a flower.

T