Questions On The Tale Of The Heike Term paper

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Questions on The Tale of Heike

1. Taira no Shigemori and the Emperor Takakura have a great deal in common. They are related, because Kiyomori wife's sister is Takakura's mother. Both are very benevolent towards the people of their country. When Shigemori stopped Kiyomori from attacking the Cloistered Palace and kept the country in peace, the cloistered Emperor said, " It is not the first time that Shigemori has shown his greatness. Even so, what a lordly lord he is! He has repaid my plot against his family with kindness" (116). In addition, Shigemori promises Naritsune that "I will risk my life to save you" (98). Although, Naritsune was involved in plot against the Taira family for the second time. The tale says, "this emperor [Takakura] had revived benevolence and justice" (348) and "had always been courteous and polite" (349). Throughout Takakura's short life, he has always been praying for peace and prosperity of the people in his land. As an Abdicated Emperor, he made frequent trips to the Itsukushima shrine to pray for peace and stability. He has shown compassion towards his servants and people that surround him. The burning of Todai-ji and Kofuku-ji temples enormously contributed to his death, which came shortly after the incident. Similarly, Shigemori was a deeply religious man too. The tale says, "Shigemori had been a pious man, with profound wish to lighten the burden of his sins and live a good life" (201). He demonstrated the above quality by building a temple at the foot of Higashi-Yama and placed forty-eight lanterns. Kiyomori considered him to be "[…] a man who was innocent of Five Cardinal Crimes. He [Shigemori] never failed to observe the Five Cardinal Virtues, and so he was courteous and polite in all his dealings" (109).

However, Shigemori is different from Takakura in the way he deals with the Priest-Premier. Shigemori on numerous occasions successfully advises his father on the political matters. For instance, when he convinced his father not to attack the Imperial Palace, in order to banish the cloistered emperor to the North Palace of Toba. On the contrary, Takakura chooses not to go against Kiyomori word. Even when Kiyomori forced Kogo to take the tonsure, the Emperor Takakura did not stop him. Furthermore, Shigemori was a great general, while Takakura could not efficiently run the country.

Shigemori and Takakura's deaths are very similar, since neither one lived the full span of their lives. Both died of "karmic death" and not of natural deaths. Takakura died from despair concerning the dreadful state of his country. Shigemori asked the Kumano Gods to shorten his life if his family is not meant to prosper in future generations. Thus, he also died of the horrible state into which Kiyomori had brought the country.

2. Both of the women presented in the Tale of Heike had similar fate, because of their talents. Kiyomori picked Lady Gio due to her skill in the white suit dance. The tale says, "Their [Gio and Ginyo] skill in the white-suit dance was acclaimed throughout the capital" (21). While Emperor chose Kogo, because "she was proclaimed the most beautiful lady and the finest koto player in the palace" (355). Moreover, both of the ladies are forced (directly, or indirectly) by the Priest-Premier to take the tonsure at a young age and leave the capital. Both women go to wilderness to serve Buddha and eventually reach Pure Land and achieve Nirvana.

The major difference between Gio and Kogo is how their men feel about them. Takakura was sincerely in love Gio and was willing to hide her from the Priest-Premier as long as he could. During that time, she had his daughter. The tale says that Takakura's separation from Kogo was one of the causes of emperor's illness and subsequent death. However, Kiyomori extremely quickly changed his favor from Gio to Lady Buddha after being with her for three years. Perhaps he easily substituted Lady Buddha with another white suit dancer, thus showing absolutely no feelings towards either of the women. Unfortunately, both Lady Gio's sister and her mother became nuns and left the capitol with her. On the other hand, Kogo's daughter becomes known as Princess Bomon-no-Nyoin.

3. The Tale of Heike is centered around the Priest-Premier Kiyomori, who is an extremely interesting character. The reader watches him rise to power, rule the country, destroy temples, kill and exile people, mourn his son, and finally like all things come to an end. The tale narrator presents Kiyomori as a negative force that does not have too many redeeming values. Although in his youth, Kiyomori earned the title of Priest-Premier by being faithful and loyal to the Emperor, he increasingly abuses his power. His first major triumph was enthroning his relative, a five-year-old Takakura. Priest Saiko said, "Heaven has no mouth, but it speaks through men's lips. Since the prosperity of the Heike has gone beyond measure, perhaps the people's speech against them is heaven inspired"(41). Later, Kiyomori kills Priest Saiko and his whole family, because he was involved in Narichike's plot against the Heike. He exiles the other people that were involved in the plot to Kikaigasaima. Furthermore, Kiyomori does not respect the Imperial Law and does not follow the principles of Confucius, which state that "Even if an emperor does not behave as an emperor, subjects must behave as subjects"...

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