his lord in order to cross a bridge. The critical moment of the drama is its climax, where the monk realises his situation and vows to do what he must. In another play, Benkei slays his own child to save the daughter of a lord. In the Noh play Ataka, Benkei must beat his own master (disguised as a porter) in order to avoid breaking his disguise. Ataka was later adapted into the kabuki play Kanjinchō, which became one of the most popular and widely performed works in Japanese theatre. Film and television A silent, black and white film adaptation of Benkei's story, simply titled Benkei, was released in 1912. Denjirō Ōkōchi portrays Benkei in Akira Kurosawa's 1945 film The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail, based on Kanjinchō. In the Getter Robo series, the characters of Musashi Tomoe and Benkei Kuruma are both modelled on Saitō Musashibō Benkei. Musashi is the toughest and most loyal member of the original team, and dies in a similar way to Benkei - fighting off an immense horde of enemies by himself while his teammates are incapacitated - after which Benkei Kuruma is recruited to take his place. The New Getter Robo anime condenses the roles of both characters into one, called simply Musashibō Benkei, who is a monk like his namesake. Daisuke Ryu portrays Benkei in Sogo Ishii's 2001 historical fantasy film Gojoe: Spirit War Chronicle. Ken Matsudaira portrays Benkei in the 44th Taiga Drama, Yoshitsune. Sō Kaku portrays Benkei in the 61st Taiga Drama, The 13 Lords of the Shogun. Video games Benkei and Yoshitsune are the protagonists of the 2005 video game Genji: Dawn of the Samurai and its 2006 sequel, Genji: Days of the Blade. See also Benkei on the Bridge Funa Benkei Notes References Ribner, Susan, Richard Chin and Melanie Gaines Arwin. (1978). The Martial Arts. New York: Harper & Row. . Kitagawa, Hiroshi and Bruce T. Tsuchida. (1975). The Tale of the Heike. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press. . Yoshikawa, Eiji. (1956). The Heike Story: A Modern Translation of the Classic Tale of Love and War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. (cloth). _. (1981). The Heike Story: A Modern Translation of the Classic Tale of Love and War. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing. (paper). _. (2002). The Heike Story: A Modern Translation of the Classic Tale of Love and War. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing. (paper). _. (1989) Yoshikawa Eiji