Those who have heard of translator Royall Tyler are likely to have done so through his translation of The Tale of Genji, but that’s far from his only work. He’s brought a number of classics of Japanese literature into English, and today’s selection provides another fascinating glimpse into the country’s history. However, as well as being a standalone book, it’s a companion of sorts to another of Tyler’s translations, and a further exploration of a period of Japanese history that was, to say the least, rather bloody…
*****
The Dawn of the Warrior Age: War Tales from Medieval Japan (review copy courtesy of Columbia University Press) brings together three historical accounts from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Each looks at a different uprising or rebellion, with infighting between the major clans leading to sieges and full-scale battles, where leading warriors were forced to decide which side to support. A word of warning before we get too far – this appears to be a reissue of a book previously titled Before Heike and After: Hogen, Heiji, Jokyuki, so if you’ve got that, you don’t need this one.
The three parts take place in 1156, 1159 and 1221, and those with a knowledge of Japanese history and literature will immediately know what happens in the big gap between the second and third events. Yes, the missing piece of the puzzle here is the Genpei War, superbly described in The Tale of the Heike, and in effect, The Dawn of the Warrior Age supplements that major work, describing how the the Taira and Minamoto clans got to the point of civil war, and later showing how power was finally wrested completely from the Imperial line. As Tyler says in his brief introduction:
The medieval scholar and man of letters Jien (1155-1225) wrote in Gukanshō, his history of Japan completed in 1219, that the Hōgen conflict had initiated musa no yo, “the warrior age”.
Introduction, p.ix (Columbia University Press, 2024)
I’m not going to argue, and it’s certainly all a little different from the poetry and skirt-chasing of the (Hikaru) Genji era.
All three of the accounts begin with political intrigue. In ‘The Tale of the Hōgen Years’, Retired Emperor Sutoku is rather miffed after his younger brother Go-Shirakawa ascends to the throne, with Sutoku waiting only for his father’s death to attempt to seize power. Three years on, ‘The Tale of the Heiji Years’ sees the ambitious nobleman Fujiwara no Nobuyori’s own power grab opposed by the heads of the Taira clan, leading to a battle in the streets of the capital. The final part, ‘An Account of the Jōkyū Years’, features another retired emperor, Go-Toba, who decides it’s time to curb the power of the Kamakura Shōgunate, with disastrous results.
However, most readers will probably be here for the fighting, and they won’t be disappointed. We’re treated to sieges of palaces, hand-to-hand combat in the streets of Kyoto and battles in the countryside between the capital and the eastern provinces. As was the case with The Tale of the Heike, Tyler lends affairs an epic Greek feel at times, with famous warriors announcing themselves to their enemies and challenging all-comers to face them – or, at times, ridiculing them:
…”I guard this gate – I, Tametomo. You are no worthy opponent for me. If you are a Taira underling, then withdraw now. Not even your lord, Kiyomori, is worthy of me.”
‘The Tale of the Hōgen Years’, p.37
It seems that no skirmish can begin without a bit of obligatory boasting, with much hot air expelled before any blood is shed.
Interestingly, though, it’s not all heroics, and there are a few examples of those who believe that discretion is somewhat more than the better part of valour. The prime example here is Nobuyori, who, after instigating the events of the Heiji years, seems rather reluctant to get involved:
He rose with the others to mount his horse, but his knees were shaking so badly that he could hardly walk, and he only barely got down the Shishinden steps. On reaching his horse he got just one foot in a stirrup before the clattering of the plates of armor skirts started him trembling so violently that he could go no further. A man of his came and lifted him up, only to have his lord lurch straight over the saddle and crash headfirst to the ground on the horse’s left side.
‘The Tale of the Heiji Years’, p.125
Ouch – a prime example of history being written by the winners!
One interesting aspect of The Dawn of the Warrior Age is the way that despite the focus on the warriors, there’s also space to examine the effect on those not involved in the fighting. The victors delight in setting fire to the palaces of the losers, not caring that the wind will spread the flames and destroy the homes of thousands of common folk. Of course, there’s also the effect the conflicts have on the families, the wives and children, of those who get involved:
There was ice along the Otowa River, and a strong wind blew down from the mountains. Icicles hung all along the way, and once more the sky grew dark with snow. She could not even see where she was going. The children walked at first, urged on by their mother, but in time their feet swelled and bled. Sometimes they fell, and sometimes they just sat down in the snow, crying, “I’m cold, so cold, I don’t know what to do!”
‘The Tale of the Heiji Years’, p.157
Many of these children are to end up executed lest they should attempt to avenge their dead fathers when they reach adulthood. As we’re to see, it’s a cruel, but prudent custom, with the second piece introducing us to a babe in arms who will grow up to become a major thorn in the Heike side…
Tyler’s work is excellent as ever, and anyone who’s read his translation of The Tale of the Heike will instantly recognise the style. It’s nice to have the same person working on these stories, with the two (or four) books taking us through almost a century of Japanese history and introducing us to legends such as Taira no Kiyomori and Minamoto no Yoshitsune, men who are to play pivotal roles in the Genpei War. As you’d expect, Tyler provides the usual extras, including several useful maps of Kyoto and central Japan, copious endnotes, a summary of the significant figures mentioned and some family trees, too. All very helpful for when your memory temporarily fails you…
…which it inevitably will. In truth, this is not the lightest of reads, and even those who, like myself, are familiar with The Tale of the Heike, may find themselves scratching their heads at times. There are often simply too many names introduced in a short time to really get your head around properly, and I challenge anyone to retain more than a few of the more pivotal ones. If you’ve never dabbled in the history of the period before, then I certainly wouldn’t suggest this as a starting point – this is a book for those more comfortable with classic Japanese literature.
However, if you fell down that particular rabbit hole a while back, then this is definitely a work I’d recommend. I reread The Tale of the Heike a while back, but I suspect that next time around, I’ll be reading the two books together and enjoying a leisurely stroll through all four conflicts in chronological order. There’s a lot to like about The Dawn of the Warrior Age, whether you’re here for the politics or the posturing warriors, so if you’ve already enjoyed plunging into the Genpei War, I’d suggest branching out and hearing about the lesser conflicts, too – no warhorse required 