GajimaruClassics.
The Tale of the HeikeOn the coverThe Drowning of Taira Tomomori at the Battle of Dan-no-ura, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1844
The Tale of the Heike
The proud Taira clan rises to rule Japan and is then swept away in a few violent years by the rival Minamoto, in a sequence of battles, exiles, and lamentations. Japan’s great warrior epic, suffused with Buddhist sorrow at the impermanence of all glory.
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The soul of samurai literature, thrilling in its battles and heartbreaking in its sense that the mighty must fall. Few works hold action and elegy so beautifully in the same breath.
Folklore in this book
The Grove · Japanese folkloreThe yōkai and spirits of the Japanese night, drawn by Toriyama Sekien two and a half centuries ago and walking out of the tales of Lafcadio Hearn.Tengu · Yuki-onna · Rokurokubi · Nurarihyon and 38 moreEnter the realm →Setting12th-century Japan
The end of Japan's courtly Heian age, as power passes from perfumed aristocrats to armoured warriors, and a Buddhist conviction that nothing lasts colours every triumph with grief.