Fuji no Makigari from the Tale of the Soga (Soga monogatari)

Believed to have been first composed by an anonymous monk in the Kamakura period, Soga Monogatari (The Tale of the Soga Brothers) has endured in countless variations over the past seven centuries. The narrative recounts the dramatic vendetta of the brothers Soga Sukenari (1172–1193) and Soga Tokimune (1174–1193) against Kudo Suketsune, who had murdered their father in 1177 and subsequently taken their mother as his wife. Although still young, the brothers resolved to avenge this crime, but their path was obstructed by Suketsune’s protection under Minamoto no Yoritomo, the newly established shogun, who harbored resentment toward the Soga clan for failing to support his struggle against the Taira.Years later, when Kudo joined Yoritomo on a hunt at the foot of Mount Fuji as depicted in this work, the brothers seized their chance. On a stormy night, they struck down Kudo, fulfilling their long-cherished vow. Yet their triumph was short-lived. In the ensuing chaos, Sukenari fell in combat, while Tokimune, captured and brought before Yoritomo, was executed—despite the shogun’s initial inclination toward clemency. The tale, emblematic of the Japanese ideal of the “nobility of failure,” secured the brothers’ place in cultural memory, inspiring retellings in literature, drama, and the visual arts across the centuries.