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is an epic account compiled long prior 1330 of the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180-1185). Heike (平家) refers to the Taira (平) clan; ''"hei"'' being an alternate reading of the first kanji (character) of ''Taira.'' Note that in the title of the Genpei War, "hei" is in this combination read as "pei" and the "gen" (源) is the first kanji used in the Minamoto (also known as Genji) clan's name. ''The Tale of Heike'' is often likened to a Japanese ''Iliad''. It has been translated into English at least five times, the first by A.L. Sadler in 1918–1921.〔Sadler, A. L. "The Heike Monogatari", ''Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan''. 46.2 (1918): 1–278 and 49.1 (1921): 1–354.〕 A complete translation in nearly 800 pages by Hiroshi Kitagawa & Bruce T. Tsuchida was published in 1975. Also translated by Helen McCullough in 1988. An abridged translation by Burton Watson was published in 2006. In 2012, Royall Tyler completed his translation, which seeks to be mindful of the performance style for which the work was originally intended. It was famously retold in Japanese prose by historical novelist Eiji Yoshikawa, published in ''Asahi Weekly'' in 1950 with the title ''New Tale of the Heike'' (''Shin Heike Monogatari''). ==Authorship== ''The Tale of the Heikes origin cannot be reduced to a single creator. Like most epic poems (note: the work is in fact an epic chronicle in prose rather than verse) , it is the result of the conglomeration of differing versions passed down through an oral tradition by biwa-playing bards known as ''biwa hōshi''. The monk Yoshida Kenkō (1282-1350) offers a theory as to the authorship of the text, in his famous work "Essays in Idleness" (''Tsurezuregusa''), which he wrote in 1330. According to Kenkō, "The former governor of Shinano, Yukinaga, wrote ''Heike monogatari'' and showed it to a blind man called Shōbutsu to chant it". He also confirms the biwa connection of that blind man, who "was natural from the eastern tract", and who was sent from Yukinaga to "recollect some information about samurai, about their bows, their horses and their war strategy. Yukinaga wrote it after that". One of the key points in this theory is that the book was written in a difficult combination of Chinese and Japanese (''wakan konkō shō''), which in those days was only mastered by educated monks, such as Yukinaga. However, in the end, as the tale is the result of a long oral tradition, there is no single true author; Yukinaga is only one possibility of being the first to compile this masterpiece into a written form. Moreover, as it is true that there are frequent steps back, and that the style is not the same throughout the composition, this cannot mean anything but that it is a collective work. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Tale of the Heike」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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