The tale of the Heike

Description:

In late 12th Century Japan, one noble house (the Heike, or Taira, clan) attempts to sieze the throne, only to be defeated by another (the Minamoto clan). This fictionalized oral history of the Genpei war became the foundation myth of the Kamakura shogunate. It stands as Japan's equivalent to the Illiad, or the Morte d'Arthur.

subjects: Modern fiction,  Fiction,  History,  General,  Fiction - General,  Fiction / General,  Taira family,  Japan, fiction,  Historical fiction,  Fiction, historical,  Heike monogatari,  In literature,  Literature and the war,  New York Times reviewed,  Fiction, historical, general,  Fiction, family life,  Fiction, war & military,  Indexes

People: Koremori,  Yoshinaka,  Naozane,  Atsumori,  Takahashi

Places: Japan,  Kurikara canyon,  Ichinotana

Times: 1180-1185 C.E.