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Loading... The Tale of the Heike (edition 1990)by Anonymous (Author)
Work InformationThe Tale of the Heike by Anonymous (Author)
   Japanese Literature (114) Epic Fiction (41) No current Talk conversations about this book. 3   HadriantheBlind | Mar 30, 2013 |    ) antiquary | Dec 10, 2007 |  ) sasameyuki | Aug 17, 2021 | no reviews | add a review
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This major and groundbreaking new Penguin translation is by Royall Tyler, acclaimed translator of The Tale of Genji. First assembled from scattered oral poems in the early fourteenth century, The Tale of the Heikeis Japan's Iliad - a grand-scale depiction of the wars between the Heike and Genji clans. Legendary for its magnificent and vivid set battle scenes, it is also a work filled with intimate human dramas and emotions, contemplating Buddhist themes of suffering and separation, as well as universal insights into love, loss and loyalty. The narrative moves back and forth between the two great warring clans, between aristocratic society and street life, adults and children, great crowds and introspection. No Japanese work has had a greater impact on subsequent literature, theatre, music and films, or on Japan's sense of its own past. Royall Tyler's new translation is the first to capture the way The Tale of the Heikewas originally performed. It re-creates the work in its full operatic form, with speech, poetry, blank verse and song that convey its character as an oral epic in a way not seen before, fully embracing the rich and vigorous language of the original texts. Beautifully illustrated with fifty-five woodcuts from the nineteenth-century artistic master, Katsushika Hokusai, and bolstered with maps, character guides, genealogies and rich annotation, this is a landmark edition. Royall Tyler taught Japanese language and literature for many years at the Australian National University. He has a B.A. from Harvard University and a PhD from Columbia University and has taught at Harvard, Stanford and the University of Wisconsin. His translation of The Tale of Genjiwas acclaimed by publications such as The New York Times Book Review. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)895.6Literature Literature of other languages Asian (east and south east) languages JapaneseLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.91)
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Wikipedia in English (18)
1
These is the opening song of the epic, The Tale of the Heike. Although this is a war story, detailing the quick rise and steady fall of a clan which sought a military takeover of Japan, it is something more. The Heike monogatari, written to be read aloud and sung over nightly installments, is a long and winding journey through triumph, defeat, religion, and myth.
It is made clear in the very first lines that a main theme of the Tale of the Heike is the Buddhist concept of impermanence or transience, also known as mujû (ûûaûxx). Sadness at the passing of things, or, to use a 19th-century term, mono no aware (ûûiûûnûûÂûûû). There are falling spring blossoms, death poems, and lamentations over burning temples.
Yet despite (or because of?) this focus on impermanence and death, the work is also an early contributor to the myth of the warrior code (ûmfûckûûû - bushido). There are multiple instances of an honorable deaths, suicide, and one of the first instances of death by seppuku. There are little parables of war horses, heroism, fathers defending their sons, wives mourning their husbands, warriors with nine-foot-long bows. A child-emperor and his nurse jump into the sea to reach a more heavenly and eternal throne.
Perhaps in this way, it is not dissimilar to the Iliad or the more contemporary Beowulf. Although there are lamentations of the loss of divine virtue and that this is a corrupt age, warriors still chant their names and their deeds. Individuals are frequently singled out for their bravery. They"still decorate their uniforms with bright colors, black or red or blue or gold or white. Some blacken their teeth - for beauty, not for intimidation.
A third narrative thread is that of religion and karma. Karma, or (ÂEÂ¥Â)Gà ÂE, of course, is where one's deeds and one's past life affect your own. Death is ordinary, but it is temporary. The tyrant, Taira no Kiyomori, was once a wise Buddhist teacher who had not yet comprehended the nature of evil. Of course, this religion is not detached from ordinary lives and political struggles. Warrior monks are wily players in this struggle, and they compete in very earthly struggles for allegiance. Yet this is a particular form of Buddhism which they fight, with the Amida Buddha promising eventual redemption to all of those who sincerely ask for it and chant his name as they die.
This is a 'war story', but there is also poetry and emotion. It is elegant at times, and even dares to hint at the complexity of life - and it's difference from Buddhist notions of simplicity. The winners are not always good, and the losers are not all bad. At the moment where the Taira suffer their greatest defeat, there are some digressions on how noble and good some of their followers were as they were slaughtered. From Chinese history. Didactic as well as emotive.
Royall Tyler does a magnificent job with the translation, moving from song to recitation with fluid ease. This edition also has (