but in flight, went and hid on a remote mountainpeak, leaving two of his lieutenants to turn aside the attention of the enemy. When the immediate danger was past, Hojô Tokimasa, Yoritomo's fatherin-law and most trusty friend, went and scoured the mountains far and wide, and at last found him hiding in the hollow trunk of a fallen tree. When Yoritomo saw himself in the midst of his friends he was overjoyed, but Sanéhira, who had accompanied Tokimasa, said: "Truly it is much to be thankful for that we should all have reached these heights safe and without hurt. Yet if we remain here in so large a company, it will be a hard matter for us to escape detection. Let my lord Yoritomo remain here alone, and his servant Sanéhira will find means of hiding him." This counsel seemed good to them all, so they agreed to separate and went in different directions, Sanéhira alone remaining with his chief. In the meanwhile, the men of the house of Hei were hunting over hill and dale seeking Yoritomo; but one of their captains, who by some means had learnt Yoritomo's hiding-place, being a traitor to his own party, declared that he had searched Mount Ishibashi and found no trace of a human being, so the men of Hei spent their labour in searching the other hills. One day, while Yoritomo was lying lost among the rocks of Mount Ishibashi, he took from his bosom a small figure of the Buddhist god Kwannon, and stowed it away in a secret cave. When Sanéhira saw this, he wondered, and asked what was the reason of this strange act. "I lay aside this sacred image," answered Yoritomo, "lest my head should fall into my enemies' hands and they should see the figure; for if they did, they would laugh at the chief of the house of Gen, saying that I am brave only because I trust in my patron saint. When I was a babe three years old, my foster-mother took me to the Temple of Kwannon, at Kiyomidzu, near Kyōto, and in the loving-kindness of her heart she prayed that I might prosper in the world. Fourteen days after this she saw a marvellous dream, and she gave me this little image of Kwannon two inches long in commemoration of it. This is why I have treasured it ever since." Soon after this the others returned, bringing with them a horseload of provisions which they had received from the priest of Hakoné. Poor food it was-monks' fare—and they laughed as they set it before their lord; but the hungry man, be he lord or peasant, values any food above riches. Those were the days of Yoritomo's deadly peril; how he escaped from the toils of his enemies and lived to be the ruler of the East, all these things are written in never-dying history. From Yumoto to Odawara is but a short distance, and we reached our inn in time for the mid-day meal. The rivers were so swollen that they could no longer be passed, so we had to wait chafing for three days until the floods abated. Our route back to Yedo was along the great highway, past the places which I have already described: so of this happy expedition there is nothing left to say. |