page_title: Benkei
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: Benkei / Career
context_page_description: Saitō Musashibō Benkei, popularly known as simply Benkei, was a Japanese warrior monk who lived in the latter years of the Heian Period. Benkei led a varied life, first becoming a monk, then a mountain ascetic, and then a rogue warrior. He later came to respect and serve the famous warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune. He is commonly depicted as a man of great strength and loyalty, and a popular subject of Japanese folklore, showcased in many ancient and modern literature and productions.
context_section_description: Benkei was said to have wandered around Kyoto every night on a personal quest to take 1000 swords from samurai warriors, who he believed were arrogant and unworthy. After collecting 999 swords through duels and looking for his final prize, he met a young man playing a flute at Gojotenjin Shrine in Kyoto. The much shorter man supposedly carried a gilded sword around his waist. Instead of dueling at the shrine itself, the two walked to Gojo Bridge in the city where the bigger Benkei ultimately lost to the smaller warrior, who happened to be Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo. Some sources claim  that the fight took place not at the Gojo Bridge, but instead at Matsubara Bridge. Not long after the duel, Benkei, frustrated and looking for revenge, waited for Yoshitsune at the Buddhist temple of Kiyomizu, where he lost yet again.  Henceforth, he became Yoshitsune's retainer and fought with him in the Genpei War against the Taira clan.
  From 1185 until his death in 1189, Benkei accompanied Yoshitsune as an outlaw.
caption: The moonlight fight between Yoshitsune and Benkei. Gojo Bridge, Kyoto
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