Heike monogatari

Heike monogatari

▪ Japanese epic
English  The Tale of the Heike 

      medieval Japanese epic, which is to the Japanese what the Iliad is to the Western world—a prolific source of later dramas, ballads, and tales. It stems from unwritten traditional tales and variant texts composed between 1190 and 1221, which were gathered together (c. 1240), probably by a scholar named Yukinaga, to form a single text. Its poetic prose was intended to be chanted to the accompaniment of a biwa (four-stringed lute). A version recited by the blind priest Kakuichi and recorded by a disciple in 1371 is considered the text's definitive form. Several translations into English have been published.

      Based on the actual historical struggle between the Taira (Taira Family) (Heike) and Minamoto (Genji) families, which convulsed Japan in civil war for some years, the Heike monogatari features the exploits of Minamoto Yoshitsune, the most popular hero of Japanese legend, and recounts many episodes of the heroism of aristocratic samurai warriors. Its overall theme is the tragic downfall of the Taira family. It opens with the tolling of a temple bell that, proclaiming the impermanence of all things, reveals the truth that the mighty—even the tyrannical Taira Kiyomori, whose powers seem unlimited—will be brought low like dust before the wind. The Taira suffer a series of defeats, culminating in a sea battle off Dannoura (1185) in which the seven-year-old emperor and many nobles are drowned. The work concludes with an account of the subsequent life of the empress mother, born a Taira. She dies in a remote convent to the tolling of a bell.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • HEIKE MONOGATARI — Des grandes «chroniques guerrières» (gunki ) du Moyen Âge japonais, le Heike monogatari , la «Geste du clan Hei» (ou Taira), est la première en date et la plus importante. Chant épique déclamé aux carrefours ou dans les châteaux par des «moines»… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Heike monogatari — Gogen Biwa Heike Monogatari (平家物 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Heike Monogatari — Heike monogatari, traducido al español como Cantar de Heike, es un poema épico clásico de la literatura japonesa, fuente de numerosas leyendas, personajes e historias que tienen en ella su origen. Contenido A medio camino entre la epopeya y la… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Heike-monogatari —   [japanisch »Geschichte des Hauses Taira«], bedeutendstes Werk der mittelalterlichen japanischen Kriegshistorien aus dem frühen 13. Jahrhundert, in dem Aufstieg, Macht und Niedergang des Tairageschlechts und die Fehde mit den schließlich… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Heike monogatari — Die Heike Monogatari ( Erzählungen von den Heike ) (jap.: 平家物語, Heike Monogatari) sind ein episches Zeugnis vom Kampf der Minamoto und der Taira um die Vorherrschaft in Japan am Ende des 12. Jahrhunderts. Die heute als Standardtext angesehen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Heike Monogatari — Die Heike Monogatari ( Erzählungen von den Heike ) (jap.: 平家物語, Heike Monogatari) sind ein episches Zeugnis vom Kampf der Minamoto und der Taira um die Vorherrschaft in Japan am Ende des 12. Jahrhunderts. Die heute als Standardtext angesehen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Heike Monogatari — Gogen biwa Heike Monogatari (平家物語, heike monogatari?) …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Shin Heike Monogatari — Cet article concerne le roman historique. Pour le film japonais de 1955, voir Le Héros sacrilège. La Chronique des Heike …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Monogatari — (物語?) is a literary form in traditional Japanese literature, an extended prose narrative tale comparable to the epic. Monogatari is closely tied to aspects of the oral tradition, and almost always relates a fictional or fictionalized story, even… …   Wikipedia

  • Monogatari — L auteur du Genji monogatari, la romancière Murasaki Shikibu. Le monogatari (物語) est une spécificité littéraire japonaise dont la traduction la plus proche pourrait être « récit » (lit. choses racontées[1] …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”