A scroll depicting the Battle of Yashima is housed in the artifact room of Yashima Temple. That scroll may be said to be an ancient Japanese panorama that has survived through the ages. The Nihonga scroll inimitably depicts the many dramatic events of the battle. First, let us look at that scroll.

To do so, let us recap the events of the Heike Monogatari. At the end of the Heian period, Kiyomori of the Taira clan rose to become Cabinet Minister through his many achievements. Hungry for power, Kiyomori offered his daughter’s hand in marriage to the Emperor, in order to install her future son - his grandchild - on the Imperial throne. However, the Minamoto clan rose in revolt against the Taira clan’s dictatorship, and at that moment, Kiyomori, unfortunately, succumbed to an illness. The Taira then retreated to Kyoto to escape the Minamoto clan. After drifting from place to place, they arrived at Yashima. There the Taira built the palace where Emperor Antoku would live, and based their clan there. But the Minamoto clan soon closed in on them. Thus began the Genpei War, and fighting was poised to consume Yashima in a huge way.

This story continues within that scroll. It depicts many more famous events, including the sacrifice of Tsugunobu Sato as he shielded Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune from an arrow, but first, we encourage you to imagine the story yourself.

Moreover, Yashima Temple is believed to have been built during the Nara period. It has existed since before the Genpei War and has witnessed the entire history of Yashima.