Shunkan (1143-1179), a high-ranking Buddhist monk and close associate of Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa, joined the 1177 Shishigatani Conspiracy to overthrow the Taira regime. After the plot was betrayed, he was exiled to Kikai-ga-shima (most likely Satsuma Iwo Jima in modern Kagoshima Prefecture) along with Taira Yasuyori and Fujiwara Naritsune. When the Taira issued an amnesty in 1178 for the safe birth of Empress Tokuko, Yasuyori and Naritsune were pardoned — but Shunkan alone was left behind, the victim of Kiyomori’s personal hatred. He died in despair on the island within a year. The “Shunkan” of Heike Monogatari, Noh, and Kabuki — the moment he runs after the departing ship crying “Take me too!” — has become the archetypal scene of Japanese literary tragedy.