Hōgan-biiki is a term that has come to describe a physiological phenomenon where people extend sympathy to those in weaker or disadvantaged positions without critically assessing the rights and wrongs of their situation. It primarily refers to the sympathetic or pitying sentiment people feel towards Minamoto no Yoshitsune, often lacking an objective perspective.Okutomi 2004, pp. 7–8
The term "Hōgan" is typically read as "Hangan" but is traditionally pronounced "Hōgan" in the context of Yoshitsune's legends and Kabuki performances.
Primary meaning Overview Minamoto no Yoshitsune played a prominent role in the latter half of the Genpei War, pursuing the Taira clan. However, he incurred the displeasure of his brother, Minamoto no Yoritomo, due to several actions. These included his failure to recover the Kusanagi no Tsurugi (one of the Imperial Regalia of Japan) during the Battle of Dan-no-uraGomi 2004, p. 118. and his unauthorized acceptance of the titles (Junior Lieutenant of the Left Gate Guards) and (Imperial Police) from Emperor Go-Shirakawa, bypassing Yoritomo's approval. Additionally, Yoshitsune independently disciplined and commanded Gokenin (vassals of Yoritomo).Ueyokote 2004, pp. 91–92. His behavior, perceived as arrogant, was further criticized by Minamoto no Noriyori, who led the Taira campaign, and Kajiwara no Kagetoki, dispatched by Yoritomo as an overseer.Ueyokote 2004, p. 123.Gomi 2004, pp. 122–123. These reports worsened Yoritomo's opinion of Yoshitsune.
In response to Yoritomo's anger, Yoshitsune submitted a written oath to explain himself, but this only deepened Yoritomo's resentment, who remarked, "Having acted freely until now, a last-minute explanation is unacceptable,"Takahashi 1979, pp. 95–96. and "To offer excuses only after learning of my displeasure is unforgivable."Gomi 2004, pp. 123–124.
Yoritomo refused Yoshitsune entry to Kamakura when he arrived from Kyoto with captured Taira leader Taira no Munemori and others.Gomi 2004, pp. 124–129. Additionally, after Yoshitsune reportedly stated upon returning to Kyoto that "those who harbor grudges against Kamakura should join me," Yoritomo confiscated the former Taira lands previously granted to him.Gomi 2004, p. 129. Despite this, Yoritomo initially gave Yoshitsune a chance to redeem himself by entrusting him with the task of pursuing and killing Minamoto no Yukiie, but Yoshitsune, feigning illness, refused to comply, leading an enraged Yoritomo to designate him as a target for elimination.Gomi 2004, pp. 136–139.
Learning of assassins sent by Yoritomo, Yoshitsune sought an imperial edict to oppose him but gained little support.Gomi 2004, pp. 142–144. He fled to Ōshū, Iwate under the protection of Fujiwara no Hidehira. After Hidehira's death, however, his son Fujiwara no Yasuhira, succumbing to Yoritomo's pressure, forced Yoshitsune to take his own life.Ueyokote 2004, pp. 108–109. Yoshitsune's tragic end evoked widespread sympathy, with people lamenting, "How unjust life is that such a remarkable figure should meet such a fate."Suzuki 2004, p. 223.Ueyokote 2004, p. 135.
The term "Hōgan" derives from Yoshitsune’s role as , a third-rank officer in the Left Gate Guards,Wakamori 1991, p. 18. or his position as a lieutenant.Suzuki 2004, p. 225. It’s believed that the phrase "Hōgan-biiki" emerged between the late Muromachi period and the early Edo period, or possibly as early as the mid-Muromachi period.Ueyokote 1997, p. 241. One of the earliest documented uses appears in the haiku anthology Kebukigusa (compiled in 1638), edited by Edo-period poet :
The world, like cherry blossoms, favors Hōgan; spring breeze blows.
Such a haiku is cited.Ikeda 1979, pp. 297–298.
Hōgan-biiki and Minamoto no Yoritomo, Kajiwara Kagetoki Historian argues that the perception of Yoshitsune as a victim is central to the origin of Hōgan-biiki, with Minamoto no Yoritomo and Kajiwara Kagetoki, who reported Yoshitsune's overbearing behavior, serving as necessary antagonists.Ueyokote 2004, p. 202.Ueyokote 2004, pp. 135–136.
Uwayokote notes that, despite being a historical record compiled by the Kamakura shogunate, the Azuma Kagami vividly depicts the severity and ruthlessness of Yoritomo and Kagetoki, while including sympathetic descriptions of Yoshitsune. The Azuma Kagami describes the scene of Yoshitsune's head being delivered from Hiraizumi to Kosigoe: "All who saw it wiped away tears, their sleeves soaked.Ueyokote 2004, pp. 136–137. He suggests that, as a text justifying the Hōjō clan's position, it naturally portrays Kagetoki, who was ruined by the Hōjō, as a villain. However, this portrayal contributed to establishing Hōgan-biiki, casting Yoshitsune as a popular and virtuous figure aligned with the Hōjō camp. Uwayokote argues that if Hōgan-biiki was directly or indirectly manipulated by the Hōjō, its historical significance warrants reevaluation.Ueyokote 2004, pp. 202–204. Historian adds that the Azuma Kagami adopts the view that the Hōjō took power to govern justly in place of the Minamoto shoguns. However, direct criticism of Yoritomo, a revered figure among Kamakura warriors, was avoided. Instead, a sophisticated technique was used, portraying Kagetoki as a slanderer whose influence led Yoritomo to drive Yoshitsune to his death, prompting readers to criticize Yoritomo indirectly.Ueyokote 2004, pp. 212–213. Okutomi further asserts that the Azuma Kagami deliberately fostered Hōgan-biiki to critique Yoritomo.Ueyokote 2004, p. 213.
On the other hand, It’s believed that Kagetoki’s reports were a natural consequence of his role as an overseer appointed by Yoritomo.Ueyokote 2004, p. 91. Other warriors besides Kagetoki also disapproved of Yoshitsune’s disregard for Yoritomo’s orders and his self-serving actions.Okutomi 2004, p. 155. Yoritomo’s decision to target Yoshitsune was based on upholding the regime’s ethics, not personal jealousy or narrow-mindedness, as some claim.Takahashi 1979, pp. 164–165.
Hōgan-biiki in literary works
Literary works depicting Yoshitsune have been produced in such abundance that they are described as "flooding" the cultural landscape.Takahashi 1979, p. 5 (preface). Works like the Heike Monogatari and Genpei Seisuiki established Yoshitsune as a "flesh-and-blood hero."Takahashi 1979, p. 4. The military chronicle Gikeiki, considered the "first biography of Yoshitsune,"Takahashi 1979, p. 120. emerged during the Muromachi period.Gomi 2004, p. 191. Driven by a desire to narrate history, the Gikeiki created legends by inventing new narratives where historical facts were absent and transforming known history into stories.Takahashi 1979, pp. 160, 122. It elevated Yoshitsune into a "national idol" and a "historical hero" transformed into a "national hero,"Takahashi 1979, pp. 5, 11. making Hōgan-biiki a central theme.Takahashi 1979, p. 161. The Gikeiki became the foundation for a genre known as "Hōgan-mono," encompassing works like Otogizōshi, Yōkyoku, Kyōgen, , Kabuki, and Jōruri (music).Okutomi 2004, pp. 213–214. In these works, the unified heroic image established by the Gikeiki fragmented into diverse heroic portrayals, creating an idealized Yoshitsune as a figure of admiration and solidifying Hōgan-biiki as hero worship.Takahashi 1979, p. 11. The narratives constructed around Yoshitsune were accepted by the public without distinction from historical facts, blending into a unified biography.Takahashi 1979, pp. 3–4. This led to the paradoxical situation where Yoshitsune’s biography became "truly Yoshitsune-like" only through its fictionalization and legendary status.Takahashi 1979, pp. 5, 7. Historian argues that Hōgan-biiki does not refer to general sympathy for Yoshitsune but to a specific form of admiration exemplified by the spirit of the Gikeiki.Takahashi 1979, p. 164.
The image of Yoshitsune as a figure who shone brilliantly in the Genpei War only to meet a tragic end resonates with the Japanese tradition of (noble exile narratives). Folklorist Shinobu Orikuchi defines this as "a form of melancholic literature chronicling the life of a noble in exile."Ikeda 1979, p. 305.Suzuki 2004, pp. 226–227. Takahashi suggests that, in crafting Yoshitsune’s story, people were unsatisfied with a mere warrior’s tale and assigned him the role of a dynastic noble. Folklorist and literary scholar notes that Yoshitsune’s biography aligns with the Kishu Ryūritan archetype, as it was shaped to evoke sympathy. Ikeda concludes that the reason Yoshitsune’s story evokes sympathy lies not in his actual life but in pre-existing narrative frameworks that shaped it, creating the conditions for the proverb "Hōgan-biiki" even before his life began.Ikeda 1979, p. 307.
Hōgan-biiki and Yoshitsune's survival legend
Rumors denying Yoshitsune’s death emerged soon after his demise,Yasuda 2004, p. 239. giving rise to legends that he escaped to Ezo (Hokkaido) or even to the Chinese mainland, where he became Genghis Khan. These legends are now regarded as products of Hōgan-biiki, reflecting a desire to spare Yoshitsune from death.Wakamori 1991, p. 176. They have been dismissed as "Edo-period fantasies born of a closed country,"Watanabe 1986, p. 241. or "imaginings created by someone, somewhere, out of sympathy for a hero’s tragic end."Yasuda 2004, p. 240.
The legend of Yoshitsune fleeing to Hokkaido originated in the Honchō Tsugan (1670) of the writer Hayashi Shunsai’s , coinciding with growing Japanese interest in Ezo.Gomi 2004, p. 192. The tale of Yoshitsune becoming Genghis Khan emerged in the Meiji era with Yahachi Uchida’s Yoshitsune Saikōki (1885), during a period when Japan sought expansion into the Chinese mainland.
Expanded meaning
According to , the Japanese have traditionally held sentiments akin to Hōgan-biiki even before the term’s emergence. defines this as a psychological tendency to uncritically applaud actions that support the weak and oppose the strong, often taking the form of rash sympathy devoid of fair judgment or calm criticism.Ikeda 1979, p. 299. By the early Edo period, "Hōgan-biiki" had evolved beyond sympathy for Yoshitsune to describe a general tendency to sympathize with the disadvantaged without critically evaluating their situation. notes that even the primary sense of Hōgan-biiki grew exaggerated, leading people to view Yoshitsune as just and Yoritomo as cruel or evil, losing objective perspective.Okutomi 2004, pp. 7–8, 208.
Ikeda suggests that the term "Hōgan-biiki" became associated with this broader phenomenon because Yoshitsune’s biography was widely known and inherently evoked sympathy.Ikeda 1979, pp. 300–301. Considering at that time, historical accuracy was less important than the narrative’s ability to resonate with public sentiment, the biography of Yoshitsune was restructured to align with sympathy and amplify it.Ikeda 1979, pp. 301–302.
Notes
See also Underdog effect
References
Bibliography