Kumagai Naozane - Atsumori and Ichi-no-tani

Atsumori and Ichi-no-tani

During the battle of Ichi-no-Tani, Atsumori and Kumagai met on the beach at Suma, as the main Genji force approached and the Heike fled to their ships. As it is told in the Heike Monogotari, Kumagai caught up with Atsumori, who was fleeing on horseback. Kumagai managed to throw Atsumori from his horse and ripped off the helmet of the prone Atsumori. It was then that Kumagai realized that he had caught a young prince, based on the fine makeup and robes. Atsumori then tells Kumagai to take his head, but Kumagai hesitates because Atsumori reminded him of his own son, roughly the same age. Kumagai wished to spare Atsumori's life, due to his kind nature, but saw that his fellow Genji soldiers were approaching. Tearfully he promises to recite prayers to Atsumori, and cuts off his head.

The Noh play Atsumori describes Atsumori's death as follows:

Because Atsumori's name was not familiar to him, Kumagai then knew that Atsumori had never been in a battle before. After taking the time to look through Atsumori's belongings, he found a certain flute, known as the "Saeda" (little twig). Discovering that the flute was given to Taira no Tadamori by Emperor Toba, and later passed down to Atsumori, he reportedly felt even more sadness and regret for his actions. The night before the battle, while Kumagai was in his tent, he had heard someone playing the flute with skill outside the enemy camp, and he now realized that that flute player may have been Atsumori.