Tale of Heiji

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The Tale of Heiji (平治物語), also known by its Japanese name Heiji Monogatari, is a Japanese war epic (gunki monogatari) detailing the events of the Heiji Rebellion of 1160, in which samurai clan head Minamoto no Yoshitomo attacked and besieged Kyoto, as part of an Imperial succession dispute, in which he was opposed by Taira no Kiyomori, head of the Taira clan. 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, which took place four years earlier.

The picture scroll version of the tale, called Heiji monogatari emaki or Heiji monogatari ekotoba, dates to the 13th century, and is generally attributed to Sumiyoshi Keion. 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 burning of the Night Attack on the Sanjō Palace. The emaki scrolls are currently housed in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in Boston, Massachusetts.

[edit] Reference

• Frederic, Louis (2002). "Japan Encyclopedia." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.