(Voice actor) Mr.Akira Daniel Duncan

Have you gone to shrines or temples to pray? Especially if you go to a shrine, you will encounter something called “Ema.” Ema is a wooden plaque with a picture of a horse drawn onto it. People who have come to pray will write their wishes to this Ema and pray to god. This began when in the past, people would actually sacrifice horses to gods to pray, and in the present day, Ema is a substitute for that since it is difficult to dedicate an actual horse. When the Japanese people make wishes to gods and Buddhas at shrines and temples, they would dedicate something so that their wishes would come true. What did the wishers dedicate if they were samurais? We can find that out from the story of “Yoroibashi bridge,” a bridge which connects Nihonbashi-Koamicho to Nihonbashi-Kabutocho in the Chuo ward, Tokyo. Around the year 1000 in Japan, there were 2 main samurai clans. They were Genji and Heike. Genji’s authority was a samurai named Minamoto no Yoriyoshi. Minamoto no Yoriyoshi was a brilliant samurai known as a master of the bow, but the Imperial Court (the government at the time) did not approve of him, and he was about to become 50 years old without any meaningful role. The Heian period was a time that, if one lived for 50 years, it was considered to have lived long enough, so there was a possibility that he could end his life without accomplishing anything. There came possibly the biggest and last chance for Minamoto no Yoriyoshi. At the time, Mutsu (now Tohoku region) did not obey the Imperial Court. The Imperial Court that expedited to Ezo lost. The Imperial Court thought to conquer Ezo by sending excellent samurais. And they appointed Minamoto no Yoriyoshi as the shogun and entrusted him to direct the expeditionary force to Mutsu. If he could conquer Ezo, Minamoto no Yoriyoshi was definitely going to receive a huge promotion. If that happened, he could reciprocate his vassals who had served him all these years. Minamoto no Yoriyoshi gladly obeyed the order and left Kyoto, the capital at the time. The force led by Minamoto no Yoriyoshi marched forward to Mutsu (Tohoku region) smoothly. However, when they approached a river in Musashi Province, a heavy rain continued for days, and could not advance the forces. In the old days in Japan, in was considered that the dragon was a god that uses water, and the dragon god made it rain. So, Minamoto no Yoriyoshi prayed to the dragon god to stop the rain. Well, what did Minamoto no Yoriyoshi dedicate to the dragon god? And, what was the result?