Tokei Jinja (English)
As the Genpei war (a battle between the Genji clan and the Heike clan) changed from land warfare of Ichinotani to sea warfare, the movements of the Kumano navy, which was the strongest in Japan at that time, had a big effect on the situation. Both Genji and Heike approached Kumano Betto Tanzo (the leader of the Kumano navy) to appeal for support. Benkei, on Yoshitsune’s orders (who was on the Genji side), hastened back to Tanabe to speak with his father Tanzo. To confirm God’s wishes, Tanzo ordered seven cocks with red feathers to fight seven cocks with white feathers representing the Heike clan and the Genji clan respectively. The white ones won and so Tanzo decided to side with the Genji clan. On Tanzo’s command, his navy and Benkei went to the battle field of Dannoura, Yamaguchi prefecture. With two thousand soldiers and two hundred ships, the Kumano navy greatly contributed to the Genji clan’s victory which took place in March 1185, the first year of Bunchi.
TANABE HAMAYU ROTARY CLUB
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