is a Japanese war epic (''

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 '' ...

'') detailing the events of the Heiji Rebellion of 1159–1160, in which samurai clan head

Minamoto no Yoshitomo (1123 – 11 February 1160) was the head of the Minamoto clan and a general of the late Heian period of Japanese history. His son Minamoto no Yoritomo became ''shōgun'' and founded the Kamakura shogunate, the first shogunate in the history of ...

attacked and besieged

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

, as part of an Imperial succession dispute, in which he was opposed by

Taira no Kiyomori was a military leader and ''kugyō'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. Early life Kiyomori was born in Heian-kyō, Japan, in 1118 as the first so ...

, head of 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 divi ...

. The Tale, like most ''monogatari'', exists in three main forms: written, oral, and painted. The original text is sometimes attributed to Hamuro Tokinaga, and is written in 36 chapters. As is the case with most other ''monogatari'', the text has been rewritten and revised many times over the years, and developed into an oral tradition as well. Most often, the ''Tale of Heiji'' would be chanted as a continuation of the '' Tale of Hōgen'', which relates the events of the closely related

Hōgen Rebellion In Japanese, Hōgen may refer to several words. Among them: * Hōgen (era) (保元, 1156–1159), an era in Japan * Hōgen rebellion, a short civil war in 1156 * dialect (方言) — for example: "eigo no hōgen" (English dialect) See also * ...

. The picture scroll version of the tale, called ''

Heiji Monogatari Emaki The is an or (painted narrative handscroll) from the second half of the 13th century, in the Kamakura period, period of History of Japan, Japanese history (1185–1333). An illuminated manuscript, it narrates the events of the Heiji rebelli ...

'' or ''Heiji Monogatari Ekotoba'', dates from the 13th century. It tells the tale in color on paper, on five scrolls. Each scroll begins and ends with a written portion of the tale, describing the events depicted in a single continuous painting across the length of the scroll. Perhaps the most famous scene of these five scrolls is the Night Attack on the Sanjō Palace. The ''emaki'' scrolls are now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in Boston, Massachusetts. A digital reproduction of this scene is visible at http://digital.princeton.edu/heijiscroll/

Rivalries

''The Tale of Heiji'' presents a conflict between old aristocratic and new military elites. The ''Heiji'' story moves beyond from the comparatively simple narration template of the ''Hōgen monogatari'' towards a more complicated focus which suggests a need for more nuanced principles and more flexible policies which become more appropriate to desperate times. As in the ''Hōgen'' story, multi-level and inter-related rivalries lead to war; and the main characters are presented in traditional status order: Emperors and former Emperors first, Fujiwara ministers second, and military clan warriors third. * 1st level rivalry—a conflict amongst emperors: **

Cloistered A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against ...

Emperor Go-Shirakawa was the 77th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His de jure reign spanned the years from 1155 through 1158, though arguably he effectively maintained imperial power for almost thirty-seven years through the ''ins ...

(後白河天皇), 1127–1192 **

Emperor Nijo An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

(二条天皇), 1143–1165 * 2nd level rivalry—a conflict amongst '' kuge'' aristocrats: **

Fujiwara no Michinori , also known as , was an aristocratic Confucian scholar and Buddhist monk in late Heian period Japan. He was one of the chief advisors to Emperor Nijō, and one of the chief allies of Taira no Kiyomori, particularly during the Heiji Rebellion ...

(藤原通憲), also known by priestly name, Shinzei (信西), 11__-1160 **

Fujiwara no Nobuyori was one of the chief allies of Minamoto no Yoshitomo in the Heiji Rebellion of 1159. As a member of the Fujiwara clan, Nobuyori might have been in line to become regent, and he desired power, which he obtained for a short while following the Rebe ...

(藤原信頼), 1133–1159 *3rd level rivalry—a conflict amongst (and within) warrior clans: **

(平清盛), 1118–1181 **

(源義朝, 1123–1160Brown, p. 391. As in the ''Hōgen'' story, the narrative structure is divided in three distinct segments: * Part 1 introduces origins of the conflicts. * Part 2 retells the course of events. * Part 3 enumerates the tragic consequences.

''Monogatari'' historiography

The Japanese have developed a number of complementary strategies for capturing, preserving and disseminating the essential elements of their commonly accepted national history – chronicles of sovereigns and events, biographies of eminent persons and personalities, and the military tale or ''gunki monogatari''. This last form evolved from an interest in recording the activities of military conflicts in the late 12th century. The major battles, the small skirmishes and the individual contests—and the military figures who animate these accounts—have all been passed from generation to generation in the narrative formats of the '' Hōgen monogatari'' (1156), the ''Heiji monagatari'' (1159–1160), and the ''

Heike monogatari is an 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 the ''on'yo ...

'' (1180–1185). In each of these familiar ''monogatari'', the central figures are popularly well known, the major events are generally understood, and the stakes as they were understood at the time are conventionally accepted as elements in the foundation of Japanese culture. The accuracy of each of these historical records has become a compelling subject for further study; and some accounts have been shown to withstand close scrutiny, while other presumed “facts” have turned out to be inaccurate.Brown, p. 385-386.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tale of Heiji

Heiji was a after '' Hōgen'' and before ''Eiryaku.'' This period lasted from April 1159 until January 1160. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * January 21, 1159 : The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events. The previ ...

Early Middle Japanese texts Monogatari 12th-century history books Gunki monogatari 12th-century Japanese books