The Most Important Part Of Battle is to Win

Samurai, who served initially primarily as tax collectors and land managers, also served as police and soldiers as needed, and when they served in a military capacity, they had one objective - to win at all costs.

Early on, this was not so. Yoshitsune’s father, for example, considered the most important part of battle to select the right horse to fight on. Yoshitsune’s father’s poor planning and shortsightedness in the art of war cost him his life, and caused the Minamoto clan to essentially be destroyed by the Taira. Kiyomori, exercising compassion that denied him complete victory, allowed Yoshitsune and most of his siblings to live. This created the potential for revenge years later. Yoshitsune, and Yoritomo, took these hard lessons to heart.

From childhood, Yoshitsune had only one objective in life - to see revenge on...