Listen to the episode here.

Join us this week as we tackle some sketchy history.

Angie starts us with the story of (not quite a founding mother) Eliza Bowen Jumel. She’s born in a brothel, and eventually becomes the wealthiest woman in America. This fascinating woman ends up marrying Aaron Burr later in life and divorces him, using Alexander Hamilton Jr. as her lawyer.

Theresa takes us to Japan in the 1100s and regales us with the story of Saitō Musashibō Benkei. This legendary samurai grows up in a series of monasteries, goes rogue, and in his quest to win 1000 swords in battle, becomes the loyal retainer of Yoshitsune. While defending Yoshitsune, Benkei would defeat 300 swordsmen and die standing (and riddled with arrows).

This story pairs well with:
Nell Gwyn – actress and court mistress
Miyamoto Musashi

Transcript

Theresa: Hi and welcome to the Unhinged History Podcast, the podcast where two compulsive friends don’t know how microphones work and will at the very beginning of the podcast after they’ve been talking for 20 minutes realize that that’s the time for a sound check. I’m host one, I’m Teresa and that’s host two. 

Angie: I’m Angie. For the record, I wasn’t the one this time. This time. This time. This time. I’ve been the one plenty of times. 

Theresa: Or I’ve been the one that after we stopped recording realized that button wasn’t pushed. It was a button that needed to get pushed and it was not pushed or it was pushed in the moving of these are things. 

Angie: So my story today is about Eliza Jamel, Elizabeth Bowen. My sources are New York City History.org, the life of Eliza Jamel, a great article on Small State Big History.com by Patrick T. Conley. Eliza Jamel’s rags to riches story online review of Rhode Island history. The incredible story of Eliza Jamel once America’s richest woman now a ghost in Washington Heights Heights. 

That’s a goth miss article from August 2014. Okay, so I’m gonna, I’m gonna give you a disclaimer at the beginning of the story because I’ve told a lot of stories where like I get to a point of the story and I’m like the information right here is a little bit sus. We’re not so sure about what happened in this five year time span, right? 

Okay. Eliza’s entire life story is questionable. From beginning to end, she did things. She very much existed, but it to me from everything I’ve read, it seems like she was either A, constantly reinventing herself or B, nobody ever really had the full story to begin with and they’re just sort of piecing it together based on what they knew after the fact. So there are some areas where it’s like it could be this or it could be this. There are some areas where the dates might be different, but as a whole her story is remarkable no matter what you choose to believe. 

Like, so I’m just gonna get right into it. It is April 7th, 1775. Elizabeth Betsy Bowen is born in Providence to, she’s born in a brothel to a woman called Phoebe Kelly. Possibly her last name was Bowen, but it’s a little unclear. There’s a belief that her father was a man called John Bowen. He was a sailor and that mom and dad were married for a time, but it’s a little bit shaky on that. Now, this is what I think is really interesting. 

It’s 1775. Her mother clearly works in the brothel. She grew up in the brothel. The brothel is owned by a free black woman, which I thought was really interesting. However, according to New York history, the town folk where this brothel is and where this little girl is born, they’re sort of outraged about it being there. The brothel itself is called the Old Gow, and I think that’s super fun. 

Theresa: I like that. I want to name it establishment, the Old Gow. Right. 

Angie: They spell it G-A-O-L. I’m obviously, this is 1775. Spelling is different, but I’m assuming it’s pronounced Gow, like the Old Gow. 

Theresa: Interesting. Okay. 

Angie: Right? Okay. The local townsfolk, the good people of Providence, they’re not real happy. A mob forms and they literally tear the brothel down by hand while the ladies are still inside. They’re basically kicked out of Providence, and they’re sort of left living in this brothel on the side of the road, and to make do, they’re selling herbs and greens that they gather, they at this point being her mom. She has at least one sibling, possibly more. One source says around this time her father dies at sea, probably a drowning, by the time she’s roughly 11. Now, by 1794, she is of the age to be in the business, if you know what I mean. 

Gotcha. And supposedly gives birth to a son she calls George Washington Bullen. Some suggest he bears quite the resemblance to Mr. Washington himself. Shocking. Surprise, surprise. Unclear. It sounds like around this time, I don’t know how old the child was, but she basically leaves him the care of a foster family. There’s a little bit of conflict. Small state-based histories suggest that she and her sisters, when her mother, when they were kicked out of the brothel, were sent to work in the workhouse that was directed by this overseer of the poor, which is not a job that I want, like a job title I want to have. 

No. And then she was eventually indentured to a family of a sea captain called Samuel Ellen, but not a single source that I looked at could corroborate either story. Either she went to the workhouse or she didn’t, but no sources 100%. In 1798, a pandemic of yellow fever comes through Providence in the nearby area and her mother dies. 

Regardless of what her childhood was, it’s rough no matter what, right? Now, sometime between 1792 and, excuse me, 1792 and 1803, probably closer to 1803, she shows up in New York City. She’s taken on the name of Eliza Brown. Where she was once illiterate, she can now read and write and speaks both English and French fluently. And this is the same girl, and we’re sure? 

Theresa: Mm-hmm. Okay. 

Angie: Now, one of the beliefs is that she was rumored to be the wife or mistress of a one Jacques de la Croix, who was a French sea captain. And that, to me, kind of explains how she learns not only to read or write, but also learns French. But nobody’s 100% for sure. 

Like, she went missing for a few years and then shows up in New York a very different, differently educated lady outside of Brockville Education, which is a sentence I never thought I’d say. Here we are. 

Theresa: I mean, it’s proof that there’s room for the trades. That’s true. 

Angie: So it’s like in 1803, she’s in her 20s, and she takes a go at running a boarding house and does a little bit on stage as what we would consider an extra. But it wouldn’t be long before she is noted as Manhattan’s greatest beauty. 

Oh. She keeps her kind of previous life very secret and tells everyone this rather romantic story that she was born at sea. Her father was a French naval officer and her mother was an English aristocrat. Her family name was Capet, and they were traveling from the West Indies. 

Theresa: And she’s a reincarnated Joan of Arc and Aunt and Aunt. Right. 

Angie: Right. It was giving Matahari to me at first. Very much so, yeah. Right. Meanwhile, she meets this wealthy merchant, a man called Stephen Jamelle. He is supposedly a French Dominican who was able to escape the slave rebellion in Sandomingue that we’ve talked about before. Yep. He was actually the first Dominican to live in Washington Heights. 

Okay. She marries him April 1804. Now, previous to their actual marriage, there had been talk they were living in sin and that she basically tricked him into marrying her. She basically feigns an illness and tells him that her dying wish would be to be his bride. And when it’s all said and done, she is miraculously healed and hops out of bed. 

Theresa: Or it could just be they live together and then she got sick and he said, you know, we should probably do this officially. 

Angie: It’s possible. No one really knows for sure exactly because obviously rumor is funner than truth in this one, right? Fair. One source says he is 10 years her senior. Another source says he is 25 years her senior. 

Either way, he is a chunk of time older than her. Now, he makes his fortune by smuggling fine wine and such through Jefferson’s embargo. And I was like, that’s interesting. Good for him. Honestly, I also need to look up Jefferson’s embargo. So she’s married up for sure, right? 

Theresa: Didn’t we discover that because Jefferson? Never mind. No, I’m going to make a fool of myself. I’m going to keep my mouth shut for once. Carry on. Well done, I guess. 

Angie: But live your truth. So she, you know, she, for the lack of better words, she marries up, right? Because she is now not living in a hovel on the side of the road. 

But she is never really accepted by other society leaders, ladies. By 1810, the couple start looking for a country home. So they purchased the old Morris House on Harlem Heights. This house is pretty cool. It’s built by a royalist called Roger Morris. The Morris is fleeing New York at the dawn of the war, obviously, because they’re royalists. 

Right. During the war, it was the quarters of Washington and served as like a sort of command post for his troops. There was a minute where it served as an inn. And then in the early years of America, it was home to founding father gatherings. It’s still standing today, by the way. Now, what’s really cool is that when Eliza and her husband purchased the home, they recognized the historical importance of the home, even at that time. And they restore it back to the way it looked when it was Washington’s headquarters. 

Today, it sits in Upper Manhattan and serves as a museum called the Morris Jamil Mansion. Which I think is pretty interesting. So, I haven’t been there, but the internet tells me there’s a lot of captions around the house that tell of Eliza’s influence on the house. I mean, she lives there for like 55 years. 

So, she’s going to have her stamp on it, right? In 1815, they traveled to Bordeaux, France. And as they’re entering the harbor through the British blockade, right, because as we’ve said before, history doesn’t happen in a vacuum. They find them uniquely qualified to offer Napoleon Bonaparte a ride back to America with them after he’s defeated at Waterloo. 

Theresa: This sounds like the very storied life of Claire Frazier, who seems to have met everybody alive of note during her fictional narrative. 

Angie: Dude, just wait. So, Napoleon, he’s like, um, no, thank you, but I appreciate the offer. Now, for whatever reason, this gives Eliza the upper hand and some social circles and kind of the acceptance that she’s been looking for, because I guess it’s cool to be a sympathizer of Napoleon. Sometimes in France, it puts her on somewhat shaky ground. 

One source said that the social circles in France were far more inclined to accept her, which kind of feels right when you think about her life and you think about France in general, but others, not so much. So, I guess it just depends on which social circle you’re trying to be in that day. It’s politics at best. 

Right. Now, if I’ve learned anything about this woman, that she has had quite the story one way or the other, and nobody really knows the whole truth, like I said in the beginning. But in 1806, she was asked to leave France by then, King Louis the 18th. And she is taken to her ship by Royal Guard. When I say asked to leave, she was thrown out. 

Theresa: Yeah, typically if a king says, I think it’s time you should go. It’s not. 

Angie: You’ve overstate, you know? So, basically, they said it had something to do with her flamboyant lifestyle, which seems very French, so I don’t think they minded that, her opinions, and then another source adds that it was actually Eliza riding around in a carriage studded with Napoleonic emblems in front of the toleries while shouting abuses at the French king that really did it in. 

Theresa: Yeah, I think that would seal the fate. I’m actually surprised she got to keep her head attached to her shoulders. 

Angie: Hey, new monarchy, you know? We are trying to be better. So, she comes home. But her husband stays in France, because apparently the marriage isn’t going great. But, and I’m not sure how exactly this plays out. I know that she’s an astute businesswoman. She gets power of attorney, and she is able to act as femme solo, which is basically an independent unmarried woman who has all the function and access to their fortune without the involvement of men. 

Theresa: Femme solo feels like an old-timey comic book heroine. 

Angie: Doesn’t it? Yeah. So, she uses this greatly to her advantage and triples the family’s fortune while she is in America by herself. She is brilliant at what she does, and she obviously knows the laws and how they work. She is eventually able and invited back to France after some time. But just a little aside, they adopt a girl called Mary who is believed to be Eliza’s sister’s baby. And I don’t know much about her, but I think she actually stays with old papa in France. 

I’m unclear as far as that relationship goes. But eventually, her husband finally comes back to America. It’s like 1827, 1828, and he finds out that Eliza is a badass businesswoman and totally shores up their wealth. So much so that she is the richest woman in America. Okay, this is great for him because he’s pretty much destitute now and relies solely on her kindness. Because remember, she has figured out how to work the law to her benefit. 

He can’t really touch the money anymore. So, he is just hoping for her help. He is significantly older than her. He is health has declined. He is quite destitute. And so, he is sort of just living on her mercy. Like six years go by like this, and in 1832, in a freak accident, he falls off the hay wagon right onto a pitchfork. Oh, no, thank you. Right? He’s found dead the next morning of blood loss. So, I mean… No, wait, okay, no. 

Theresa: Okay, so there’s two scenarios for this. One, legitimate horrific accident, or he fell on my pitchfork ten times. 

Angie: Either way, I get the imagining, the visual, if you will, that no one is tending to his rooms during the night. And she is implicated as being complacent in the murder or death. 

Theresa: Oh, no, whatever shall I do? Maybe I should go to dinner. Shucks. No, you don’t need to stay with him. You’ve got to order for me. Let’s go. 

Angie: That’s sort of the visual I got, because it wasn’t that he died falling on the pitchfork ten times, his cause of death is blood loss. So, it’s like, oh, nobody put a bandaid on that. So, after he dies, Eliza is now the widow everyone wishes they can get. She is then courted by none other than the notorious Aaron Burr, you know, former US Vice President who killed Hamilton in that 1804 duel. Yeah. Aaron Burr, sir. 

Theresa: Featured in the Got Milk commercial years later. Aaron Burr. 

Angie: That’s true. Yes, he was featured in the Got Milk commercial. Do you know who actually directed that? I did, but I just recently learned about it. My full bag. Freaking brilliant. 

Theresa: Like, Transformers director Michael Bay. Sorry, carry on. That’s correct. 

Angie: I knew it was a big one, like I said, but I can’t remember who it was. So, Eliza, for her part, she says this as a way to sort of preserve her social standing because even at 58 years old and being the richest woman in America, that still matters to her. I, for one, wouldn’t care. I have money. I don’t need your problems. Right? 

Right. But anyway, she marries Burr on July 1, 1833, just like less than 14 months after her former husband’s death. And this is very much a marriage of mutual convenience, which was terminated on July 8 of 1836 on the basis of Burr’s alleged adultery in some divorce proceedings. 

But by acting quickly and boldly, Eliza preserves her fortune. So, when I say their marriage is a marriage of mutual convenience, this is because by this point, Burr is sort of living off of his friends and having a heck of a time bouncing back from things like conspiracy accusations and exiles. And he’s also old. So, he needs access to her money and she wants access to his social circles. Like I said, the marriage really only lasts like a year before they start to enter divorce proceedings. And he, the entire year they’re together, is constantly frustrated by his inability to gain all the access to her funds. But what same funds he is able to access, he squanders, like, immediately. 

New York City History puts it like this. Burr squandered money with an alarming rapidity. Eliza files her divorce in 1834 utilizing the suspicion of adultery as cause, an action that prompted one historian to marvel. Nothing more vividly revealed her business ability than the efficiency with which she got rid of Burr. Wow! The divorce was granted on September 14 in 1836, the day of Burr’s death. Her divorce attorney was none other than Alexander Hamilton Jr. 

Theresa: Oh, yes! 

Angie: Love that. All I can imagine is Alexander Hamilton Jr. walking up to the door to serve his paper. Aaron Burr, sir? And Aaron Burr dealing with the fact that he will never escape Hamilton. Ever. 

Ever in his life. Now our girl, she lives until 1865, dying at 90. She is an eccentric old rich lady surrounded by myth and legend. In 1921, the daughters of the American Revolution, they hold an auction. Their hope is to get rid of the oldest house, like, to get rid of in the oldest house in Manhattan. Any trace of Eliza wants the richest woman in America because in their eyes, she is not any the ideal image of a chaste colonial woman. 

Theresa: I, you know, okay, so I get that Dar has done many things, given many a scholarship to young women who descend from early stock. And you hear things like this, you go, damn it, why do you have to be a mixed bag? 

Angie: Exactly, because, you know, there are stories of her being, quote, a kept woman in a Providence brothel, abandoning an illegitimate child. She was also said to be Benedict Arnold’s wife’s best friend. 

I’m not sure about that one. Saining death to trick her husband into marrying her and being kicked out of France by Louis himself. Basically, the daughters of the American Revolution tried to erase her 55 years in the mansion in Washington Heights by renaming it Washington Head’s quarters. They go on to have, like, a yard sale for lack of a better word and bundles of Jamel’s personal letters, quote, documents which were said to contain stories about her life in the company of Napoleon Bonaparte, Benedict Arnold, Thomas Jefferson, and Aaron Burr were sold on the front lawn for pennies. And that is why I will never be joining the daughters of the American Revolution. 

Theresa: I have five grandfathers who fought in the war on the winning side, on, you know, the American side. And I’ve never finished the paperwork because I’m just like, I can’t… Everybody has a story past. 

Angie: Like, nobody was perfect. It makes me crazy. But I learned this whole story because I wanted to tell you that Hamilton’s son was Burr’s divorce lawyer. Or was Burr’s wife’s divorce lawyer. Yeah, that makes more sense. Yeah. So at the end of the day, Hamilton got the last word anyways. Ugh. 

Theresa: Wow. Okay, if I had known that, I didn’t know all of that. Parts of it, you know, rung bells, but I did my best to keep my mouth shut. Thank you. 

Angie: Thank you so much because I just really needed that lead to be… 

Theresa: Completely in there. Yeah. 

Angie: But when I started to like learn her life story, I was like, oh, I want to tell the story of their divorce so bad. But then I learned her life story and I’m like, holy crap. 

Theresa: That’s a story. Yeah, she’s got some lore going back there. 

Angie: Oh, I have pictures. I forgot about the pictures. Let me, let me show you the pictures. Okay, so to come on the right screen. This is a picture of the house in 1904. All right, so it is a two full story. 

Theresa: There’s technically probably a third story with, you know, like an attic. You see a little window over the front porch. Very colonial columns, multiple chimneys. 

Angie: Mm-hmm. Multiple windows. So that’s the house. And this is what she looked like. 

Theresa: Okay, so we see a middle aged woman with gobs of lace that are used to probably secure a headdress of some sort. She’s a very frilly collar that goes down into a V-neck. 

Angie: Mm-hmm. It’s interesting the color scheme to the black, darker gown to the white lace with the red, what looks like red flowers. You don’t fully understand what’s going on there, but it’s a look. 

Theresa: I mean, I’m sure it was all the rage at the time. She, you know… It had to be. 

Angie: Yeah, so that’s, that’s why it’s a bow and jammal. Wow. Okay. Yeah. I’ve been sitting on that story for a whole week not telling you and it’s just killing me. 

Theresa: Well, in your defense, you decided to call off the time you would normally record. So you had to sit on it longer than normal. I did. I’m sorry. You are not. 

Angie: Anyhow, I’m sorry. You would be sorry that I had to call off. I had to. I had to get on the teeth. Yeah, I’m ready to hear your story. All right. 

Theresa: I recently shared on TikTok the story of, that we’ve covered previously, of the Saper Saint. And it got some love. And then that ended up getting a bunch of people, or not a bunch of people, a person to give me an idea. 

I got many ideas from that post, but someone said, oh my gosh, you need to cover. And they gave like this really bizarre thing. I was like, okay, give me the name. Who are we going for? Like, what’s this person’s specific name? And they said, Saito Musashi, that Saito Musashi-Bou Benki. And that was by Neil at TikTok. 

Now, until I was like, okay, I can do this. I can look this up. My sources, Artilino, they have an article, Benki Musashi-Bow legend and Japanese wood brock prints, the Katana store, which I ended up using when it came to Monman the Saber Saint. This is the Katana store that has been used before. It has been, because I guess if you’re going to cover any kind of Katana, you need to cover a sword-willing samurai. 

Angie: I’m going to be fair, I’ve used an English hat maker as a form. That’s true. More than once. 

Theresa: So their article is, Who is Saito Musashi-Bow Benki? And then two podcasts, History Profiles, the strongest samurai ever, Minato no Yoshitsune and Saito Musashi-Bow Benki. And then Stories of Samua, Episode 3, Benki and Yoshitsune. 

Okay, so our man, Benki Musashi-Bow is really, it’s shrouded in lore, to say the least. From start to finish, there is a lot of, I’m sorry, what now? And maybe, and this? 

Yeah. So we have a lot of, possibly, some sources claim his mother is the daughter of a blacksmith, which feels doable. Others suggest his father is the head priest of a temple shrine. 

Those seem logical. Another version said he’s the child of a Shinto temple deity. Zeus, is that you? I, you know, according to these tales, Benki’s born in 1155, so gosh, time is probably why we have a bunch of these issues with, you know, recorded history. And it, reportedly, this was an unusually long 19 month pregnancy. So definitely the temple deity. And he comes into the world with the appearance of a giant child with untamed hair and long teeth, which is a whole vibe. 

Angie: I’m sorry, this is actually the epic of Gilgamesh. Beth and Ketu. 

Theresa: Well, now you understand there’s going to be a lot of overlap between various cultures. But I’m thinking if your kid came out with long hair and teeth, it would be easy to ascribe a longer pregnancy or whatnot. You know, if you, if you see somebody give birth to a preschooler, you’re going to do. 

Angie: Hey, I’m just thinking about how you missed going through the teething process. 

Theresa: I’m assuming it chewed its way out if it comes out with teeth. Okay. So, thank you story is going to be this fantastical mix of historical fact with some folklore to really color it. Okay. 

This makes him one of the most well-known figures in Japanese history and literature. Okay, I love this. Now, if thank you, father was the holy man, it’s likely it could have been listened to all of the wiggle words sprinkled in here. 

Kumano, Kato, Kumano, Beto, Tanzo. And he’s horrified by his son’s appearance and he attacks him believing this to be the child of a demon or an ogre. That’s unfortunate. But again, if you give birth to something 30 pounds covered in teeth and hair, I too would have questions and strong feelings. But parenthood affects us all differently. 

Angie: Yeah, I mean, like I gave birth to a Viking, but at least he didn’t have teeth at the time. He has teeth now. He does have teeth now. 

Theresa: Now from an early age, Benki stood out for his exceptional size and extraordinary strength. Clearly. But I mean, this you expect to say a child, not a baby, not an infant, not a newborn. As a child, he’s known for being large and physically powerful and he’s really wild and unruly and this is going to be a thing we see throughout. 

Okay. This early behavior eventually led him to enter the life of a Buddhist monk in various temples because they are just trying to get a handle on man. I like him. So he ends up this whole mischievous and unruly nature earns in the name Oniwaka, which means devil’s child or young devil. Also fun. I mean, we all have nicknames. 

Angie: Yeah, he earned a cool one at least. 

Theresa: Now he’s got foster parents because apparently parents bounced when they saw their baby preteen come out, you know, and need to key to the car. And the foster parents, they’re having trouble controlling him. So again, he’s in the cloister and the monks also do a really shoddy job in disciplining him. So he ends up transferring to several monasteries. I feel like this is kind of like the Tallulah bank head of her going from school to school to school. Okay. But this is more of a like monk sort of deal with a very different backstory anyhow. And Tallulah was adorable. 

This man is given no such quarter. Now, this ends up setting the stage for him to enter as a warrior monk because these monks weren’t just chanting and sitting still. They were doing something physical at their time. By age 17, Benki said to stand at over two meters or six and a half feet tall. Okay. 

Now, let’s remember the Japanese are not known to be blessed in skill or in height. Facts. Okay. Okay. Now, because of his height is known to have near superhuman strength. Because they do. Tall kids are strong. I mean, they just got more room for muscle mass. 

Angie: They do and they have to. They have to be able to hold that giant head. 

Theresa: Yep. Now, in attempts to calm our boys wild and rebellious nature, Benki sent to Mount Kieh to join the religious life as a ten die Buddhist monk at the famed in Rakuchi temple. Now, although he took this to the religious lifestyle, his wild behavior eventually catches up with them and leads to his expulsion from the temple, basically as per usual. 

Angie: You got a skill set, you know. 

Theresa: I mean, look, he loves praying, chanting, waving swords and drinking it up, causing a ruckus, telling people to f off. Who knows? Um, he’s unfazed by this most recent expulsion and he just set out into the world. 

He’s continuing his religious journey while adopting the name cycle. Sashi. Benki. So he keeps Benki. And he traveled and he became what they called a Yamabushi or a wandering holy man who kind of just goes through the mountains. He leads us rather austere lifestyle and he’s trying to achieve enlightenment. That’s really the whole goal, right? 

Angie: So now you’re telling me the tale of the monkey king. Do you know how many stories I have picked out of this? You’re welcome. 

Theresa: There’s gonna be a quiz for everybody playing at home. Now, despite his attempts to fulfill his role as a holy man, he’s like me often engaged in chaotic actions. And everybody, that’s her skill set. Look, I’m good at eating pie and raising hell and I’m out of pie. 

Angie: I just realized no one can see the face I just made. 

Theresa: That’s true. But you just, it was a face of agreement. Now, at one point, these chaotic actions of his cause a temple to burn down, which I’ve never burned anything down on accident. Have you burned anything down on purpose? No, no, no. 

No. My senior year chemistry teacher might explain others otherwise, but that was not me with the fire. That was my friend, Houston. She her fault. But you were involved. I was nearby. 

There is a crowbar separation. I was not involved. Anyhow, the Yama Bushi, they’re known for their martial training, religious rituals, and at times involvement in banditry because religious rituals, banditry go hand in hand. Of course they do. It depends on the religion, I suppose. 

Angie: Now, listen, the Padre was stealing all the booze in Sicily. 

Theresa: You know what? You’re right. Okay. Okay. So basically, just because you follow a religious way doesn’t keep you can, you can figure out something to ask for forgiveness for later. Yeah. 

Okay. So this is during the medieval period where Buddhist monasteries in Japan wielded a surprisingly considerable military and political influence. And this happens until our man, Oda Nobunaga, destroyed several temple fortresses, most notably during the 1571 siege of Mount Hiei, which we did cover a little bit of Oda Nobunaga episode one or two. One of those, it’s an early one. 

Angie: When I did Yasuke. He’s been mentioned several times before. 

Theresa: Yeah. I feel like I touch on Oda Nobunaga quite a bit just because he unified the country. Kind of a thing. Yeah. It would basically, it’s like talking about France and not mentioning Napoleon. Like there’s going to be echoes. Now, time passes for our man, Benki. 

This is decades before Oda Nobunaga or centuries before Oda Nobunaga. And he’s becoming pretty disillusioned with the monastic life. His rebellious spirit and honestly dissatisfaction with the constraints of temple life causes him to leave the religious path entirely. 

And so he just becomes this Ronan monk or warrior monk and he just eventually drops all of that and turns to a life of combat and adventure. I like him. I mean, he’s just, he’s just a rogue. 

He’s just a lovable rogue. I assume he washes. I don’t have any indication that he doesn’t wash. So I would assume yes, our boy babes and smells better than Yamamoto did. 

Angie: No. Because I wasn’t going to go with this rogue lifestyle. He doesn’t find a bath every now and then. 

Theresa: I mean, I’m enough that it’s not a point of contention. By the time Ben Kei returned to Kyoto, he’d grown into a monstrous man, which feels like a statement that he was a monstrous baby, a monstrous child, but now we’ve hit monstrous man. So he is seven feet tall. Well, still probably six, five. But again, when the average person is two foot three, I’m joking about that. 

But I mean, noticeably shorter. He’s still wearing the traditional religious garb, but our boy is carrying a full on arsenal of weapons on his back. He’s got the Noginata. He’s wielding a Tetsupo, which is an axe, and he’s got this bizarre assortment of tools like a mallet, a sickle, a rake and a saw. 

Angie: Because you might need to do. He’s a handyman. OK. 

Theresa: Well, but these again, let me think about it, like a lot of these are farm implements, you know, the rake, the sickle and the things like that. And so he just look, he doesn’t he’s a he’s a roving man. He doesn’t have a shed. He is the shed. 

Angie: Yeah, I got it. He might need that later. 

Theresa: Exactly. So he stations himself at Kyoto’s Gwyo Bridge, and that’s where he challenges every sword carrying passerby and took their weapon upon defeating them. Love this. So he’s got kind of a chip on his shoulder against the samurai who are in a different class. OK. OK. So legend holds that he amassed a collection of nine hundred and ninety nine swords in this way. 

Angie: I would be so pissed if I didn’t get a thousandth. 

Theresa: That is the mission he is on. He needed one more blade. Good one. OK. OK. So he wants the thousandth sword because this is a symbol of his strength and dominance over the warrior class, and he is like, I am better than y’all. OK. And his legend grows as he keeps earning all of these swords from the samurai. He’s lost zero matches and made a mockery of all of these lesser swordsmen who have been training longer, harder and have had better food their entire lives. So one night, Gwyo Bridge, he’s attempted to seize his his thousandth sword from the lone traveler. 

This guy is a young man. I am Yoshitsune. And Yoshitsune is average Japanese height. He’s been training for a while. 

He seems to be a fairly good dude. But despite our guy, Banki’s size and strength, it’s almost the same speed and skill. And apparently it’s been honed under the near mythical Tengyu, which is a half human half bird beat and this guy is like famed for its swordsmanship. So he’s been trained by a creature. Good luck buddy. And he’s this training from this bird man allows him to defeat the giant monk. 

Angie: Oh no. Now he has to go on a quest, don’t they? 

Theresa: First off, he’s a little pissed off, right? This is Benke’s first defeat. He’s never lost before. We already know he’s got a fiery attitude and it lends to sometimes things burning down. Now Benke, or Benke, wants to exact revenge. He wants a second battle. And so once again he goes, he tries again, he’s defeated. The second defeat marked the end of his quest for the thousand swords, but he also kind of develops this loyalty to Yoshitsune. So you were kind of right there. 

I can respect that. He becomes our man’s chief retainer and accompanies him in military campaigns during the Gempei Wars. That’s awesome. 

Now Yoshitsune’s tactical brilliance helped lead the Minai Multiclan to victory over the Taira, which you’ve mentioned before in a previous one, with Benke serving as both bodyguard and warrior. Love this. Their stories been told for centuries in kabuki plays, illustrated squirrels, prints. This secures Benke’s place in Japanese cultural history as the model, the quintessential devoted retainer. 

Oh, I love that. So Yoshitsune’s trusted right hand man, Benke plays this critical role in many other victories. Now Yoshitsune’s greatest triumph comes in a naval battle of all places, or of all things, at Dan-no-. I didn’t write this in Japanese, so I’m trying to translate it to make sure I pronounce it right. Dan-no-ura. Dan-no-ura. Dan-no-ura. Dan-no-ura. Okay. 

Good enough for government work. And this led to his falling out with an older brother. Oh. So Yoshitsune and Yoritomo, they kind of have a falling out. Now Yoritomo, a little pissed off at younger brother, and so he pursues the younger brother as a fugitive. And Yoshitsune, he flees them for two years with Benke’s help. 

And this includes the time where they have to pass through Yoritomo’s controlled check points by deception. So they’ve had to like wear a couple disguises. I don’t know if they shave their legs to pretend to be women, but it’s just their deception involved. 

Angie: I’m imagining the scene in Mulan where the guys dress as women. 

Theresa: That’s what I’m hoping. 

Theresa: That’s really what I’m hoping for. And I can’t find anything to confirm or deny. Dang it. 

Theresa: Now Yoritomo’s risen to become Shogun, and he basically brands brother as a traitor, and said he’s guilty of treason. So I don’t know if Yoshitsune actually harbored plans to overthrow older brother Yoritomo. 

Either way, 1189. Yoshitsune’s stripped of all his lands. He’s branded in outlaw, and he is forced to flee. He’s got family, and he’s supposed to take wife and kiddo and like skidaddle. Skidaddle. Got it. 

Yep. So, Benke, ever loyal, he remains by Yoshitsune’s side as they attempt to evade all the capture. Now one of the most famous stories about this period involves Benke’s clever deception at a border checkpoint where he disguised Yoshitsune and his men as monks. He’s like, I know the garb, I know how to do this, I did it for years. 

Wear your cloak this way. Now to convince some of their ruse, Benke goes so far as to strike Yoshitsune with a stick. And everyone knows no loyal retainer’s never going to touch their lord that way. So the guards are like, well, obviously, Benke is not going to strike his master, so you shall go, I guess. And I can only imagine both sides being like, you hit me? Shut your mouth and take it, you peasant. I’m getting into the checkpoint, you idiot. Yeah. And the other time, it’s like, you didn’t have to hit me so hard. 

Angie: I told it, I don’t know why, but remember that scene in Ocean’s Eleven with Matt Damon and George Clooney, and he’s like, did you pack the batteries? I don’t know, did you pack the batteries? It’s giving that energy. Very much so. 

Theresa: So after several years of service, Benke followed his master in exile, Yori told him he was after him, and eventually they end up cornered at this place called Takatachi Castle. And Yori Motos forces, they approach, and Benke makes a final stand. There’s a small bridge that separates the land from the castle, I think, Motes sort of deal, very traditional Japanese castles. 

And they are vastly outnumbered. Benke, single guy on this bridge, he fights with all of his extraordinary strength and fierceness. He’s holding off waves of enemy soldiers. And thankfully he’s got a thousandth sword. He earns more than one sword in this section here. Thankfully, he’s got his height, his renowned abilities that are ahead of him, and this strikes fear into all of his opponent’s hearts. 

So as they’re shaking, as they approach him, the battle wages on, and one report said he takes out 300 soldiers on his own. Good grief. So these men are just, I can only imagine piles of bodies, and you’re having to like walk over Wayne, Brian, Billy, and Kyle to get to your own death. Oh, no thank you. And I don’t know why I picked those names. I like them. Yeah. 

Angie: I’m now going to imagine every Japanese movie I watch with a guy named Wayne. So thanks for that. You’re welcome. 

Theresa: Now, according to legend, the battle is raging on, and eventually the soldiers are like, what the hell are we doing? Let’s just fire some arrows. He’s struck with countless arrows, and he still stands, maintaining eye contact, holding his position. 

He is not moving. And they’re like, well, this arrow stopped firing. He’s standing there like, and, and so the soldiers finally mustered up a little bit of courage, and they start to approach. And that’s when they realized that Benkei had died standing upright, still gripping his weapon in defiance. 

Love that. His body just riddled with arrows, just maintained sword upright, and this iconic moment becomes known as the standing death of Benkei. And this symbolized his ultimate loyalty and indomitable spirit. And this last stand gave Yoshitsune time he needed to commit suicide or sabuku, the ritual of suicide to preserve his honor. He also had to like take care of ushering wife and child to the other side as well. 

Angie: Now, there’s alternative- I was hoping you were saying he was giving time to get out, hop a boat. 

Theresa: You know what? Get to the new world. That wasn’t going to happen. Okay. This is me telling the story. It’s going to, it’s going to have that moment where you go, oh, but okay. Got it. On that side, so there’s, there’s legend. There’s a little bit of like, well, but they could have escaped into obscurity. Good for them. And if that- Either way, their honor is intact. 

Exactly, right? Now, if they did escape into obscurity and that didn’t happen, we still are left with this last stand in defense of the master, which is absolutely chef’s kiss impeccable. Which I think probably likely happened. Now, I, given all of this, the complete over-the-topness of everything Benkei did, there’s, there’s still debate on whether or not he existed, if he’s just fullness and folklore, or if this is like any kind of historical fact. And if he did, there’s stories about all of his accomplishments that have been passed under the centuries, they’re likely been embellished. Surprise, surprise. Maybe he didn’t have an 18 month gestation, just saying. 

Angie: Wild. Didn’t see that coming. Right? 

Theresa: Now, either way, apparently, like the legend of Benkei continues to inspire countless samurai and the admirers of his supposed strength and loyalty. And that is the story of Saitha Lusashipo Benkei. 

Angie: I love how vastly different our stories were today. 

Theresa: I don’t think they could have been more different. 

Angie: Yeah, they carried the tune of, could have been, might have been. Should have? Maybe? There’s legends involved. That was awesome. Thank you for that. 

Theresa: And if you’re liking the history of, but did they? And you’re thinking, holy crap, I really enjoyed this. This was such a bizarre mashup. Join us next week. We’re going to do it again. And we don’t know what we’re going to say. And we’ll not know. I’m not just as surprised as you. Right? Review, subscribe and send this to the person with the best lore in your life. 

Angie: Oh yeah. Love that. And on that note, goodbye. 

Theresa: Bye. Bye.