Heike Tsuruginomaki
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''Heike Tsuruginomaki'' (平家剣巻 "Heike Sword Scroll"), also called ''Heike Monogatari Tsuruginomaki'' (平家物語剣巻) is a Japanese ''
gunki monogatari , or "war tales," is a category of Japanese literature written primarily in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods that focus on wars and conflicts, especially the civil wars that took place between 1156 and 1568. Examples of this genre include the '' ...
''.


Overview

Passed down in top secret among the ''
biwa hōshi , also known as "lute priests", were travelling performers in the era of Japanese history preceding the Meiji period. They earned their income by reciting vocal literature to the accompaniment of music. were mostly blind, and adopted the shaved ...
''—blind monks who played ''
The Tale of the Heike is an epic poetry, epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). Heike () refers to the Taira (), ''hei'' being ...
'' on the ''
biwa The is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. The is a plucked string instrument that first gained popularity in China before spreading throughout East Asia, eventually reaching Japan sometime duri ...
'' lute—the scroll is meant to take place in the eleventh book of the ''Tale'', following the chapter "The Sacred Mirror Enters the Capital" (内侍所都入) and in place typically occupied by a short chapter similarly entitled "Swords" (剣). The common version of the "Swords" text collects anecdotes (''
setsuwa Setsuwa (, ja, 説話, setsu wa) is an East Asian literary genre. It consists of myths, legends, folktales, and anecdotes. ''Setsuwa'' means "spoken story". As one of the vaguest forms of literature, setsuwa is believed to have been passed down ...
'') about the sword
Kusanagi is a legendary Japanese sword and one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called , but its name was later changed to the more popular ("Grass-Cutting Sword"). In folklore, the sword represents the virtue of valor. Legends ...
, one of the
imperial regalia The Imperial Regalia, also called Imperial Insignia (in German ''Reichskleinodien'', ''Reichsinsignien'' or ''Reichsschatz''), are regalia of the Holy Roman Emperor. The most important parts are the Crown, the Imperial orb, the Imperial sce ...
, which had been lost at the Battle of Dannoura, and alleges that the great serpent
Yamata no Orochi , or simply , is a legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed Japanese dragon/serpent. Mythology Yamata no Orochi legends are originally recorded in two ancient texts about Japanese mythology and history. The 712 AD transcribes this dragon name ...
, slain in ages past by the storm god Susanoo no Mikoto who then retrieved the sword from the serpent's corpse, had taken the form of the boy emperor Antoku and reclaimed the sword. (This version of the text is believed to have a strong connection to Book V of the '' Gukanshō'', which includes a passage describing Emperor Antoku as a transformed daughter of the
Dragon King The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the '' lóng'' in Ch ...
who had returned to her home beneath the sea.) The expanded scroll adds further anecdotes about the prized swords of the Minamoto lineage, their virtuous power, and their names, resulting in a much larger, 120-verse text that appears in two parts, the upper and the lower (つるぎのまき・上下). Other additions include a discussion of the origins of the other two imperial regalia. These kinds of expansions led to the text being treated increasingly as an independent work from the rest of the ''Tale'', such as in the ''Yashiro-bon'' manuscript (屋代本平家物語 ''Yashiro-bon Heike Monogatari''), which gives ''Tsuruginomaki'' its own volume: most texts of the ''Tale'' include the shorter chapter, with the title "Swords" (剣 ''Tsurugi''), in Book XI, but the ''Yashiro-bon'' text includes both a chapter in Book XI entitled "Regarding the Treasured Sword" (宝剣事 ''Hōken no Koto'') and a separate ''Tsuruginomaki'', whose contents contradict each other. The ''Heike Monogatari Tsuruginomaki'' in the holdings of the differs again from the ''Heike Tsuruginomaki'' that was included as an appendix to the ''Yashiro-bon'' text. At the end of Part 2 of the Shōkōkan text is a reference to the inheritors of two swords being the houses of Nitta and
Ashikaga Ashikaga (足利) may refer to: * Ashikaga clan (足利氏 ''Ashikaga-shi''), a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Minamoto clan; and that formed the basis of the eponymous shogunate ** Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府 ''Ashikaga bakufu''), a ...
, which led
Yamada Yoshio was a Japanese linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly ...
to theorize that it was an addition made during the time of the rivalry between these two clans. This theory would mean that the version of ''Tsuruginomaki'' that did not include this later addition must have existed by the end of the
Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...
in the 1330s.


Content

Tada Mitsunaka, ancestor of the , at one time commissioned two swords, ("Beard-Cutter") and ("Knee- ''maru''") of a certain Chinese swordsmith. These were passed down to Mitsunaka's son Yorimitsu, who, having slain an ''
oni An is a kind of ''yōkai'', demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. Oni are mostly known for their fierce and evil nature manifested in their propensity for murder and cannibalism. Notwithstanding their evil reputation, oni possess i ...
'' (ogre) and a monstrous giant spider called a '' yama-gumo'' ("mountain spider"), renamed them Onimaru (鬼丸, "Ogre-''maru''") and Kumogiri (蜘蛛切, "Spider-Cutter"), respectively. Thereafter, the swords were passed down to , Yoriyoshi, and Yoshiie, who put them to good use in the Former Nine Years' War and the Later Three Years' War. During the time of Yoshiie's son Tameyoshi, Onimaru was renamed Shishinoko (獅子の子, "Lion's Child") and Kumogiri was renamed Hoemaru (吠丸, "Howl- ''maru''"). He bequeathed Hoemaru to his son-in-law, the steward of the
Kumano shrine A is a type of Shinto shrine which enshrines the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi [].Encyclopedia of ShintoKumano Shinkō accessed on October 6, 2008 There are more than 3,000 Kumano shrines in Japan, and each has received its k ...
s (:ja:熊野別当, ja), and, after changing Shishinoko's name again to Tomogiri (友切, "Friend-Cutter"), bequeathed it to his son Yoshitomo. Tomogiri was passed to
Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after hi ...
following Yoshitomo's defeat in the Heiji rebellion, and Yoritomo changed its name back to Higekiri based on a revelatory dream. He deposited the sword in the
Atsuta Shrine is a Shinto shrine traditionally believed to have been established during the reign of Emperor Keikō (71-130) located in Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture in Japan. The shrine is familiarly known as ''Atsuta-Sama'' (Venerable Atsuta) or simpl ...
, but took it up again after receiving Prince Takakura's call to arms, and thanks to the power of this sword he was eventually able to subdue the whole country. Hoemaru, on the other hand, had been dedicated to the , but passed into the hands of
Minamoto no Yoshitsune was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo conso ...
, Yoritomo's younger brother, through , the 21st steward. Renaming it Usumidori (薄緑, "Pale Green"), by the power of this sword Yoshitsune was able wipe out the
Taira clan The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divided ...
at the Battle of Dannoura. Of the two swords passed down since the
Age of the Gods In Shinto chronology, the is the period preceding the accession of Jimmu, the first Emperor of Japan. The kamiyo myths are chronicled in the "upper roll" (''Kamitsumaki'') of the ''Kojiki'' and in the first and second chapters of the '' Nihon Sho ...
, Ame-no-Murakumo (天の村雲) and Ame-no-Haegiri (天のはえ切), Ame-no-Haegiri was stored in Furu Shrine (布留の社), but Ame-no-Murakumo, which Susanoo no Mikoto retrieved from the tail of Yamata no Orochi after slaying it, became one of the imperial regalia after being passed to Susanoo's sister, the sun goddess
Amaterasu Ōmikami Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami () or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (), is the Solar deity, goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. One of the major Kami, deities (''kami'') of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary ...
. Prince Yamatotakeru no Mikoto, during his subjugation of the "eastern barbarians", used this sword to cut down the long grass in order to escape from a burning field, and thereafter the sword became known as Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, or "Grass-Cutter". However, it was lost in the ocean during the Taira's defeat at Dannoura. Yoshitsune, seeking a reconciliation with his estranged brother Yoritomo, presented Usumidori to the , and the steward of Hakone (箱根別当 ''Hakone bettō'') passed it on to , and following the Soga brothers' vendetta killing (see ''
Soga Monogatari ''Soga Monogatari'' () is a Japanese military chronicle-tale based on the vengeance incident, Revenge of Soga Brothers. The story is often known as ''The (illustrated) Tale of the Soga Brothers'' or ''The Revenge of the Soga Brothers''. It is ...
'') they presented the sword to Yoritomo in the hope of forgiveness. In this fashion did the two swords that were forged for the Minamoto clan both find their way back into the possession of their original lineage.


Textual tradition

There are two other texts that, apart from their inclusion of Chinese narratives at the beginning, are clearly related to this text. One is the ''Tsuruginomaki'' (剣巻) included at the front of the ''
Taiheiki The (Chronicle of Great Peace) is a Japanese historical epic (see ''gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Taiheiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 923 ...
'', and the other is an illustrated printed book dating to 1653, also called ''Tsuruginomaki'' (つるぎのまき).


Influence

Alongside the much earlier '' Nihon Shoki'' and the later
Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...
play ''
Tsuchigumo is a historical Japanese derogatory term for renegade local clans, and also the name for a race of spider-like yōkai in Japanese folklore. Alternative names for the mythological Tsuchigumo include and . In the ''Kojiki'' and in '' Nihon Shoki ...
'', ''Heike Tsuruginomaki'' is an important source for the popular Japanese image of a ferocious "earth spider" known as a ''tsuchigumo''.


Notes


References


Citations


Works cited

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heike Tsuruginomaki Gunki monogatari Kamakura-period works