Michizane was a prodigy in his childhood,
and then became a court scholar to serve the emperor.
The emperor loved the genuine and he promoted to a minister.
That was an extraordinary promotion for a scholar without a backup by noble
houses, so most noble members and other sholars envied him.
In 901, he was suddenly accused for a false conspiracy,
and demoted to a local officer of Dazaifu in Kyushu .
He was very disappointed, and vengeful against the noble and the scholars.
But he died from sickness two years later.
Since his death, very strange events struck Dazaifu and Kyoto, and people said that the wraith of Michizane are returning. The emperor decleared Michizane's innocence in 910, and built many shrines to calm the warith of Michizane . By these efforts, the wraith stopped causing disaster.
Nowadays, Michizane is known as a god of study and academia. Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine in Fukuoka is always full of people who pray for entrance-examinations.
Since the revolt,
many legends have been told about Masakado .
Because this was the first big revolt against the dynasty in Kyoto,
people see Masakado as a hero to free them.
A legend says Masakado was the champion chosen by a local god.
The god blessed him and showered him in a holy light
so that he became invulnerable against all weapon.
His olny weakness is a small spot at his temple,
because the spot was in shadow when he bathed in the holy light.
He was guarded by seven doubles of him.
The wind always blew from his back,
so his army could shot with a fair wind,
and his enemy suffered from an against wind.
But his lover, Kikyou-no-mae ,
betrayed him and told the secret to the enemy,
so he was slain by an aimed arrow.
Legends also say that he was decapitated and his head were brought to Kyoto.
One day his head flew back from Kyoto to Kanto .
The place where the head fell is called Kubizuka
(meaning ``tomb of a head'').
People built a small shrine to calm the angry wraith.
The wraith of Masakado is known as the guardian of Tokyo today.
The history records that he made plans of many imperial buildings using his knowledge of Onmyo-Do . He was also an excellent astronomer and a calendar maker.
Legends say that Seimei were skilled at divination power, based on astrology, calendar, and direction. He could foresee disasters and report to the emperor. Legends also say that he mastered twelve Shikigami , familiars of Onmyo-shi . There are numerous legends that he conquered the monsters in Kyoto.
A Legend say that a dreadful oni called Shuten Doji
was living in the Mt. Oe , rampaging Kyoto with their followers
in 10th century (Some legends say that Shuten Doji was originally
a human robber, but became an oni
because he killed too many people).
Yorimitsu was a known swordmaster, and orderd to slay the oni
by the emperor.
He and his four men called Shitennou ,
disguised themselves as yamabuse (Buddhist monks discipiling
in mountains), then headed for the Mt. Oe .
On their way, Yorimitsu met three mysterious old men.
The old men gave him a magic helmet and a bottle of magical beverage,
Shinbenkidokushu .
In fact, the three old men were the local gods of Sumiyoshi ,
Iwashimizu and Kumano .
They pretended fallen yamabuse and visited the castle of
Shuten Doji in Mt. Oe .
They were invited to the banquette and served human flesh.
They ate the whole dishes
so that Shuten Doji would believe their false identity.
Doji believed, and drank from their bottle,
the Shinbenkidokushu .
This magical beverage made Doji asleep.
Then the final battle began.
Yorimitsu and the four fighter assaulted Doji ,
sticking the spears through its body and cutting at it head.
Of course Doji resisted violently.
When Yorimitsu cut away Doji's head,
the disembodied head jumped to Yorimitsu
and bit his head with its enormous jaws.
Normal helmets would be easily destroyed.
However, the magical armor managed to protect him.
It was January 25th, 990, the legend say.
In 12th century, the sovereignty of the emperor had fallen,
and even the noble buraucracy had lost its power.
Instead of them, bushi -- the class of samurai
fighters had arisen.
Among many bushi houses,
two powerful houses were struggling for the new sovereignty that would
rule Japan. The Genji and the Heike are the two.
The first winner was the Heike . They broke the Genji
at the battle of Heiji (1159).
Minamoto-no-Yoshiie, the head of the Genji was executed.
Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, the first son of Yoshiie,
was prisoned in Izu .
And Yoshitsune, the ninth son of Yoshiie, was given to
Kurama temple , to become a Buddhism priest.
He was a child when the Genji broke the war,
so he didn't know his birth.
After the battle, Taira-no-Kiyomori, the Head of the Heike ,
became the regent of the emperor.
The rule of the Heike was very severe.
People suffered the tyranny, and were waiting the saviour.
One day a tengu came to Yoshitsune,
and told that he is the Genji .
The tengu trained him in the art of sword,
and encouraged to defeat the Heike .
Then he escaped from the temple.
When he was 16, he met a robber.
He fought this robber on the Gojo bridge in Kyoto ,
and won.
Then the robber, Benkei became the follower of Yoshitsune.
In several years, he gathered the remnants of the Genji , and rose an army against the Heike His brother, Yoritomo , also escaped from the Oki island, and rose another army, too. Though the army of the Heike had been spoiled in the peace days, Yoshitsune's army was very strong. He won the successive several battles, such as Ichinotani and Yashima . At last, the whole army of Heike and the Genji crashed at Dannoura , and Yoshitsune destroyed the Heike in 1185. The new rule of Japan was the Genji . A Happy End.
No, no. There is the rest of the story.
Yoshitsune had become the great hero,
and people came to think he was the most proper ruler of the nation.
Yoritomo , the head of the Genji
and the elder brother of Yoshitsune ,
hate this situation, because he thought he was the only ruler.
So he accused Yoshitsune as a traitor, and ordered to slay him.
Yoshitsune ran from Kyoto toward the north.
Historians say that he was slain in Oushu .
Some legends say that he crossed the sea and escaped to Mongol,
to become another hero, Chinggis Khan.
After the death of Yoshitsune,
Yoritomo became shogun
and opened the Kamakura Shogunate.
He is the first shogun who ruled Japan
(though the first shogun was Sakanoue-Tamuramaro ,
he was only a army general under the emperor,
so you can consider Yoritomo as the first shogun).
Nowadays, Yoshitsune is much more popular than Yoritomo
among Japanese people, because they love heroes in tragedy.
At first he was a yamabuse , a monk disciplining himself in mountain, but he dropped out to become a robber. Legends say he appeared on the Gojo bridge in Kyoto, to challenge the pedestrians and rob their sword. He had robbed 999 swords when he met Yoshitsune on the bridge. He said "you are the 1000th victim!" and charged to Yoshitsune, but Yoshitsune was so swift that Benkei cannot catch him. At last Yoshitsune defeated Benkei . His first defeat. Then he became the first follower and the best friend of Yoshitsune.
Benkei is said to be a fierce warrior with enormous strength. His weapon was a naginata , a Japanese polearm like a halberd. He helped Yoshitsune from time to time, with his combat skill and his experience as a yamabuse . Legends say that he followed Yoshitsune when he was hunted by Yoritomo's army, and killed with hundreds arrows hit on entire body.
The name ``Musasibou'' is the name when he was a yamabuse . He is called as ``Benkei'' or ``Musashibo Benkei'' usually.