The Tale of the Heike

Abstract

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Meitokuki: Spirit Pacification and Political Legitimacy in the Late Medieval Japanese Epic

“…1400), Yūki senjō monogatari (latter 15th century), and Kōnodai senki (after 1538), along with the Kōnodai kōki (The chronicle of the latter [battle] of Kōnodai; after 1564), all carry, in one form or other, the story of Kumagai Naozane (1141-1208). 11 A vassal of Minamoto Yoritomo (who destroyed the Taira and founded the Kamakura shogunate), Kumagai, according to tradition, killed the young Taira Atsumori (1169-1184) at the battle of Ichinotani; shaken by that experience, he entered religious life. However, nothing in the extensive archive of documents of the Kumagai family supports this story.…”

“…In 1990, Helen McCullough noted, "[Biwa hoshi] were called upon to drive away disease gods and pacify angry spirits." 11 On the other hand, in 2005, Buckley et al affirmed, "By speaking their names, the storyteller [of the Heike] summoned the dead. By recounting their exploits, he pacified their spirits and sought to save them from hell."…”