THE TALE OF THE HEIKE, AN ACCOUNT OF MY HUT AND THE TALE OF GENJI

The Tale Of The Heike, An Account Of My Hut And The Tale Of Genji

The Tale of the Heike, An Account of My Hut and The Tale of Genji

The Tale of the Heike is an epic account of the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180-1185). Heike (??) refers to the Taira (?) clan; "hei" being an alternate reading of the kanji (character) for Taira. In terms of the title of the Genpei War, "hei" can be alternatively read as "pei" again and the "gen" (?) is the same kanji used in the Minamoto (also known as Genji) clan's name.

In the forty and more years that have passed since first I became aware of the meaning of things, I have witnessed many terrible sights... On the twenty-ninth day of the fourth moon of 1180, a great whirlwind sprang up in the northeast of the capital and violently raged as far south as the sixth ward. Every house, great or small, was destroyed within the area engulfed by the wind. Some were knocked completely flat, others were left with their bare framework standing. The tops of the gates were blown off and dropped four or five hundred yards away, and fences were swept down... Innumerable treasures from within the houses were tossed into the sky... A smoke-like dust rose, blindingly thick, and so deafening was the roar that the sound of voices was lost in it... must be the blasts of Hell, I thought... Countless people were hurt and crippled... The whirlwind moved off in a southwesterly direction, leaving behind many to bewail its passage. People said, "We have whirlwinds all ...