This week: where does our stock image of the sohei come from, and why does it tell us more about Japan after the age of warrior-monks than anything else?
Sources
Adolphson, Mikhael S. The Teeth and Claws of the Buddha: Monastic Warriors and Sohei in Medieval Japan.
Adolphson, Mikhael S. The Gates of Power: Monks, Courtiers, and Warriors in Premodern Japan.
Images
![](https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Enryakuji1-300x211.jpg)
![](https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/1920px-The_moonlight_fight_between_Yoshitsune_and_Benkei_on_the_GojobashiKyoto-300x143.jpg)
![](https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Benkei-261x300.jpg)
![](https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/1024px-Ebizo_Ichikawa_V_as_Benkei_and_Danjuro_Ichikawa_VIII_as_Tokashi-209x300.jpg)
![](https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Eno_Ichikawa_as_Benkei-188x300.jpg)