Shirahata Shrine

I drew this sketch few days before the big quake, this is a small shrine very close to my house in Japan. After my first visit I knew that I wanted to draw it. It's not a very old building, I think it was built in the 70's, the reason I wanted to draw it was because the beauty of its location.


After I finished the sketch I did some research about "Shirahata Shrine", and amazingly I found out that Minamoto no Yorimoto's grave is there, Yorimoto became the first Japan's shogun during the Kamakura period, after the Heian period, and behind his name exists one of the most amazing parts of the History of the feudal Japan, full of heros, traitors and leyends mixed with the real facts.

But the true hero of this story was his brother, the young Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who's life was a continuous battle against his enemies to get the control over Japan, and after he defeated all of them he was betrayed and force to commit seppuku by Yorimoto, his older brother, finally Yorimoto got the power and Yoshitsune the glory.