The Tale of the Heike
|
|
The Tale of the Heike (Japanese 平家物語, Heike monogatari) is an epic account of the struggle between the Minamoto and Taira clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century. Gathered from a collection of oral stories and transcribed in 1371, it is considered one of the great classics of medieval Japanese literature. It is a product of the biwa hoshi tradition of blind monks who travelled the countryside reciting epic poems while playing the lute.
The central theme of the story is the fall of the prideful Taira, the samurai clan who defeat the imperial-backed Minamoto in 1161 but are so consumed by hatred that they sow the seeds of their own destruction and in the end are defeated by a revitalized Minamoto in 1185. This is a very Buddhist theme - a moral lesson about the results of attachment to worldly desires. Despite the complex and bloodthirsty nature of much of this epic, the over-riding theme lends credence to the view that the purpose of the work was for the expiation of the souls of those that died in the great battles described.
The story is episodic in nature and designed to be told in a series of nightly installments. It is primarily a samurai epic, focusing on the bushido code of ethics, but it also includes a number of love stories which harken back to earlier Heian literature.
The tale is roughly divided into three sections. The central figure of the first section is Taira no Kiyomori who is described as arrogant, evil, ruthless and so consumed by the fires of hatred that even in death his feverish body does not cool when immersed in water. The main figure of the second section is the Minamoto general Minamoto no Yoshinaka. After he dies the main figure of the third section is the great samurai, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a military genius who is falsely accused of treachery by his politically astute elder brother Minamoto no Yoritomo.
The Tale of the Heike has provided material for many later artistic works ranging from Noh plays to woodblock prints.