Heike Monogatari --- A tragic yet beautiful history.

Last time, I shared about an anime related to poetry. It was a collection of poems from the Heian Period in Japan. This time, I'm going to share another anime based on a real-life story about a clan that existed in the same period. It's called HEIKE MONOGATARI.

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Before we talk about the anime, let me tell you a little background about it.

HEIKE MONOGATARI or The Tale of Heike is an epic about the struggles between the Taira Clan and The Minamoto Clan during the Genpei War.

These two clans Taira also known as Heike and Minamoto also known as Genji have been in a constant struggle for dominance in the Imperial Court, thus controlling Japan.

Genpei war is a civil war between these two clans that happened in the late Heian Period. It started when the Taira clan's leader Taira no Kiyomori appointed his grandson Antoku as the emperor after his father Emperor Takakura was abdicated.

However, Minamoto no Mochimitsu (a son of the former emperor) felt that he was denied of his right to the throne. He plotted to raise an army to oust the Taira clan. Due to a lack of preparation, his plan was discovered by the Taira resulting to his death. His and another general (Minamoto no Yorimasa)'s death triggered the other anti-Taira forces to raise an army. Thus, starting the 5-year war.

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The anime is about a little girl named Biwa. She was caught badmouthing the Taira clan which resulted in her father's death.

Biwa has an odd eye which allows her to see the future. And as if by destiny, she met Taira no Shigemori, the eldest son of the leader. Biwa, knowing the future, told him of the inevitable downfall of the clan.

Shigemori also happened to have an odd eye which allows him to see the dead. He found out what happened to Biwa and her dad. He vowed to take her in and care for her.

The story showed how Biwa adapted to this new chapter of her life filled with joy and sadness as she witnessed this pivotal chapter in the history of Japan.

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I think it's interesting how Biwa was added to the anime. Actually, the Heike Monogatari's original source is unknown. It has only been passed down through Biwa-hoshi.

Biwa-hoshi are traveling performers who recite stories with biwa accompaniment. And yeah, biwa is a traditional musical instrument in Japan.

The most popular version of Heike Monogatari was compiled by a blind monk named Kakuichi.

I guess it's also the reason why Biwa in the anime has an odd eye. She's also partially blind.

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It's crazy how I was teary-eyed and even cried watching every episode. I wasn't familiar with the Heike, but I do know some stories about some key characters in Minamoto Clan like Minamoto no Yoritomo and Yoshitsune because of my Japanese friend who's super into Japanese swords. She told me the history of these brothers' swords Higekiri and Hizamaru. But, let's talk about that some other time!

I also searched a bit about Genpei war especially Dan-no-ura (the last part of the war) when I got interested in Nasu no Yoichi a few months back.

Now, I got to see most part of it (through anime + searches online for comparison)... the struggles, the happy times, and the sad times involving the Heike clan. It's truly heartbreaking.

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A world ruled by greed never ends well. It's just sad to know that there were people from their clan who didn't actually want to take part in battles but were forced to. Some innocent children were sacrificed and it breaks my heart every time I think about it.

The episodes of "Dan-no-Ura" and "The Impermanence of Worldly Things" were so painful to watch. One of my Japanese students who is a tour guide once told me about the young emperor when Dan-no-Ura happened and seeing it in the form of anime made me cry. It's said that Heike Monogatari has Buddhist themes (Impermanence and Karma) included in it, and it's reflected in the last episode of the anime.

All in all, it was worth watching. It would help if you have prior knowledge of this part of Japanese history, but you can always learn along the way.

So, if you're interested, feel free to watch it. Let me drop the trailer below. :)

Thanks for reading and see you around! (^^,)/

_{Historical Sources: Heike Monogatari, Genpei War}