Falling Leaves, No Young Cows

This is for all you Japanese movie and manga buffs. Oh, and history lovers, too.

Our local yakiniku [bbq] place is called Ushiwakamaru. In kanji, the name [牛若丸] reads "Cow Young Complete" which I figured had to do with all the tasty young beef served at the restaurant. BBQ restaurant, "young cow" it all makes sense, right?

But a little wikipedia set me straight. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ushiwakamaru Seems Ushiwakamaru was the childhood name of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, legendary [but real] samurai from the late Heian Period. Know all those scenes with samurai training by slicing falling leaves? Apparently this is the guy who started it all.

Appropriately for a true samurai, Minamoto was neck-deep in the political intrigues of the time, betrayed, and forced to commit seppuku. After which, of course, he forgiven. Love that gut-cutting.