COMPARISON OF TWO CHARACTERS FROM THE TALE OF THE HEIKE

In addition, how his arrogant and violent behavior (character) paved the way for his rise to power, but also laid the foundation for the demise of him and his clan. The decaying of Heike power and their generational misfortune illustrate the overarching themes of the story, Heike-Genji rivalry, the consequences of rash, arrogant, violent actions, and the transience of power, no matter how stable it may seem. Before explaining the rise of the Heike clan the text explores the history and bloodline of the family. The Heike began as mid-level government officials who were given commoners status despite being descended from a former emperor. Kiyomori’s father, Tadamori was a provincial governor, who was despised at court by the Genji clan, the rivals of the Heike. As kiyomori’s power increased to that of priest-premier, he began to strategically appoint his sons to prominent positions and marry off his daughters to forge alliances and increase the domain of Heike power until more than half of the Japanese provinces were governed by the Heike or their allies.

Kiyomori also assembled a team of young men who would act as his spies throughout the capital, who could harass and arrest anyone who spoke out against Heike rule. Kiyomori’s oldest son Shigemori, was not like his father who was rash, arrogant, and violent. Shigemori was a virtuous and thoughtful man who understood that the deeds of his father would eventually be the undoing of the Heike clan. After a plot against the Heike clan by the cloistered emperor and a court noble, Narichika was discovered, Kiyomori had resolved to have Narichika executed for his hand in the plot. Once his forces had secured the capital, Yoshitaka's lack of culture became apparent to everyone in attendance at the imperial court and became the basis for the rising animosity against him.

The story gives a vivid description of the classless Yoshinaka when he insults a provincial governor who had requested an audience with him. Lord Neko is a small eater. He's just like the cats we hear about who don't finish their dinners. Eat up!" Mortally offended, Lord Nekoma hurried away without even mentioning his business. After Yorimoto subdues his rivals in the capital, he resolves to seek out and destroy all remaining Heike, and this point marks the death spiral of the Heike clan. The story’s theme of impermanence and decay are epitomized in its climax, the retreat of the Heike form the capital. As Minamoto forces approach the capital, the Taira, vastly outnumbered and weakened from their losses to the Genji, begin to flee the capital. This exodus symbolizes the final collapse of the influence and power the family once held.

Their retreat also marks a major turning point in the war with the Genji. This begins with one of the most powerful scenes in the story, the deaths of Munemori and his son Kiyomune. Not only does this passage exemplify the dying breaths of the Heike clan, but it also reveals some if its heaviest Buddhist undertones through Munemori's final conversation. Before his execution, a holy man explains to Munemori why he should not despair. Even in past ages, few men have known such happiness and prosperity as you experienced from the time of your birth on… There was no worldly glory you did not enjoy. That which is to happen now is your karma from a previous existence: you must not blame society or men. Even the theme of the story, impermanence, hints that even though the Genji flower, for the time being, they too will decay and be stripped of power.

A close analysis of the relationship between the Genji and the Heike will uncover the cyclical theme of the book, rise, dominance, decay, and death. The Taira built their power on the imprudent and tyrannical actions of Kiyomori, and for a time, enjoyed the ultimate power in Japan. But these deeds also sowed the seeds for the Genji to rise from their earlier defeat and precipitate the demise of their rivals. In securing their rise, however, the Genji took the same measures as the Heike, execution, exile, and cruelty, thus restarting the cycle of ethereal power.