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 V

question to be considered now is whether Kumagai Naozané actually killed Atsumori or not. If he had done so, he had disregarded General Yoshitsuné's instructions which had been hinted at on the notice board regarding cherry-blossoms. He could hardly have done this, for he was distinguished both for loyalty to the Imperial family, and for his sympathetic nature. If he did not kill the real Atsumori, who could it have been that he had killed on the beach of Ichi-no-tani?

In front of Naozané's camp at Ichi-no-tani, there stood a young cherry-tree which was now in full bloom. Under the tree stood Yoshitsuné's notice board, "It is strictly prohibited to injure the cherry-blossoms. Any one cutting off one branch shall be punished by having one finger cut off."

One day a middle-aged woman called at Naozané's camp. She was his wife Sagami. She had come from her home in the far-off province of Musashi, in order to see her husband and her 192