Stories of the Japanese 00565 [Early Kamakura Period] The Revenge of the Soga Brothers: The Tears of Tora Gozen*

Kudo, the object of their revenge, lived a life traveling back and forth between Kamakura and Izu. While Juro was going from inn to inn gathering information on his enemy, he met a yujo (courtesan) named Tora Gozen at an inn in Oiso (Oiso Town, Kanagawa Prefecture). Juro and Tora Gozen fell in love and quickly became intimate, but Juro's love was destined to be a tragic one, as he was prepared to face the death penalty for committing the grave crime of revenge.
Juro hid his true purpose and gathered information from Tora Gozen. Once, having received word that Kudo had left Oiso and started toward Kamakura, Juro and Goro rushed to pursue him, but Kudo was surrounded by 50 soldiers, and they could not make a move. The two had no choice but to watch in vain as their enemy passed by.
Then, in May of the fourth year of Kenkyu (1193), the greatest opportunity finally arrived. Yoritomo announced he would hold a grand hunting event. Since many gokenin (shogunal retainers) would be participating, it was the perfect environment to secretly blend in without being noticed, and to carry weapons without raising suspicion.
Juro had his final farewell with Tora Gozen at Yamabiko Mountain (Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture), but at this moment, he inadvertently shed tears, which made Tora Gozen suspicious. When Tora Gozen
pleaded earnestly, "Please tell me your true heart,"
Juro revealed his resolve to carry out the revenge and told her that this would be their final parting in this life. The two shared a tearful farewell, and Tora Gozen returned to Oiso, where she covered herself with a robe and wept continuously.
When the other courtesans asked,
"Have you been abandoned by Lord Juro?"
Tora Gozen replied,
"Being abandoned is the way of the world. This matter is something beyond that,"
and she collapsed in tears.
At the place where Juro and Tora Gozen parted, there is a stone called the "Shinobu-ishi" (Endurance Stone) where they are said to have sat; it is said that if you tie a paper string with the name of your beloved to this stone, your wish will surely be granted.
Later, the story of the Soga brothers became a popular Kabuki play, and Tora Gozen became an important character as its heroine. In the "Azuma Kagami," there is a record of her being interrogated as the mistress of Soga Juro after the murder of Kudo, so she was indeed a real person.
Furthermore, in Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki Prefecture, there are horizontal cave tombs called the "Jugoro-ana" (Fifteen-Juro Caves), where legend says the brothers Soga Juro and Goro hid. This is likely a legend created after the Soga story became a trend.
And the burial mound located right near those Jugoro-ana is called the "Torazuka Kofun," though it is unknown who named it. It was likely named due to the association with the Soga brothers, which tells us that Tora Gozen was already a popular character before the early modern period.