Comparing Genji And The Tale Of Heike

In the history of Japanese literature, there were tremendous masterpieces created. Many of them are still well know in modern Japan. Among them, The Tales of Genji and The Tale of Heike are seen as the two remarkable books. The literature style in Medieval Japan provides the insight of Japanese culture transformation. I argue that the cultural traits of the two narratives provide evidence of the great impact of Buddhism on society in medieval Japan where people felt culture shift and upheaval. We could found doctrines and practices of Buddhism and how it affected people’s

As one of the most important Buddhism doctrines, karma plays an extensive role in affecting the lives of the characters in the two narratives. According to the book Lady Murasaki And Buddhism, “Characters in The Tale of Genji are afraid of death, not only

In the Tale of Heike, it described many scenes of impermanence, such as seasons, secular society and the fates of characters. For example, Genji was born as a princess with high social status. However, his mother died after giving birth him. In order to prevent him from court intrigue, his father decided to lower him as a local official. His destiny was full of unknown, which predicted his great suffering in his later life. He used to be expelled from Palace, went through numberless torment, and at last return to capital. He enjoyed being in power but later the betrayal of his wife and lover and the dead of Murasaki made him taste the impermanence of life. In opening poetry of the Tale of Heike, “The sound of the Gion Shōja bells echoes the impermanence of all things, the color of the sāla flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline” (shows everything is full of uncertainty and nothing is permanent and this poem also proclaimed the theme of Karma and impermanence in The Tale of Heike. (Haruo Shirane,