Heiji Monogatari E

Heiji Monogatari E

Translating to The Tale of Heiji in English, this mid-13th century Japanese war epic details the events of the Heiji Rebellion of 1159-60 in 36 chapters with the help of splendid miniature paintings depicting the conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans. Three of the five original scrolls are presented here including Night Attack on the Sanjō Palace with its bellowing red flames and black smoke, which is the most famous and artistically impressive in addition to portraying the primary battle of the Heiji Rebellion. Sometimes attributed to Hamuro Tokinaga, the text was designed to be performed publicly and chanted as a continuation of the Tale of Hōgen.

A Gorgeous War Epic

This manuscript belongs to the genre of gunki monogatari or “war tales” that were produced from the 12th to the 16th centuries. Despite depicting crowded battle scenes with many figures, the paintings are orderly and clear with a distinct sense of movement. These dynamic images were created by using the tsukurie technique: a line drawing is first made in ink and then filled in with layers of paints made from crushed minerals before the details are enhanced by lines in ink. Aside from accurately depicting arms, armor, horses, oxen, and wagons used in war, it gives a glimpse into the everyday objects, architecture, and fashion of medieval Japan. Armies march through dreamy landscapes with rocky hills and various kinds of trees on their way Kyoto, where the rebellious Minamoto were ultimately defeated. This manuscript is a gorgeous testimonial to the conflict that laid the foundations of the Genpei War (1180-85).

Conflict between Old and New

The Tale of Heiji revolves around the rise of a new class of military elites that threaten the power of the old aristocracy as multi-level and interrelated rivalries escalate into war. The main characters are presented in the story according to their status, thus Emperors come first, followed by Fujiwara ministers with military clan leaders coming third. The top-tiered rivalry is between the cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa and the reigning Emperor Nijo. The second-tiered rivalry is between two kuge – aristocrats who dominated the Imperial Court in Kyoto – named Fujiwara no Michinori and Fujiwara no Nobuyori. The third-tier rivalry is between the head of the Taira clan, Taira no Kiyomori, and the head of the Minamoto clan, Minamoto no Yoshitomo. In the end, the Heiji Rebellion was an unsuccessful coup that only served to exasperate tensions between the two most powerful clans in Japan, which would soon be torn apart by a wider civil war that would end with the decisive defeat of the Taira clan and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate and the beginning of feudalism in Japan.