Tales of the Heike

Ever heard of Tales of the Heike? I saw a book on it in my school library but didn't read it yet 'cause well, I was in a rush. Can you give me a summary? Thanks for your troubles.

It has been a while since I studied it at school, but I'll tell you what remains in my imperfect memory.

The Tale of Heike details the events of the Gempei War, which marks the delination from the end of the Heian Period (794~1192) and the beginning of the Kamakura Period (1192~1333).

A little more specifically, it describes the clash between two powerful families or clans, the Taira and the Minamoto clans. The Taira was a powerful family in the government, and the Minamoto clan originated from the imperial family.

In the end, the Minamoto Clan wins and establishes the Kamakura government.

I remember being told that the Tale of Heike was written to appease the spirits of the Taira clan, who lost. The epic has other stories interwoven into the tale, and it comes from a Buddhist perspective. Namely, the concept of "nothing lasts forever" and the idea of "cause and effect".

I'm sure you could get much better information than this by doing a simple web search, though! That's all of the coherent information that I can remember from the top of my head.

I love Tale of the Heike.

There is an English version which is a translation of Eiji Yoshikawa's serialized novel, published just after the end of the second world war. The only problem is that Yoshikawa died about 2/3 of the way through, so the story ends rather abruptly midstream. Still, it is an excellent work and a really enjoyable read which I would recommend.

There are some other, shorter translations of the ancient tale. There are over 80 extant Japanese versions of it from the middle ages. The tale had its beginnings as a poetic recitation of the story of the downfall of the Heike clan at the hands of the Genji. It was told by blind entertainers who wandered the country.

The primary theme is the transitory nature of life and the notion that the mighty must fall. This is summed up in the famous openening lines (translated by AL Sadler):

"The sound of the bell of Gionshoja echoes the impermanence of all things. The hue of the flowers of the teak tree declares that they who flourish must be brought low. Yea, the proud ones are but for a moment, like an evening dream in springtime. The mighty are destroyed at the last, they are but as dust before the wind."

That is one of the best passages to be found in literature.

Biwa & Song

The Tales of the Heike performed as in the olden days on a biwa (Japanese lute).
The olden days in Japan seems to have been rather perilous.

[youtube]vnIQl5CZRr8&feature=related[/youtube]