Taiheiki

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The Taiheiki ( Japanese 太平 記 , dt. "History of the Great Peace") is a Japanese historical epic (see Gunki Monogatari ), written in the late 14th century. It deals mainly with the Namboku period (1336-1392), the time of the political conflict between the "north court" under the rule of Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto and the southern imperial court of Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino .

overview

It cannot be said with certainty who the author of the Taiheiki was. The work "Thorough investigation of Taiheiki" from 1470 names the priest Genne-hōshi as the author and the monk Nōrin as the finisher. This contradicts a diary note by Toin Kisada from 1374, which describes the monk Kojima as the author of the Taiheiki. The work was initially called Yūrai-ki ("History of the Causes of Security and Danger"), then it was called Kokka Chiran-ki ("History of Peace and Unrest in the State"), then Kokka Taiheiki and ultimately simply Taiheiki.

The latest English translation consists of 12 chapters of the 40-chapter epic and covers the period from Go-Daigo's accession to the throne in 1318, through his fall and exile in 1333, to his return to Kyoto in 1338.

In contrast to many previous emperors, Go-Daigo tried to evade the power of the shoguns and to rule not only nominally, but actually. This began a series of military and political conflicts with the Fujiwara , who wanted to maintain the rule of the shogun they dominated. The battles, political maneuvers and other developments of this time are covered in Taiheiki .

Like most Japanese historical epics, Taiheiki's tendency towards dramatization and exaggeration is well known. However, the text is believed to be essentially truthful. It is a source for many of the warriors and battles of that time and also documents parts of the fall of the powerful and historically significant Hōjō clan.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Karl Florenz: History of the Japanese literature . CF Amelangs Verlag, Leipzig 1909, p. 309 .

expenditure

  • Helen Craig McCullough, "Taiheiki a Chronicle of Medieval Japan". Columbia University Press, New York, 1959.

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