An association from the town of Ochi has come out with an anime directly dealing with the fate of a figure in the late twelfth century Gempei War.
The Gempei War was an epic war fought between the Taira and Minamoto clans. Both wanted different candidates for the throne to be installed and had to eventually fight for ultimate imperial and shogunal control of Japan. The war resulted in the ultimate unification of Japan, establishing the national colors (red for Taira, white for Minamoto), creating legends in both the warrior Minamoto Yoshitsune and the bad-ass monk Saito Musashio Benkei and propels Japan into the Kamakura Period (complete with Kamakura Bakufu).
The naval battle of Dan-no-Ura was fought just off the coast of the current Yamaguchi Prefecture in Shimonoseki Strait. The Taira-supported emperor, six-year-old Antoku, was reportedly thrown overboard and drowned near the end of the Taira's last crushing defeat, most likely to save him from the agony of seppuku or a sword-based execution.
In the town of Ochi, it has long been rumored that Antoku actually survived being thrown into the sea and went to Shikoku to live a life of solitude in the hills. He even supposedly established a hidden imperial refuge there. The first part of the anime is a forty-minute chapter about Antoku's seclusion and the last sixty is about his coming-of-age in a legendary "remote capital". Many locals have pitched in, helping with the 3.2-million-yen (about US$31,000)budget and had about 30 citizens and elementary schoolchildren volunteering to voice the character roles. The anime premiered April 29 during the Emperor Antoku's 808th Anniversary Festival at the town.
Silly thought: Now if the anime is true to my Japanese culture teacher's take on history, a Spongebob flag will mark Antoku's boat. Since we all know that could never happen, I guess we all have to watch the film and find out exactly what was going on... according to legend... meaning it might have happened... maybe... yeah.
Sources
Anime News Network
The Wikipedia
My Class Notes
