There are perhaps many causes worth dying for, but to me, certainly, there are none worth

killing for. Undoubtedly

not this war Atsumori and Rensho are caught in. A war that even before birth is a task they were ordered to do, whatever
the principles of the war are. Two souls stuck to do a service, once again a story of fiction portraying reality. The power of
fortune, position, and greed holds onto the poor and inferior. How simply this three altogether at once can steer one’s life to
death or life of freedom, never both at once.
In this story, Rensho is portrayed as a veteran of a war that is full of guilt after beheading a young man aged
sixteen an unguarded soldier, Atsumori. A flute, it caused a flute for the dear life Atsumori to be taken. I see this flute as a
symbol of his innocence, the kid in him. Instead of running for his life, he then went back to save his precious flute for he
didn’t want it to be in the hands of the enemy. The precious flute was a representation of his youth that he is eager to keep
and is willing to give up under any circumstances, even a life-or-death situation. Because for me, what is there more to it? In
his sixteen years of life? What has he lived for? Sixteen is not even the start of real-life at sixteen he should have been just
exploring life discovering his strengths his likes and dislikes not fighting in a war he has no part or no personal gains in. A
war that started even before he took his first breath and that took his last.
As Herbert Hoover said older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die. Indisputably it is what
happened to Atusumori, the old men of Heiki and Genji with their fortune that lost them their capabilities to use words and
instead gave them weapons to speak for their desire. A perfect origin of the phrase “Barbaric Ways”. Indeed, money can
make the world go round but clearly for these old men who start wars for their own greed, money is just an item that couldn’t
make their senses nor rationality work. And these decisions they make? Who suffers the most? Who bears this misfortune?
The people down below.
A life for prayer. Reading Rensho’s line before beheading Atsumori baffled me at first. In all honesty at that
moment, I thought that it sounded a little too proud or conceited of Rensho to promise a prayer in exchange for letting him
kill Atsumori. For me, it came off as if he was doing Atsumori a huge favor of killing him instead of letting his allies do it.
Sounded that he was the better option to just do it now, without any hint of him thinking he could help Atsumori escape or
even give him a chance it was either death through him or through his allies no in between. How could reciting words be
enough for life? It clearly can’t, seeing that he was in deep remorse and renounced to a new way of living in all irony, a
priest. Was it the way of forgiveness, to dedicate his remaining life in the service of their god? In his eyes, yes.
In my eyes and views, it wasn’t enough, but then both of them are just slaves to power, who could do nothing but
follow for their survival. This story shows that the afterlife is true, where fairness and equity happen that no money or name
is a ruler. “Your prayers affecting both our future lives --- once enemies now instead of in Buddha’s law made friends” The
prayer Rensho promised was what Atsumori needed for the peace and freedom he wanted that he never could have had in
this world. I’ve learned that in this reading the trueness of Kristin Hannah's word in the book the Nightingale, in love we find
out who we want to be; in war, we find out who we are . Both characters had an opportunity to know themselves, and it’s
never a soldier killing for the people in power’s desire. They knew they wanted better for themselves, peace and freedom at
the same time however staying on the battlefield Rensho knew he couldn’t have both so he chose the latter, I eulogize him
for this. No war could end any war.