Japanese Culture: Identity and Tradition

Narratives / The Tale of the Heike
War tales
Narrative accounts of military struggles and battles.
Based on fact but embellished. Rekishi monogatari
Anonymously written or compiled.
The main two examples:
Heike Monogatari
We looked at this in the video.
The rise and fall of the Taira clan. Shift in political power from the court to the warrior class in the mid to late 12th century.
This is a significant shift into a new era. A shift of focus in power. The Emperor however remains until today as the symbol of power.

The chronicle of great peace (taiheiki)
Deals with the establishment of the Ashikaga / Muromachi shougunate in the late 14th century, and the fighting between the Northern and Southern Courts involved.

These both serve as significant sources, particularly the modern period, the ethic of the Samurai, because they deal mainly with them.

Th Heike monogatari.
Second only to Genji as a work of Prose literature.
But Heike is written with a mix of Japanese and Chinese words, like modern Japanese, unlike Genji.
It's heroes are commonly featured in Kabuki and Bubraku plays.

Themes/motifs
Fate (shouja Hissui). Impermanence (mujou)
those who flourish are destined to fall. Pride must have it's fall.
This theme is prominent throughout all Japanese literature.
The Taira are depicted as arrogant and conceited.
-all must fall. The brave, the resolute etc.
We all must perish!

Impermanence - life indeed is an empty vanity. It's all destined to end.
A bit like the glass is only temporarily intact.

The force of destiny.

Another theme is the historical one of the fall of the court and the rise of the Samurai.
Significant change in the political climate.

Genji/Minamoto clan

-The establishment of the first military government.
-The masculinity of the warriors, the femininity of the court.

The story covers a period of 90 years from 1131 to 1221.
Main focus on the 18 years from the time of Taira Kiyomori becoming Premier to the destruction of the Heike forces at Dan-no-ura.

Look at the structure / Features
It has been from the beginning an oral/performed narrative.
The authorship is a bit jumbled. Not clear entirely about how it was assembled.
It was one of the first highly successful examples of combining Chi and Jap words together, as with the modern standard.
Uses great rhythmic devices by utilising units of 12 syllables - 5:7 or 7:5 (like the poems) in the narration.
There are only 97 poems (all Waka / Tanka)
Appreciated for musical quality

Representatives of Men: Genji Warriors. Action, strong, brave, resolute, masculine, violent
Females tragic, sad, strong but suffering (due to having made the mistake of entering the lives of ambitious men) They are not wilting flowers, but they are one of tragedy of events that are upon them.