In the year 1177 two small boys, Juro Sukenari and Goro Tokimune,were orphaned when their
father was killed by his rival, Kudo Suketsune.The boys grew up obsessed with the idea of
avending their father-it was indeed their filial duty, dictated by the custom of the time.
Their goal was complicated by the fact that some act of revenge was expected of them and
surprise was therefore difficult, also that Suketsune was a favorite of the shogun,Yoritomo.
Goro Tokimune was placed in a monastery at Hakone, hear Mount Fuji,to be trained as a
priest.He ran away,found his brother, and together the two of them went into hiding. In the
summer of 1193, Yoritomo invited all his great lords to a hunting party near Hakone to
celebrate the consolidation of his power over the country.The Soga brothers seized thier
opportunity.On a dark, rainy night, they crept into Yoritomo's camp,located on the slopes
of Mount Fuji, and found the sleeping Suketsune.Goro,the more decisive of the brothers,was
about to kill him, but Juro thought it was cowardly to kill a sleeping man and woke him
down-hardly a fair fight-but by then the alarm had beengiven.Juro was killed by Suketsune's
guards after a fierce struggle,but Goro foughy on. He was eventually captured and taken
before Yoritomo,who had him decapitated with a blunt sword. He was nineteen years old.
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