660. Dawn of the Samurai: Japan’s Greatest Warrior (Part 3)

And so they fought, now closing, now breaking. What shall Benke do? For when he thinks that he has conquered, with his little sword the boy thrusts the blow aside. Again and again Benke strikes, again and again his blows are parried. Till at last even he, mighty Benkei, can do battle no longer.

So that's a scene from the Japanese no play, if you like no theatre. It's called Benkei on the bridge, and it was written in the 15th century, and it describes perhaps the most celebrated fight in the entire history. of the samurai. So at the British Museum right now, there are three different illustrations of this tremendous encounter. Tom, you love the story of Benke and the Bridge, don't you?

I do. Who doesn't love the most famous fight in samurai history? Surely it's your favourite too. It's certainly the top five of samurai fights, yeah. And it's famous because it's endlessly retold and it's endlessly re-illustrated.

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