On February 7, 1184, as the Taira forces were routed at Ichinotani, the seventeen-year-old Taira no Atsumori (1169–1184) rode his horse into the sea, trying to swim to a waiting ship. The Genji warrior Kumagai Naozane called out to him, and the two engaged in single combat. Naozane threw Atsumori down and moved to take his head, but when he removed the young warrior's helmet he saw a face as young and beautiful as his own son and hesitated. Before he could relent, other Genji soldiers arrived and he was forced to kill Atsumori. When Naozane found a flute in Atsumori's waist, he realized his adversary had been a nobleman. Overwhelmed with grief, Naozane later took Buddhist vows under the priest Honen — and the story is said to have been a catalyst for the spread of Pure Land Buddhism. The Atsumori Zuka (mound) at Sumadera, along with the flute called 'Saeda' (Little Branch), preserve the memory of this tragedy.