Memoirs of the Warrior Kumagai

The cover and subject of this book intrigued me. It is historical fiction set in 12th century Japan.

The book is a retelling of The Heike Story a famous tale of the Genpei War which charts the battle for control of the country between the Taira and Minamoto clans. From their struggle, the formation of many aspects of Japanese culture was begun.

The POV of this book is a minor character in the drama, the warrior Kumagai. A minor noble from the provinces with no wealth, power or connections. He Was born into one clan and then switched sides to the other.

Kumagai is famous for an encounter with the young handsome Atsumori on the field of battle, where he takes the young man's head. The event became famous because Atsumori was young and show more handsome and in the minds of the tellers of the tale, caused Kumagai hesitation and grief because he reminded Kumagai of his own similarly aged son. Eventually Kumagai gives up the warrior life and becomes a monk.

The story begins in Kumagai's old age where as a monk he is writing his memoirs. He has become disgusted with the modern (1204) interpretations of the events of the war and the various encounters, battles and people of the past.

In his reminiscences we are told of the events of the war, at the ground level. It is a very quiet and almost dry story. He does reflect on events and what he felt and saw, but you never are lost in the world he talks about. There is a good deal of telling as well as showing. The story is interesting but dry. The setting is well done, the characters are a bit shallow.

The other part of the story is the aged Kumagai dealing with the modern world that has passed him by. He hears the monks down the hall chanting the Heike epic, some are memorizing and some are creating it. The epic has little bearing on reality. The book switches back and forth from past to present.

Throughout the book we get a primer on the creation of history and the pressures that form the final story. How the ethos of the winner is used to cast the past in a light that will make the victory and their continuation seem inevitable. Truth and reality are buried as new customs, attitudes and traditions are inserted in the past. It was truly interesting and done well.

The monk Kumagai starts as an angry man who wants the truth to be told. As he writes his truth while listening to their lies, he slowly comes to understand the need at times to create a tale that will support unity and peace. By his death he seems to have become more philosophical about the changes.

It was an interesting book. It was written well, and it depicted an interesting time and discussed the pressures on the formation of history, from satisfying popular taste, to political aims of the current rulers. show less