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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
I read this book over the course of my university education for several Japanese history and lit classes. It was one of the more interesting long-form stories in my opinion, and it's really cool to know this history when you are in Japan and in the places that some of these events took place (or are supposed to have taken place.)
However, this book is made better when you have an eccentric professor who is obsessed with Japanese literature jumping around, getting excited about absolutely everything in this book. It's much more enjoyable that way, and highly recommended.
However, this book is made better when you have an eccentric professor who is obsessed with Japanese literature jumping around, getting excited about absolutely everything in this book. It's much more enjoyable that way, and highly recommended.
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
To be honest, I was not expecting this book to be as exciting as it was. My hat goes off to the translator who did an amazing job at making this old military story from Japan into an entertaining novel.It is my understanding that this story was originally performed by storytellers while playing the biwa, over a series of nights before a small audience. It is truly amazing that Hellen Craig McCullough brought out the readability of the written versions she had access to.
The story details the rise the Heike/Taira clan, and their eventual defeat at the hands of the Genji/Minamoto clan. Many larger than life characters enter and exit the story. The focus is the military escapades of these clans, but many sentimental anecdotes also make up the story. There are a few characters that are introduced, but are curiously not dealt with fully. This is because they are only tangential to the main story concerning the Heike. For example, Yoshitsune could be called the main hero of the story towards the end, and Japan's rulership is pretty much split between Yoshitsune and Yoritomo who battle each other. However, we are never told the outcome of this as it takes place long after the Heike have all but vanished.
This particular edition also comes with copious footnotes explaining puns and references throughout the story. As well as appendices to help flesh out the historical setting and characters involved in the epic. This is definitely the edition I would recommend to all who are interested in reading an English Translation of the "Tale of Heike."
The story details the rise the Heike/Taira clan, and their eventual defeat at the hands of the Genji/Minamoto clan. Many larger than life characters enter and exit the story. The focus is the military escapades of these clans, but many sentimental anecdotes also make up the story. There are a few characters that are introduced, but are curiously not dealt with fully. This is because they are only tangential to the main story concerning the Heike. For example, Yoshitsune could be called the main hero of the story towards the end, and Japan's rulership is pretty much split between Yoshitsune and Yoritomo who battle each other. However, we are never told the outcome of this as it takes place long after the Heike have all but vanished.
This particular edition also comes with copious footnotes explaining puns and references throughout the story. As well as appendices to help flesh out the historical setting and characters involved in the epic. This is definitely the edition I would recommend to all who are interested in reading an English Translation of the "Tale of Heike."
far surpassed my expectations, and while yes it is true that the battle descriptions do drag a bit, the wonder of some of the scenes carries the text.
as i am sure to find with many ancient classics, especially those from classes and cultures outside my own direct experience, i really had to inject my meagre humanity into the characters to even begin to understand the motives and personhood of those who to me are such unlikely characters. very worthwhile.
as i am sure to find with many ancient classics, especially those from classes and cultures outside my own direct experience, i really had to inject my meagre humanity into the characters to even begin to understand the motives and personhood of those who to me are such unlikely characters. very worthwhile.
This was a pretty great read.
I found it an interesting Japanese story leading up to that of the legendary, [b:Bushido: The Soul of Japan. A Classic Essay on Samurai Ethics|661723|Bushido The Soul of Japan. A Classic Essay on Samurai Ethics|Inazō Nitobe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348666091l/661723._SX50_.jpg|2279634]
Would recommend it if you are a fan of the ancient Japanese texts.
3.9/5
I found it an interesting Japanese story leading up to that of the legendary, [b:Bushido: The Soul of Japan. A Classic Essay on Samurai Ethics|661723|Bushido The Soul of Japan. A Classic Essay on Samurai Ethics|Inazō Nitobe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348666091l/661723._SX50_.jpg|2279634]
Would recommend it if you are a fan of the ancient Japanese texts.
3.9/5
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fucking incredible book.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I've read a couple different translations of 平家物語 [Heike monogatari], and skimmed the rest. There are only five complete English-language translations, as far as I'm aware, all of which were published within around a century. I'll include the opening four lines in each translation.
The hue of the flowers of the teak tree declares that they who flourish must be brought low.
Yea, the proud ones are but for a moment, like an evening dream in springtime.
The mighty are destroyed at the last, they are but as the dust before the wind.
1 The Jetavana monastery, built at Srāvastī, in India, by a wealthy man named Anāthapindaka to honor Sakyamuni, the Buddha.
2 The final phrase is from a gāthā (a Buddhist text in verse), containing the following quatrain:
3 The Nirvana Sutra describes the Buddha's entrance into Nirvana in detail: at each corner of the Buddha's bed, which was made of seven kinds of precious stones, stood a pair of śāla (teak or bo) trees. These eight trees bowed down toward the center of the bed, and their color changed to the white of cranes as the Buddha began to pass into Nirvana.
the color of the śāla flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline.
The proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night;
the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind.
ring the passing of all things,
Twinned sal trees, white in full flower,
declare the Great Man's certain fall.
The arrogant do not long endure:
They are like a dream one night in spring.
The bold and brave perish in the end:
They are as dust before the wind.
沙羅雙樹の花の色、盛者必衰の理を顯す。
驕れる者も久しからず、唯春の夜の夢の如し。
猛き者も遂には滅びぬ、偏に風の前の塵に同じ。
Honourable mention to Yoshikawa Eiji's translation (1956), translated from Japanese by Fuki Wooyenaka Uramatsu. It's not technically a translation, but it is a hell of a good time.
A.L. SADLER (1918-1921)The sound of the bell of Gionshoja echoes the impermanence of all things.
The hue of the flowers of the teak tree declares that they who flourish must be brought low.
Yea, the proud ones are but for a moment, like an evening dream in springtime.
The mighty are destroyed at the last, they are but as the dust before the wind.
KITAGAWA HIROSHI & BRUCE T. TSUCHIDA (1975)The bell of the Gion temple¹ tolls into every man's heart to warn him that all is vanity and evancescence.² The faded flowers of the śāla trees³ by the Buddha's deathbed bear witness to the truth that all who flourish are destined to decay. Yes, pride must have its fall, for it is as unsubstantial as a dream on a spring night. The brave and violent man—he too must die away in the end, like a whirl of dust in the wind.
1 The Jetavana monastery, built at Srāvastī, in India, by a wealthy man named Anāthapindaka to honor Sakyamuni, the Buddha.
2 The final phrase is from a gāthā (a Buddhist text in verse), containing the following quatrain:
All is vanity and evanescence.According to the Buddhist text Gion Zukyō, there was a hall named Mujō-dō ("Evanescence Hall"), which was used for accommodating sick priests. There were bells in the four corners of the hall that tolled the words of this quatrain as the breath of the dying priests began to fail. That is to say, the priests imagined that they could forget all their earthly sufferings and enter Nirvana.
That is the law of life and death.
In the complete denial of life and death
Is the bliss of entering Nirvana.
3 The Nirvana Sutra describes the Buddha's entrance into Nirvana in detail: at each corner of the Buddha's bed, which was made of seven kinds of precious stones, stood a pair of śāla (teak or bo) trees. These eight trees bowed down toward the center of the bed, and their color changed to the white of cranes as the Buddha began to pass into Nirvana.
HELEN CRAIG McCULLOUGH (1988)The sound of the Gion Shōja bells echoes the impermanence of all things;
the color of the śāla flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline.
The proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night;
the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind.
BURTON WATSON (2006)The bells of the Gion monastery in India echo with the warning that all things are impermanent. The blossoms of the sala trees teach us through their hues that what flourishes must fade. The proud do not prevail for long but vanish like a spring night’s dream. In time the mighty, too, succumb: all are dust before the wind.
ROYALL TYLER (2012)The Jetavana Temple bells
ring the passing of all things,
Twinned sal trees, white in full flower,
declare the Great Man's certain fall.
The arrogant do not long endure:
They are like a dream one night in spring.
The bold and brave perish in the end:
They are as dust before the wind.
ORIGINAL祇園精舎の鐘の聲、諸行無常の響き有り。
沙羅雙樹の花の色、盛者必衰の理を顯す。
驕れる者も久しからず、唯春の夜の夢の如し。
猛き者も遂には滅びぬ、偏に風の前の塵に同じ。
CONCLUSIONThe Tyler translation is the most accurate, but the Kitagawa & Tsuchida translation is more valuable for its academic value. The McCullough translation is a close second to both in terms of accuracy and academic value. Burton Watson's translation is abridged and not very accurate; Sadler's is readable but not accurate, in no small part due to its age. My personal favourite translation is this one, Kitagawa's & Tsuchida's.
Honourable mention to Yoshikawa Eiji's translation (1956), translated from Japanese by Fuki Wooyenaka Uramatsu. It's not technically a translation, but it is a hell of a good time.