#Yoshitsune senbon zakura

[areyouafraid]

planning to watch later

[ayumunoya]

I downloaded all the Akira Kurosawa movies I haven’t seen yet, I started watching Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura kabuki, I am going to pick up the Kanji/Czech study book today from a library, I am planning to attend the traditional japanese ink painting classes…

Maybe I am finally getting from the two time rejection depression by the University. Jupiiiiii. I honestly spent everyday thinking about the two times I went there and they acted like I should know everything, made fun of me and so on. Felt like a biggest idiot on the Earth.

I am getting slowly back.

Still thinking abt if the Uni is worth it.

Let’s see.

[tanuki-kimono]

Hello! i saw your kimono drawing guide, and i have some questions. I saw this art and was wondering about a few things: what is the tied knot& tassel things on the sleeves for? and, what hairstyle is the lady wearing? If you know, please tell me! If you don't know, could it be possible to direct me to someone that might? Thank you for taking the time to answer, if you're able! Have a lovely night/day!

Hi and thank you for your question :) The ukiyoe you are sharing is by Utagawa Kunisada and titled Genji rokujo no hana (源氏六條の花), or "Cherry Blossoms at Genji's Rokujô Mansion". It is part of a three prints set:

It depicts an imaginary scenery from The tale of Genji, and the young lady playing with her pet cat is the princess Onna San no Miya.

Characters are not shown wearing period accurate clothes (from Heian era), but luscious Edo period attires. Because of her rank, the young princess is wearing what Edo princesses would, especially the trademark hairstyle named fukiya 吹輪.

You'll find below a translation from a costume photobook I did a while ago. Note the big bridge style front hairpin, and the drum like one in the back. Princesses from the buke (samurai class) would also have dangling locks called aikyôge (I also found the term okurege), but I am not sure kuge princesses (noble class) wore them too.

There is a whole dispute about this hairstyle, as we are not actually sure it was worn as such by actual princesses. This style may have in fact started as a somehow cliché bunraku/kabuki costume used to depict princesses (think a bit like Western Cinderella-types princess gowns). Nowadays, it is found only as a theater style, or worn by Maiko during Setsubun season.

For comparison, here is character Shizuka Gozen from kabuki play Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura:

As for the dangling cords, I covered those in a past ask about kamuro that you can find here (part 1 / part 2). TL:DR: I am still not sure what is the exact name for those decorations (kazari himo? sode no himo?).

But their use is pretty much linked to 3 things:

1) luck + protection (knots have auspicous meanings),

2) reinforcing weak points of garnment (here: sleeves wrist opening)

3) cuteness impact, as much like furisode (long sleeves kimono) those dangling ribbons were mostly seen on girls/young unmarried ladies by the Edo period

All the design elements chosen by Utagawa Kunisada for his Onna San no Miya stress own young and carefree she is still (which considering her narrative arc is in fact a bit sad... like all Genji Monogatari stories). BUT: bonus points for pet cat!

Hope that helps :)

[ruiniel]

Kusuriuri & Kitsune

This was likely noticed before but just thinking about how Kitsune are represented in culture and the likeness to the medicine seller's face markings/traits:

Fox Mask

Morita Kan'ya as Kitsune Tadanobu in Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura

Ichikawa Kodanji IV as Fox-Genkuro and Bando Kamezo as Yokawa Kakuhan

Kitsune:

"fox" or "fox spirit" - belongs to the yōkai family of supernatural Japanese creatures

shapeshifting abilities (usually as a young woman); the Kitsune can become extremely powerful and can take on any appearance, has the power to read & take possession of minds as well as dreams

believed to be the messenger of Inari Ōkami, a Shinto spirit which in ancient times was also the patron of swordsmiths and merchants

the more tails a Kitsune has—they may have as many as nine—the older, wiser, and more powerful it is

There are different types of Kitsune. Inari's Kitsune are covered in white fur, a color of good omen, possess the power to ward off evil, and they sometimes serve as guardian spirits

believed to be integrated in Japanese folklore from other cultures, where similar spirits had powers of illusion

In some legends, the Kitsune wears a necklace of beads around its neck to symbolize the 13 elements of Japanese mythology

masters of cunning

duality: portrayed as either mischievous or faithful in the role of guardian, friend, lover. Sometimes portrayed as playing tricks on overly proud samurai, greedy merchants or boastful commoners

Kitsune do not share human morality (as expected tbh)

Now:

definitely has shapeshifting abilities

"just a medicine seller" (merchant)

the mane of his sword and otherself is silver-white

possesses the power to ward off evil

possesses powers of illusion

necklace (though the pendant addition seems inspired by Ainu traditional wear)

is pretty sly, and surely displays cunning. Very foxy attitude throughout (let me have this)

duality: need not explain this one, linked to the shapeshifting

does not share human morality

Our medicine seller certainly displays some of the above traits but is unlikely to be a Kitsune (which is part of the mystery, love that). It's fun to see some mythological parallels though.

[text-josie-here]

Play Title: Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura  (Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees)

Authors: Takeda Izumo II, Miyoshi Shôraku, Namiki Senryû I

History: The play "Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura" was originally written for the puppet theater (Bunraku) and staged for the first time in the 11th lunar month of 1747 in Ôsaka at the Takemotoza. It was adapted for Kabuki the following year and staged for the first time in the 1st lunar month of 1748 in Ise with Kataoka Nizaemon IV (Tokaiya Ginpei, Yokawa no Zenji Kakuhan) and Yamamoto Koheiji (Tadanobu). It was performed for the first time in a city licensed theater in the 5th lunar month of 1748, in Edo at the Nakamuraza [casting]. "Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura" was performed for the first time in Ôsaka, at the Naka no Shibai, in the 8th lunar month of 1748.

Full story for your eyes: https://www.kabuki21.com/ysz.php

[littleeyesofpallas]

Genryuusai's Ryuujin Jakka i've done.

Sui-Feng's Suzumebachi i've done twice. Yoruichi's sword was never named and barely seen.

Gin's Shinsou I've done, again, twice. Rose's Kinshara I've done, also in two parts

Unohana's Minazuki i've done. And Isane's Itegumo is another repeat.

Aizen's Kyouka Suigetsu I've done. Hirako's Sakanade I've done multiple times.

Oh... huh, I guess I never bothered with Byakuya's Senbonzakura of all things... weird...

Komamura's Tenken I've done. Iba is again unaccounted for.

Shunsui's Katen Kyokotsu i've done more than once. Risa's Haguro Tonbo is a repeat from the lt. list.

Tousen's Suzumushi I've done, in bits and pieces but I could probably stand to consolidate that. Kensei's Tachikaze I've done.

Hitsugaya's Hyourinmaru I've more or less covered. Isshin's Engetsu I guess needs to be addressed but there's really nothing to it.

Zaraki's Nozarashi I've done.

Mayuri's Ashisogijizo I've done. My Urahara Benihime posts are actually what I think this blog is best known for within the fandom.

Ukitake's Sougyo no Kotowari i've done. And obviously we just did Rukia's Sode no Shirayuki.

I really gotta get better and remembering to put breaks in these myself because Tumblr seems.to be weird and picky about when it does it automatically and when it'll just let me dump text walls on people...

Senbonzakura[千本桜]: "1000<counter> Cherry(blossom)" but the specific use of the phrase senbon[千本] kind of evokes the image of senbontorii[千本鳥居], long corridors of torii gates, although pretty literally also just roadways lined in sakura trees. But the overall vibe is reflected in the bankai with both the corridor of blades and them erupting into the many cherryblossoms. The bankai's Kageyoshi[景厳] adds "Serious(and kind of implicitly majestic)", and "Scene" as in like a vista.

Playing off that, the moves

Senkei[殲景] is just "Massacre Scene"

Goukei[吭景]: "Throat Scene"

Shuukei Hakutaiken[終景・白帝剣]: "Final Scene"/"End(of life) Scene" and "White Emperor Sword"

all kind of riff off this theme of hanami:cherryblossom viewing,

And then somewhat conspicuously unrelated is that Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura[義経千本桜] is a famous kabuki play, but it doesn't seem to have any relation. To be fair the phrase Senbonzakura isn't terribly unusual or specific. It's the name of a variety of bands and songs.

Suzumushi[清虫] is written “Clear”/“Pure”+“Bug,” and references a “clear chime” as in the sound of a ringing bell, something generally associated with exorcism. But also it's a pun on suzumushi[鈴虫] lit. "bell bug" and the name of the Japanese bell cricket. Oh i guess worth noting is the release call is nake[鳴け] meaning "chirp/cry/ring/echo" which Viz erroneously translated as "howl." (It is a homophone with nake[啼け] which Urahara uses for Benihime, which means "to make sound(of an animal)/cry/whine/sing​")

He's got an attack called

Nishiki Benihiko[二式紅飛蝗]: "2(nd) Style/Form: Crimson LocustSwarm" which sets the precedent for his bankai being prefaced as

Tsuishiki[終式]: "End Style/Form" which is odd, as no other bankai uses such an epithet. Then adds Enma Kourogi[閻魔蟋蟀], Enma/Yama[閻魔] being the buddhist king of hell who judges the dead as they enter into the next life, and koorogi[蟋蟀]: "cricket." (Although together also refer to a specific species of cricket just called the "enma field cricket" or "oriental garden cricket."​)

This all then plays into his resurreccion having the preface,

Hyakkushiki[百式]: "100(th) style/form." And then the kanji [狂枷蟋蟀]: "Insane Shackle Cricket" using the same [蟋蟀]:"cricket" as the bankai

and the Spanish Grillar Grillo:"singing/chirping cricket" or at last I assume that's how it's meant to be understood since I'm pretty certain that's not grammatically correct.

It's a shame, I really like the implication that Suzumushi just has 99 forms/styles it can use, ever saw the first and last, with his resurreccion being a secret 100th style.

Anyway then there's the fact that the bankai's 10 metal rings with kanji that hold his big bubble arena in place refer to the kusouzu[九相図]: "The 9 Phase/Aspect Diagrams" aka "Nine stages of decay," a buddhist mnemonic used to make peace with the ignobility of death. And the same theme is referenced again in his resurreccion attack, Los Nueves Aspectos[九相輪殺]: "Nine Phase/Aspect Ring Death" but where [九相] refers to the nine aspects, and [相輪] refers to what's called a sourin, the top part of a pagoda, which does in fact have 9 metal rings and bells hanging off them. The Spanish is "The Nine Aspects."

And finally Isshin's extremely lame derivative Engetsu[剡月]: "sharp-pointed moon" which is a pun on engetsu[偃月] the word for a "cresent moon." Incidentally engetsu-tou[偃月刀]: "CresentMoon Sword" is the Japanese word for "Scimitar" although it also refers to an entirely different curved blade weapon, the Chinese Guandao. I assume that's the reference anyway since a crescent moon is a shape assocaited with sharpness, even though Engetsu is just a regular katana and not a scimitar or more crescemt shaped blade.

It could also be refering to engetsu[圓月]: "Fullmoon"... (I have no idea why two different moon phases are homonyms. That feels like that can't be practical...) Along with the release call, moero[燃えろ]: "burn/blaze/glow" it's also a sort of wordplay with engetsu[炎月]: "flame/blaze moon." Frankly I feel like a bright fullmoon would make more sense for a fire power sword, but I guess the sharp thing was supposed to tie more into Zangetsu[斬月]: "beheading moon".

will you ever write down what the rest of Zanpakuto mean and symbolize?

Oh, I never really intended to just go thru all of them like a checklist. Were there any in particular you were waiting on?

[good-smile-company]

figma 狐忠信

https://www.goodsmile.info/ja/product/9241/

[mysticdragon3md3]

“Watch a kabuki classic at home: National Theatre uploads Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura for free【Video】“

[geisha-kai]

Setsubun 2017: geiko Fukusuzu performing a special skit by  sonatina2525 on Instagram

༼ つ ◕◡◕ ༽つ  Geisha-kai on P a t r e o n || Instagram

[aardvark-123]

The tengu have plenty of acting troupes who do plays, operas, dances and tokusatsu stage shows throughout the year, but late summer is Youkai Mountain's best period for performing. Futo and Tojiko never miss Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura. Kasen usually watches a noh play. Alice is still waiting for Hamlet in the original English, maybe with some fairies holding up Japanese subtitles.

It's at around this time that Reimu usually tries to put on a play at the Hakurei Shrine, starring a few of her friends, for an audience of about twelve if you count the bee that landed on Youmu's nose.

The Gensokyo Olympic Games are held every four years, featuring a diverse and exciting set of contests such as the four hundred metre race, the four hundred metre flying race, the egg and spoon race, the spell card tournament, the karate tournament, the pie making competition, the shot-put, the snowball fight, four-player sumo wrestling, mounted shooting, weightlifting, the beauty contest and the shoe polishing gauntlet.

The Most Important Dates in Gensokyo's Lively Social Calendar

The first post-Incident party of the year, held at the Hakurei Shrine with free drinks reluctantly offered to all.

The yearly Scarlet Devil Mansion masquerade ball, also known as Remilia's birthday party.

Hinamatsuri

The yearly Scarlet Devil Mansion disco and roller derby tournament, also known as Flandre's birthday party.

The annual hopscotch championships.

Suika's yearly pub crawl in the Human Village.

Suika's yearly week-long nap in the Hakurei Shrine, during which time Reimu uses her as a doorstop.

Summer school for young Incident-Resolvers coincides with Byakuren's yearly campaign against alcohol and delinquency. She hands out "too bodacious for booze" badges to all the young ladies while Miko teaches them how to fly, kickbox, use magic and brew their own sake.

The kappa and yamawaro war games bring chaos to Youkai Mountain for days on end.

Kasen's Transformers fan convention, which attracts dozens of guests who are mainly there for the fruit salad.

Chimata's yearly sacred market

Chimata and Megumu's yearly argument

Alice's dolls' tea party, held on a sunny day in September. Bring your own doll; fine, Kasen, I suppose Arcee and Alita One technically count as dolls, but isn't this just really out of character for you?

Yuuka's puddle-jumping festival, held a rainy day in September. Bring your own puddle and please remember that 'I didn't see it' is NOT an excuse for flattening an innocent flower.

Paris Fashion Week

The Prismriver Sisters' benefit concert for sick walruses.

Skyrim's birthday, celebrated half-jokingly by Sumireko and quite sincerely by Meiling, who has become convinced she's the Last Dragonborn.

The first snowball fight of the year

The first avalanche of the year

Marisa's costumed present-delivery night, which takes place on the thirteenth of December in celebration of Saint Lucia of Syracuse.

[meandmyechoes]

Notes on Visions’ costumes

Kara (The Ninth Jedi): cannot for the life of me decide if Kara’s hoodie classify as a kimono. The shortened length puts it in Haori but it doesn’t have a straight collar. Also it’s serving more as a main piece instead of a jacket over the kimono. And the fact that it is properly closed with possibly a Hanhaba Obi if not something even simple with the lack of a visible knot. The sleeve length is common though sleeve hole is not small so I can’t put it in Kosode despite the straight slanted collar. So in the end it’s really more a hoodie jacket with overlapping collars and kimono sleeves? I did consider if I could call her whole ensemble a Jinbei but there’s the Obi and she is wearing it as a formal representation of herself. Yeah, so it’s more a kimono-inspired design but the sleeves, belt and Tasuki cord has all the most recognizable elements.

F (The Village Bride): Naturally all the kimono-wearing ladies has a modern/fantasy twist to it. Out of the bunch F’s ensemble might be closest to tradition, but it was still paired up with high heels instead of ankle boots. This point was particularly noted on during the special programme by director Hitoshi Haga as he mentioned the crew brought in heels to try the look on. Another deviation is that her single-layer collar is open quite wide over a turtle-neck, plus the sleeves are cut much shorter than the usual combo of furisode and the belt area is simplified. So you’d call her look 和洋折衷/Japanese-Western fusion (term applicable not only to fashion).

Haru (The Village Bride): The silhouette of Haru's bridal costume is closer to a 1840-50 evening dress with an off-shoulder neckline and poofy skirt. Though white only became western bridal standard after Queen Victoria's example, it has been a symbol of purity and choice of wear in rites of passage since the 15th century in Japan. The complementing blue recalls the craft of indigo-dyeing, under the spotlight courtesy of Tokyo 2020's designated colour. Despite a classic bridal/princess dress, Haru's horn headdress could be a smart subversion to the traditional Japanese bride's Tsunokakushi hat. 角隠し literally means "hiding the horns", as a metaphor to remind the bride to hide her temper and to become an obedient wife. It is the opposite case with Haru, where her love gave her courage to face the bandits.

Ocho (Lop and Ocho): I was a bit confused at Ocho’s childhood look at first because her ensemble is the standard festive costume for three-year-old girls at Shichi-go-san. I suppose it lends to the character’s innocence? The red-mustard-turquoise palette is a bit garish at first but the components from head-to-toe is actually quite typical: A (tsumami/fabric flower) kanzashi/hairpin, contrast lining or juban, hifu/poncho with the same hinata kamon/three-dots-in-a-circle family crest as her father and a pair of tabi/socks and funegata geta/wooden flip flops. Even the crest placement is faithful. Oh— the white chrysanthemum wouldn't be out of place if it was her mother that just died…

Ocho’s grown-up look is dramatic, over-the-top, perfect. The palette is the same except a darker shade in navy blue replaced turquoise. The gigantic bow reminds me, besides her namesake/kanji ‘butterfly’, of kabuki actors. I found the character Genkuro wearing a similarly exaggerated tasuki and side-slit kimono. While the character doesn’t share much in common, its play Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura, bears a similar backdrop of sakura blossom season and sibling rivalry. In kabuki makeup called kumadori, red is hero and blue is villain. In the mean time, scarlet eye makeup for geisha ‘wards off evil’ (along with the practical effect of making one look more spirited). I am fascinated by the conjecture that while Ocho’s costume is hinting at her antagonistic role, the dramatic blood eyeliner signifies Ocho’s mindset in seeing herself as the hero of the story. Then there’s the usual colour symbolism (or lack thereof) of stripping one’s identity with plain white armour/uniform. The cherry blossom + river motif is fairly normal. Before I noticed the Kabuki connection, I thought the side-high-slits were perhaps inspired by cheongsam and anyway is an act of rebellion against tradition by cutting up the furisode (thank goodness the sleeves are visibly longer than Kara’s). Either way, that’s a really cool look for a crime boss with the thigh-high boots and tattoo sleeves. 

[retribctions]

TOSHIRO HILL AS GENKURO FROM YOSHITSUNE SENBON ZAKURA

The kabuki Yoshitune Senbon Zakura featured a shape-changing kitsune who disguised himself as Satō Tadanobu, a samurai who followed military commander Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Upon rescuing Yoshitune’s lover, Shizuka, Yoshitune rewards “Tadanobu” a suit of armor and the name Genkurō. At a later point in the play, Yoshitune meets with the real Sato Tadanobu. Thus, Genkurō undergoes a costume-change to reveal himself as a kitsune. In the ensuing dance and monologue, the kitsune describes his connection to the drum that Yoshitune has carried with him throughout the play. Shizuka and Yoshitune grant the spirit the drum, and Genkurō exits with the kistune roppo dance along the hanamichi portion of the theater. The fox spirit returns to aide the characters in the final act of the play.

Image Sources: Shizukuya’s Autumn 2021 collection,  Woodblock Print of Ichikawa Kodanji IV as Fox-Genkuro and Bando Kamezo as Yokawa Kakuhan, Kogatana Bonus: Yoshitune and The Thousand Cherry Blossoms (1985)

[mia-japanese-korean]

(Scene from the Play "Yoshitsune senbon zakura"), Utagawa Toyokuni, late 18th-early 19th century, Minneapolis Institute of Art: Japanese and Korean Art

Size: 26 × 4 9/16 in. (66 × 11.6 cm) (image, sheet, hashira-e) Medium: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper

https://collections.artsmia.org/art/80825/

[arsnovacadenza]

talk about YoshiYori! I'm interested <3

To make things easier for those who don't want to hear me talk about this pairing, I'll be tagging future posts like this as yoriyoshi or yoshiyori. Also, let me know if you're fine with me using the 'ikemen genjiden', 'ikegen', or 'genjiden' tags when talking about this pairing. 

WARNING: half-brother shipping and history-fuelled BL/hetbend rant ahead. Will help if you know a lil’ bit about the Genpei Wars.

I admit I've been interested in this ship for quite a while, especially as some JP players seem to ship it. I can't find them anymore (All I find is mostly Yoritomo x Yasuchika. Do you know any JP artists that post about them?)

At first, I was more into Benkei x Yoshitsune thanks to the Genji PS games. But then I read this yaoi manga, Amasakaru, that has Yori Yoshi in a love-hate relationship and I thought "Yeah why not"

And it's not the pairing that's popular in Japan. It's their rivalry. The intrigue. Imagine Yoritomo pulling all his resources together to build a new GOVERNMENT and here’s Yoshitsune spoiling his plans and becoming more popular.

And the end? Yoritomo  freaking orders his mean to off Yoshitsune despite winning the decisive battles of Yashima and Dannoura for Yoritomo. 

What I love most about their potential dynamic is not just them being star-crossed lovers with conflicting ideals, but also due to their own character flaws that become a thorn in each other’s side, at least in history:

Yoritomo was known for having quite the temper when things didn't go his way. A noteworthy incident was when he raged at his daughter Ohime (5 or 6 around that time) for protesting against the execution of her betrothed (around 10 or 11) whom she deeply cared about. Said betrothed was a son of Kiso no Yoshinaka, a Minamoto who wanted to break away from Yoritomo. Ohime later passed away at 20 due to heartbreak.

Yoshitsune was seen by Yoritomo's confidants as an over-confident hotshot who liked doing things his way. In my opinion, Yoshitsune was a caring general who was proud of his own but didn't care much about anything else. Kajiwara Kagetoki (Yes, that fglasses Kagetoki) was one of his detractors. Kagetoki clearly had a hand in spreading rumors that led to Yoshi and Yori's relationship deteriorating.

It wasn't a one-sided jealousy as people like to think. According to the Japanese corpus wiki, it was Yoshi's inability to cooperate with Yori's Kamakura posse and his tendency to lean to Cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa that got in the way of their relationship.

But in the end, it’s Yoshitsune who became a demon in Shin Megami Tensei who’s more widely celebrated as a legendary hero. Not that Yori isn’t famous cuz he was the first shogun, but not enough to overshadow his lil’ bro

We have even an entire play dedicated to Yoshitsune's escape from Lord Kamakura (Yoritomo). The title is Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura and it’s also been adapted by the famous Takarazuka Revue

Along with 50-ish episode-long Taiga/period dramas I'll eventually have to watch. This one is Yoshitsune with Tackey as the lead role

((I can talk more about Yoshitsune related media including my all-time favorite Sukiyaki Western Django but I nearly forgot that this is about YoriYoshi so eh..) 

We also have Otome Games with a girl!Yoshitsune and Yoritomo as a suitor. They are:

Hoshi no Oujo ~Uchuu Ishiki ni Mezameta Yoshitsune, an old R18 game (yes, there are H-scenes with Yoritomo and the bad end is him being yandere or something not so sure)

Bilshana Senki which has an upcoming English release that I CAN’T.FREAKING.PLAY because I have no Switch. Yoritomo is the purple guy who’s looming above Shanaou aka Yoshitsune. Go check out @daeva-agas blog for some neat visuals and a sneak peak of Yoritomo

Other otomes like GENROH and Harukanaru Toki no Naka De 3 also have Yoshitsune as a suitor, but feature Yoritomo as an antagonist. Read about Genroh here. 

Also, there’s another part of their dynamic that may or may not work in Genjiden. However, I can't do it without addressing the elephant in the room. Skip this part below the gif if you have enough of happy YoshiYori for the day.

WARNING: Discussions of half-sibling incest, unequal power dynamics, and Stockholm Syndrome. Proceed at your own risk.

Their....familial relationship, believe it or not, adds another interesting but frankly disturbing layer to their dynamics.

They share the same dad and family name, yeah. But they've never even met each other until Yoshi’s an adult. To my knowledge, Yoshitsune was raised on Mt. Kurama with the belief that he has no family outside the priests he grew up with (he was simply known as Shanaou as a kid). Yori's practically a stranger the first time Yoshi meets with him. Putting YoshixBenkei aside, Benkei at this point is more of a brother to Yoshi than Yori has ever been.

And then we get to the more fucked-up aspect of this pairing. Blame Amasakaru coz I didn't come up with this one.

If anything, Yoshitsune’s desire to reconnect with the family he didn’t grow up with and de facto didn’t belong to (so far) makes it easy for Yoritomo to tie him down. Yoritomo can convince Yoshitsune into thinking that he can’t be a true Genji without ani-ue’s approval. Thus leading Yoshi to believe that he’ll never achieve his lifelong dream of defeating the Taira/Heishi and avenge his dad, which he mostly knows about from Yoritomo.

And when Yoshi does rebel and strive for independence, Yoshi will bring up some romantic bullshit to make Yoshi come back crawling. You know, good ol’ Stockholm Syndrome. As if Yori’s army coming for Yoshi and his pals’ corpses isn’t tragic enough.

Here’s also another thing that gives every otome version of YoshiYori an questionably happy ending if they do end up together. At that point of history during the Kamakura period, half-siblings are forbidden from marrying unlike in the earlier Heian period. Hell, it was even straight up banned during the Heian era’s later years. So to hammer the point in, a YoshiYori wedding will result in not just inbred but also illegal Genji babies. On the more realistic side, they either must avoid persecution or inflicting possible various health problems on their kids.

(Unless we’re going for the Yandere route in which Yoritomo locks Yoshitsune in an uguu cage of love because he wants to create a 100% Genji family. Which, actually does kinda happen in Hoshi no Oujo if I’m not mistaken?)

And then, there’s also the fact that 13 years apart. This is even canon in Bilushana where Yoshi is 16 and Yori is 29. Make of that what you will.

To sum up all the above fuckery:

Do you like a step above the usual forbidden romances and go straight for the taboo ones?

Do you like two deeply flawed and conflicted people in love but also going for each other’s throats?

Are you here to enjoy the pairing the way I enjoy Takashi Miike’s movies? For the complete and utter WTF factor?

Do you like dead dove, do not eat?

Then congratulations! YoriYoshi is a good candidate to fulfill all your needs!

But if not, you can stick with the fluffier parts, which I occasionally enjoy too.

So, that's all I guess. I completely understand that this pairing is not everyone's cup of tea and I respect that. But if you're here to enjoy heavy angst with a sliiiight chance of happiness, then by all means ask me more about this pairing!

I even have hetbend AUs with girl!Yoshitsune that have them being unrelated. Will someday copy-paste from Twitter @/terapimahal if I'm not too lazy.

EDIT: changed details about Hoshi Oujo to

[fgoocland]

Saber class Genkuro.

A character that appears in Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura. They are a kitsune that transforms themselves and pretends to be Sato Tadanobu one of Minamoto no Yoshitsune ( Ushiwakamaru ) followers. They did this in order to get close enough and take the Hatsune drum which had been made from the pelts of their parents. Despite not being Tadanobu and even actively denying it people still think Genkuro is Tadanobu, this is a side effect of their shapeshift skill.

another oc i have made i am mostly done their profile and it will be put up on toyhouse not gonna lie i kinda really don't like posting all my profiles on tumblr cuz it just takes a while to get it all set up. But yeah! have an imposter fox! also this is a genderless character so they/them pronouns

[harvard-art-museums-prints]

Actor Osagawa Tsuneyo 2nd from the Play "Koi Nyobo Somewake Tazuna - Yoshitsune Senbon-Zakura" (Kawarazaki-za), Tōshūsai Sharaku, Late Edo period, 1794 (5th month), Harvard Art Museums: Prints

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Friends of Arthur B. Duel Size: Paper: H. 37.9 cm x W. 25.9 cm (14 15/16 x 10 3/16 in.) Medium: Ukiyo-e woodblock print in "ōban" format; ink, color and mica on paper, with printed signature reading "Tōshūsai Sharaku ga"

https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/collections/object/207627