EPISODE 106: The Forge of the Samurai: The Genpei War Part 1

History on Fire

“The sound of the Gion Shoja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sala 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.” The Tale of the Heike

“When you grow up, if you still feel raw about it, I'll be waiting.” Kill Bill

"Let those in the distance hear me! Let those close at hand see me with their own eyes! I am Matataro Tadatsuna, son of Ashikaga no Taro Toshitsuna and descendant in the tenth generation of that Tawara no Toda Hidesato who won rewards by destroying the enemies of the emperor. Seventeen is my age! A mere warrior devoid of rank and office wielding bow and arrow against an Imperial Prince risks the wrath of the gods, but let’s see who is favored by the gods of the bow. If any among Lord Yorimasa' s men consider themselves my equals, let them come forward. I'll meet them!" The Tale of the Heike

“When I die, do not build a temple or pagoda. Do not perform any ceremonies for me. Instead, you must send an army at once to vanquish Yoritomo. You must cut off his head and hang it before my tomb. I ask for nothing more." Taira Kiyomori in The Tale of the Heike

The Genpei War (1180-1185), pitting against one another the two most powerful clans of the era, the Minamoto and the Taira, is one of the most crucial turning points in Japanese history. Movies and video games have usually overlooked this conflict in favor of the civil wars of the warring states period of the 1500s. Big mistake since the story of the Genpei War is packed with drama and larger than life characters—from the tragic hero Minamoto Yoshitsune, his brother in arms the gigantic warrior monk Benkei, the female samurai Tomoe Gozen and many others. And on top of it, this civil conflict ushered major changes in Japanese society, shifting power from a nobility made of imperial bureaucrats into the hands of landowning samurai families. In this first of two episodes dedicated to the Genpei War, we’ll tackle one of the most important works in Japanese literature, Buddhist impermanence, the 1156 Hogen Rebellion, the 1160 Heiji Rebellion, revenge, exorcisms, the rise of the Taira family, emperors struggling with loss of power, warrior monks, the battle at the Uji River, announcing your family lineage before cutting heads off, inviting the gods to witness battle, Minamoto Yorimasa’s suicide, Yoshitsune learning swordsmanship from the demons of the forest, the duel between Yoshitsune and Benkei, the Taira burning down the monasteries of Nara, Kiyomori’s death, and much more.

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