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Japanese society the roles of warriors
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The Tales of the Heike - Commentary
The Tales of the Heike, arguably one of Japan’s most famous literary works, has captivated audiences for more than seven hundred years and has inspired countless works based on its characters and incidents. The story focuses on the rivalry between two of Japan’s early warrior clans, the Genji (Minamoto) and Heike (Taira). This rivalry led to countless battles and resulted in the fall of the Taira from its position of supremacy, and ultimately brought about an end to the elegant, aristocratic rule that characterized the Heian period. Following the Minamoto’s victory, military government replaced aristocratic rule, and the seat of power was moved from Kyoto to Kamakura. The Tales of the Heike has an enduring appeal because it established the historical narrative of Japan as a military nation and the rise of the samurai class to a nationally prominent position. In addition to the Genji-Heike rivalry, the fate of the Heike, and Buddhist principles are major themes throughout the book.
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Informed by Buddhist thought, the text reflects on the inevitability of pain of loss and death, which is juxtaposed by the growing warrior class, heavily invested in warfare and death. The Tales of the Heike as well as the many plays and works of art that are based upon it concern themselves more with the negative effects of warfare on the characters, rather than the war itself. The text establishes a struggle between the refined, aristocratic culture of the court and the rough, warrior class’ brutal customs. This is portrayed in the habits of the Heike warriors, who often played music and composed poetry on the
However, with war imagination, boys are creating their boundaries rather than moving on. For example, in “Rites of Passage”, the speaker noticed that the son and his friends had become “like Generals, they relax and get down to/playing war” (Olds 24-25). This explains that even though they are young, they act mature without overcoming their wrestling game which prevents them from growing up. Similarly, boys believe they are capable of becoming generals. For example, in “Boys” while they played dangerous war game, the speaker and his friends imagined themselves, “We were the generals – we ran the war” (Tilley 5). This demonstrates that their imagination enthusiasm them to become General along with their war game. Because of that, they are unable to stop their game and move on to develop their mature men. This poem emphasizes that as long as they develop their war imagination and interest of war, boys will not be able to grow up. They will have to advance their ego from their juvenile to realize that their war imagination is impossible to become a mature
Throughout history artists have used art as a means to reflect the on goings of the society surrounding them. Many times, novels serve as primary sources in the future for students to reflect on past history. Students can successfully use novels as a source of understanding past events. Different sentiments and points of views within novels serve as the information one may use to reflect on these events. Natsume Soseki’s novel Kokoro successfully encapsulates much of what has been discussed in class, parallels with the events in Japan at the time the novel takes place, and serves as a social commentary to describe these events in Japan at the time of the Mejeii Restoration and beyond. Therefore, Kokoro successfully serves as a primary source students may use to enable them to understand institutions like conflicting views Whites by the Japanese, the role of women, and the population’s analysis of the Emperor.
Clashing swords, miraculous survivals, pain of loss, and heroic sacrifice are all terrifying yet thrilling moments in a battle. The strong possibility of death and the frailty of human life add into the suspense of battle. Yet the reasons behind the wars, death, and suspense can be overlooked. The stories behind the warriors who have died will not be told again, but the stories of warriors still alive are what give the men strength to continue fighting against impossible odds. Ultimately, the reason of why a man would risk his life in battle is for someone, or something, he loves.
Stories about war and implements of such can be observed throughout the course of Japanese history. This shows the prevalence of martial training and the profession of arms as a tradition that has not faded since ancient times (Friday and Humitake 13).
The Tale of the Heike is a collection of tales that depict the livelihood of warriors during the Heian and Kamakura period. These tales illustrate that warriors during this period spent their existence dedicated to their duty to the Buddhist Law and that the growing contention arose from each warrior’s devotion and loyalty to the Buddhist Law.
War played a central part in the history of Japan. Warring clans controlled much of the country. A chief headed each clan; made up of related families. The chiefs were the ancestors of Japan's imperial family. The wars were usually about land useful for the production of rice. In fact, only 20% of the land was fit for farming. The struggle for control of that land eventually ga...
Japan in the 14th Century was a time when many influential groups struggled for political and power and military control. Two of these powerful groups were clans of Minamoto and Taira (Allinson 54). These two samurai clans battled for power in a conflict known as the Genpei War (Allinson 54). After a series of intense battles across the central Japanese mainland, the Minamoto Clan finally emerged victorious (Allinson 54). Shortly after defeating the Taira Clan, also known as the Heike Clan, the Minamoto set up a new government in Kyoto the nation’s biggest city at the time and capital (Allinson 54). The new commander under the Minamoto government was shogun Yoritomo (Allinson 54). Yoritomo’s reign was short-lived due to his selfish grab for military power separate of the emperor’s (Allinson 54). This put Japan into political chaos until the early 1200s when the Ashikaga Clan began to gain influence across the island (Allinson 55). During the brief peace brought about by the Ashikaga era, arts and culture flourished (Allinson 55). Japanese Zen Buddh...
...ut. I need a source like a diary, either from the lord or vassal's perspective. With that diary, we can see what the lord/vassal thinks of how their lives are like. We can find out what their daily routines. The Tale of the Heike, translated by Hirohi Kitigawa and Bruce Tsuchida, may have many issues with its reliability. This story is like a fairytale, describing how the relationship with the lord and vassal should be. It is said by Wikipedia that The Tale of the Heike has “differ[ent] versions[,] [which was] passed down through an oral tradition[.]”12 The original version of the story was probably written back in the day before the battle, not in 1975. As the story gets passed down, it gets changed. We won't know which version is the real one. I would need a diary from one person on each side of the battle. I would know what is happening and what they are thinking.
A common misconception is that change always equates to progress, yet sometimes change can strip a society of its fundamental characteristics. Japan endured similar events, surrounding World War II that resulted in an increasingly Westernized country that lost it’s integrity and beliefs. In this allegorical novel, The Sailor who fell from Grace with the Sea, Yukio Mishima uses the characters Fusako, Ryuji and Noboru whom symbolize the different states of Japan to illustrate the plague of Westernization and convey the value of tradition in Japan.
The Heian Period from about 794-1185 A.D. was an impressive era in Japanese history. Considered Japan’s Classical Age, it was a period of wealth and sophistication. Peace and prosperity, high culture, powerful clans, new ideas and relative independence of foreign influence marked this time.
Shikibu, Izumi. The Izumi Shikibu Diary: A Romance of the Heian Court. Trans. Edwin A. Cranston. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1969.
The Tale of Heike describes a conflict between the families of Heike and Genji, which ultimately ends with the fall of the Heike family. The story displays magnificent battles and reveals traitors, but most importantly, it shows pride in military success. Heike encompasses many of the values for the rising warrior class while revealing the built-in undertones of the overarching culture of the time.
In “Song of Becoming,” Fadwa Tuqan displays the path of young boys forced to deviate from their innocence far too young. The poem begins with a portrayal of young boys' typical behavior, “they're only boys/who used to frolic and play” (Tuqan 1-2). Images of their “blue green red kites” (4) imply their carefree and childlike manor. The speaker then casually references war, explaining that the boys' playing consists of “fencing with branc...
The Heian period(794-1185), the so-called golden age of Japanese culture, produced some of the finest works of Japanese literature.1 The most well known work from this period, the Genji Monogatari, is considered to be the “oldest novel still recognized today as a major masterpiece.”2 It can also be said that the Genji Monogatari is proof of the ingenuity of the Japanese in assimilating Chinese culture and politics. As a monogatari, a style of narrative with poems interspersed within it, the characters and settings frequently allude to Chinese poems and stories. In addition to displaying the poetic prowess that the Japanese had attained by this time period, the Genji Monogatari also demonstrates how politics and gender ideals were adopted from the Chinese.
Our preliminary class gave a brief, yet detailed outline of major events affecting the East Asian region. Within that class, prompted by our limited geographical knowledge of Asia, we were given a fundamental explanation of the geographical locations of the various events taking place in the region. In subsequent classes, we were introduced to the major wars, political shifts, and economic interests which shaped Japan, China and Korea to what they are today. We examined the paradigm of pre-modern Japanese governance, the Shogunate, and the trained warriors which defended lord and land, Samurai. In addition, we examined the socio-economic classes of Medieval Japan, which included the Samurai, peasants, craftsmen, and the merchants. We also examined pre-1945 Japan’s policies toward foreign entities, notably the Sakoku Policy, which sought to expunge all foreign presence and commerce in an effort to protect its borders and culture. 1945, however, saw ...