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hardcover $26.50
Columbia University Press
Paddyfield.com
Powells.com (USA)
More reviews by Todd Shimoda
Readers may purchase reviewed books from Paddyfield.com, Asia's online bookseller.North American readers may prefer to buy US editions from Powells.com.
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The Tales of the Heike by Burton Watson (trans) / Haruo Shirane (ed.)
In this abridged translation of THE TALES OF THE HEIKE, Burton Watson and Haruo Shirane present the highlights of the epic struggle between two warrior clans in medieval Japan. As the relatively peaceful Heian Era (794-1185) came to a close, the emperor and his supporters, the Fujiwara clan, began to lose power and influence to the rival clans the Heike (or Taira) and the Genji (or Minamoto). The Heike emerged the most powerful but soon were challenged for ultimate, winner-take-all control of the country by the Genji. The resulting civil war, called the Genpei War, lasted from 1180 to 1185, with the Genji emerging victorious.
Even in this abridged edition we see the many tales of battles and brilliant strategies, brutality and valor, pride and humbleness, struggles of loyalties affirmed or betrayed, of these years and the aftermath. The tales became so celebrated that for centuries they have been retold by in biwa (lute-accompanied) songs, novels, artworks, kabuki and other theater genres, dramatic puppetry, films and television, and reenactments. For example, the turning point of the war came with a heroic charge by horse-riding warriors down a nearly vertical slope. This charge is reenacted in Japan, although on not quite as steep a slope.
Besides the battle scenes, the book also contains scenes of intimate human drama such as the story of the exiled Bishop Shukan. Accused with others of conspiracy to assassinate the head of the Heike clan, he and two other conspirators are banished to a distant island. They were fortunate to receive that punishment as the other conspirators were beheaded. After years on the island the two co-conspirators are pardoned while Shukan is not, leaving him alone on the island except for some fishermen. One of Shukan's old retainers comes to visit and finds the poor man living in a make-shift hut of twigs and begging food from the fishermen. Shukan's old retainer brings a letter from the ex-bishop's daughter, telling of her sorrow that he was not pardoned as well. The letter brings tears to Shukan's eyes and he dies soon after of a broken heart.
Another such tale is of the imperial lady, Kenreimon'in, daughter of the deposed head of the Heike clan and previous consort of the emperor. She retreats into self-imposed monastic exile at the end of the Genpei War. When the retired emperor visits her, he finds the once most important woman in Japan living in a humble cabin. And yet he finds the vines and moss growing on the old wooden structure to be beautiful and the imperial lady, now a nun, to be happy.
The tales are rife with references to Buddhism, such as precepts to good living, the six evils, and how souls achieve eternal happiness in the Pure Land of heaven. These references illustrate the strength and reach the religion had achieved in Japan, at least with the ruling and warrior classes. The references might also exist because the original oral tales of the Heike were primarily told in Buddhist monasteries. The book also contains examples of the poetry and Japanese aesthetics prevalent during that era. They offer insight into the emotional depth of the warriors and others in the tales.
Burton's translation and Shirane's editing require little or no prior knowledge of the Heian Era or other nuances of Japanese philosophy or thought are needed. This is not the case with reading the unabridged Tales of the Heike, which can be murky and difficult for the novice. The book also includes a glossary of characters and a bibliography for those interested in pursuing the tales of the Heike in greater depth.
Todd Shimoda
08/10/2006
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