The Cardinal Review Vol. 3 No. 2 Growth

2 Thirds of a Classic

By Henry Thompson The Heiké Story is a unique story that I found gripping because of its historical context, characters and themes, despite issues with the ending and how the novel handles some characters. The Heiké Story is a fascinating piece of Japanese literature that retells an important novel, the Tale of the Heiké. The Tale of the Heiké retells the clashes between the Minamoto and Taira warrior clans during the Heian Period through the Heiké and Genji. The retelling of the almost 800 year old medieval classic is done with immense care and detail.

This allows anyone who has spent time studying Japanese history or literature to see the parallels to real events that happened in Japan.

The novel goes through the Hōgen Rebellion, a civil war regarding imperial succession. The Hōgen Rebellion led to the Minamoto and Taira going from minor warrior clans to powerful political rivals. The Heiji Rebellion was a civil war that almost destroyed the Minamoto and resulted in the Taira becoming the leading political faction in Japan. This led up to the Genpei War, where the sons of the head of the Minamoto gathered the remaining Minamoto to defeat the Taira.

They formed the Kamakura Shogunate, the first Shogunate in Japanese history. The Heiké Story is a retelling of these events with slight embellishments. Unfortunately, the story is not complete. The novel only gets through two-thirds of the original story and then ends abruptly.

Due to the ending, there are a few problems in this version. The novel has many story lines that are going on simultaneously. The story masterfully makes these storylines distinguishable because of the detail of the characters. There are two warriors that end up 28