Mongaku (1139–1203) is one of medieval Japan’s most extraordinary figures. Born as the warrior Endo Morito, he accidentally killed the married woman Kesa Gozen he loved — she had lain down herself as a substitute for her husband — and consumed by shock and guilt, he became a monk named Mongaku. He endured a legendary hundred-day austerity under Nachi Falls (Japan’s tallest at 133m), reportedly falling into a near-death state and being revived by the divine Fudo Myoo. He then aggressively petitioned the court to restore Jingo-ji temple in Kyoto — with such force that he was exiled to Izu around 1173. There he met the exiled Minamoto no Yoritomo and, in a legendary act, reportedly showed him the skull of his executed father Yoshitomo, urging him: “Avenge your father’s humiliation — rise up against the Taira!” This episode is said to have steeled Yoritomo’s resolve, contributing to his 1180 uprising that launched the Genpei War. After Yoritomo’s rise, Mongaku devoted himself to restoring Jingo-ji with support from both Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa and Yoritomo. After Yoritomo’s death, he fell afoul of Retired Emperor Go-Toba and was exiled again in 1203. He died that same year. His tempestuous life has inspired Noh, Joruri, and Kabuki for centuries.