| NOTA |
(★)"CL-51" es mismo libro. "CL-4" es version anterior de este libro y de "CL-22". 1.No other work of Japanese classic literature has excited the imagination of the Japanese as has the Heike monogatari ［the Tale of the Heike］. This ´epic´story by an unknown author depicts in twelve books and an epilogue the rise and fall of the Heike clan and its defeat at the hands of the powerful Genji clan. It is set in the twilight years of the Heian period in the last half of the twelfth century, a time of far-reaching change in Japan when the Fujiwara hegemony was waning and court factions struggled to establish claims and protect them by allying themselves with provincial military clans. The clans, however, with superior strength overthrow the nobles and eventually seized political power. Two of the strongest of the clans were the Heike and the Genji. The Heike rose to power rapidly only to suffer severe defeat at the hands of the Genji. The major part of the narrative concerns the three or four years immediately preceding the death of Kiyomori, the head of the Heike clan, and the years following up to the fall of the Heike at the Battle of Dan-no-ura. The theme of ´shooja hissui [those who flourish are destined to fall]´ pervades the Heike, beginning with the first tolling of a temple bell in far-off India to warn man of the impermanence of things, to the last chapter and a temple bell tolling outside Kyoto as night and the end of the Heike approach. It is this Buddhist message that appeals so much to the Japanese, who see the sweet-sad sense of helplessness of everything and feel that man can do little for himself save trust in a transcendental power. It is this message that also epitomizes the Heike. Added to this feeling of powerlessness to control destiny are the concepts of ´inga-oohoo[retribution]´and ´mujookan[feelings of evanescence and vanity]´. In portraying, in grand fashion, the conflict between the Heike and the Genji, the story presents many vignettes of resounding battles, brave warriors, sad ladies, cowardice, and treachery.) |
BASE de DATOS, Biblioteca del Centro Cultural de la Embajada de Japon
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