The Tale of the Heike

The Heike Monogatari (Japanese平 家 物语, dt " Tales of the Heike " ) are a testimony of the epic struggle of the Minamoto and Taira ( Heike ) for supremacy in Japan at the end of the 12th century.

The now regarded as a standard text Kakuichi version was written in 1371 based on a collection of stories provided orally and is considered one of the greatest classics of medieval Japanese literature. It is a result of the biwa hoshi tradition of blind monks who traveled the country and epic poems recited, focusing on the biwa, a lute, accompanied them. The literary form of the Monogatari has been handed down by other important works of Japanese literature.

The central theme of the story is the case of the proud Taira, the samurai clan who in 1161 defeated supported by the imperial court Minamoto. However, they were so blind in their hatred that they laid the seeds of their own destruction and were finally defeated in 1185 by the resurgent Minamoto.

This is a very buddhist embossed topic - a moral lesson about the consequences of attachment to worldly desires.

Despite the complex and at times bloodthirsty nature of a large part of the epic sets the overarching theme close to the view that the work of atonement for the souls of the dead was described great battles.

The story consists of episodes that are intended to be told in a series of nocturnal events. It is primarily a samurai epic, which is based on the ethics of Bushido. However, it also contains several love stories that go back to older literature of the Heian period.

The work can be roughly divided into three parts. The main character of the first part is Taira no Kiyomori, who is described as arrogant, evil and ruthless. He is so consumed by the fire of hatred that even in death his feverish body does not cool as he is submerged in the water.

The main character of the second part is the general Minamoto no Yoshinaka. After he dies, is the main character of the third part of the great samurai Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a military genius who is wrongly accused by his politically skilful older brother Minamoto no Yoritomo of treason.

The Heike monogatari were the basis for many later works of art of Noh plays to woodblock prints.

Expenditure

A German translation does not exist.

• Helen Craig McCullough: The Tale of the Heike. Annotated edition. Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1988. ISBN 0-8047-1418-5