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The Tale of the Heike. Volume II, Books 7-12 and Epilogue
Philosophy
453 pages, Paperback
Published July 22, 1977
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* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 22, 2022
Wow what a fun read!
An incredible primary source for medieval Japanese thought that is pretty easy to follow and full of memorable scenes.
It helps that the basic arc is very simple: Heike/Taira clan rises too high too fast, triggering a counter response by the Genji/Minamoto that ends up leaving them utterly destroyed. Along the way the entire structure of Japanese political life is remade and the samurai end up controlling everything via the office of shogun (itself invented in this story!).
Because the story is fairly simple, I found that even when I lost track of all the characters and even though I still don't understand the meaning of all the ministries (Left, Right, Police, Archivists, Divination...), I could fairly easily situate myself in the story.
I found the "Buddhistically correct" editorializing to be fascinating. From the legendary opening line to the desperate attempt of Kenreimon-In to achieve Buddhahood for herself and her son, Buddhist doctrine is what gives the actions meaning. Given that the with came into existence through bring retold by the biwa hōshi it's not surprising. But at times it can get quite heavy handed, as when emperors are described as those who mastered the ten precepts in a previous life and are being rewarded with the honor of being emperor, or when suicide and its repercussions are justified in terms of manipulations in the Buddhist afterlife. For a contrasting view, Mizoguchi's Legends of the Taira film, presents the early part of Kiyomori's life emphasizing the inflated nobility exploiting and humiliating the samurai they depend on, all while the monks are concerned with the land holdings of their temples at the expense of all else.
If you're thinking about reading it, give it a try!
Note that volume 2 has maps in the back. Use them!
I have not read any of the other translations so I cannot comment on the differences.
An incredible primary source for medieval Japanese thought that is pretty easy to follow and full of memorable scenes.
It helps that the basic arc is very simple: Heike/Taira clan rises too high too fast, triggering a counter response by the Genji/Minamoto that ends up leaving them utterly destroyed. Along the way the entire structure of Japanese political life is remade and the samurai end up controlling everything via the office of shogun (itself invented in this story!).
Because the story is fairly simple, I found that even when I lost track of all the characters and even though I still don't understand the meaning of all the ministries (Left, Right, Police, Archivists, Divination...), I could fairly easily situate myself in the story.
I found the "Buddhistically correct" editorializing to be fascinating. From the legendary opening line to the desperate attempt of Kenreimon-In to achieve Buddhahood for herself and her son, Buddhist doctrine is what gives the actions meaning. Given that the with came into existence through bring retold by the biwa hōshi it's not surprising. But at times it can get quite heavy handed, as when emperors are described as those who mastered the ten precepts in a previous life and are being rewarded with the honor of being emperor, or when suicide and its repercussions are justified in terms of manipulations in the Buddhist afterlife. For a contrasting view, Mizoguchi's Legends of the Taira film, presents the early part of Kiyomori's life emphasizing the inflated nobility exploiting and humiliating the samurai they depend on, all while the monks are concerned with the land holdings of their temples at the expense of all else.
If you're thinking about reading it, give it a try!
Note that volume 2 has maps in the back. Use them!
I have not read any of the other translations so I cannot comment on the differences.
September 25, 2025
The second part of Tale of the Heike begins on a promising note. After the laborious set up of the first book, full of bad poetry and weeping samurai, we finally get to the action, as the Heike and Genji meet each other in a sequence of pitched battles. These are told by way of recounting the deeds of individual samurai, and then never mentioning them again. Seems a bit odd, but I guess you're supposed to know who these are, and perhaps trace your lineage to some of them. Though I'm not sure how that's supposed to work if the descendants of the Heike were all wiped out, but whatever.
It's not unenjoyable, and though it may lack the viscerality of the Iliad or similar, it makes up for it by capturing episodes so treacherous as to be comical. Seriously, no one who reads this can take Bushido seriously ever again.
Unfortunately this does not last, the battles end, and we are back to everyone weeping. Those to be executed weep, those to do the executing weep (but still do the executing), the vanquished weep, the victorious weep. Attempts are made to cram this into a Buddhist framework about karma or whatever, but none of it is at all convincing.
Glad I ticked this off so I never have to come back to it again.
It's not unenjoyable, and though it may lack the viscerality of the Iliad or similar, it makes up for it by capturing episodes so treacherous as to be comical. Seriously, no one who reads this can take Bushido seriously ever again.
Unfortunately this does not last, the battles end, and we are back to everyone weeping. Those to be executed weep, those to do the executing weep (but still do the executing), the vanquished weep, the victorious weep. Attempts are made to cram this into a Buddhist framework about karma or whatever, but none of it is at all convincing.
Glad I ticked this off so I never have to come back to it again.
May 28, 2020
The second half of this book offers up some of the most iconic moments in Japanese history. Many of the stories told here can be seen in art and movies many times. The majority of this volume deals with the Heike's flight from the capital and the battles theh must face in the desperate attempt at survival. I found that the story felt much more moving in this section. Overall, the Tale of Heike was a miraculous yet long story that touched on the value of the little moments in life. The way in which it crafts a human story about survival amid a troubled world is surprisingly inspiring. Something I found interesting was the way the book condemned those who used their power for greedy goals. The story really covered so much ground and I must say it was such a good read. For being written more than 500 years ago the problems faced by its characters and the moments of pathos still ring very true. I'm glad to have had the chance to read this book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews