According to "Gyokuyo" (Diary of Kanezane KUJO), after the Battle of Ichinotani on February 9, 1184, he ran back to Kyoto with a few retainers to ask for the Imperial court's instruction of what to do with the heads of the Taira family, because he wanted permission to display them publicly on Miyako-oji Avenue.
『玉葉』によると、寿永3年（1184年）2月9日一ノ谷の合戦後、義経は討ち取った平家一門の首を都大路に引き渡し獄門にかける事を奏聞する為、少数の兵で都に駆け戻る。