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This is the website of MORINORI, which holds small Heikyoku (a performance of the Heike Monogatari accompanied by Heike biwa) concerts and lectures. On this page, we introduce a modern translation of the summary of the Heike Monogatari, Volume 11, “Dannourakassen”. It’s not very good, but please take a look if you like. We also introduce a small Heikyoku concert, “The Last Sea, Dannoura,” in the second half.
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A simple summary of the eleventh volume of the Tale of the Heike, “Dannourakassen”
The Genji and Heike armies prepared for battle and raised a battle cry at the same time. The sound reached the heavens and even the earth-gods were startled. The new middle-in-charge, Taira no Tomomori, encouraged his soldiers and ordered them to fight without sparing their lives. Later, the new middle councillor Tomori reported to the Minister on the state of the Awa no Tami no Sukenori and asked for permission to behead him, but the Minister refused. The Heike divided their 1,000-odd ships into three groups, with the Yamaga no Hyoudo no Hidehito acting as the vanguard, the Matsuura clan following in the second line, and the court nobles guarding the rear. Hidehito Hyoudoji of Yamaga led 500 elite troops and fired their arrows all at once. On the other hand, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the leader of the Genji, was unable to withstand the shields and armor and received many arrows. The Heike were confident of victory and raised a cry of joy.
The Tale of the Heike, Volume 11, “The Battle of Dannoura” – Full modern translation
This is a modern translation of the text taken from the Heikyoku score “Dannourakassen”.
After that, the Genji and Heike armies prepared for battle and raised a battle cry together.
The sound reached the heavens and even the earth gods seemed to be startled. The new middle-ranking councillor, Taira no Tomomori, stepped forward to the ship’s roof and shouted, “Even the great generals and heroes of Japan, China and India, are powerless when their time is up. But while we may value our honor, we should not value our lives. This is our last battle, so let us fight without thinking of retreat. That is all.”
Hida no Saburozaemon Kagetune responded to this by saying, “Listen to this, samurai. Kazusa no Akushichibyoue stepped forward and said, “The warriors of the Bando region are eloquent on horseback, but when do they train for fighting on boats? This is like fish climbing trees. I will catch each one of you and throw you into the sea.”
Jirobyoue from Etchu also stepped forward and said, “If you want to fight, you should fight with the general, Genkurou(Yoshitsune). Genkurou is short and pale, and has a few teeth sticking out. However, he always changes his armor and his straight-sleeved undergarment, so it will be difficult to tell him apart.” Akushichibyoue then said, “What is that young man? Even if he is brave, how much can he do? I’ll trap him in the sea with one arm.”
After giving this order, the new Minister of the Left, Tomomori, went to the Minister’s ship and said, “The soldiers on our side look good today. However, it seems that only the Awa no Minbu Shigeyoshi has changed his mind. I will receive your order and behead him.” The Minister said, “How can a person who has served you be beheaded when he has done nothing wrong? Call Shigeyoshi.”
Awa no minbu Shigeyoshi, wearing a kariginu coat of paulownia-tree patterned fabric and a suit of armor made of washed leather, bowed before the Minister. The Minister said, “Is that Shigeyoshi?” “Yes.” “Tell the people of Shikoku to fight. They seem timid today.” Shigeyoshi said, “Why should they be timid?” and left the Minister’s presence. The new Minister of the Right, Tomomori, said, “I hate that guy. I’m going to chop off his head,” and gripped his sword so tightly that he almost broke the handle, but he couldn’t do it because the Minister wouldn’t allow it, so he ended up not being able to do it.
After that, the Heike divided their 1,000-odd ships into three groups. First, Hyoudoujihidetou of Yamaga led the vanguard with 500-odd ships, followed by the second group of 300-odd ships from the Matsuura clan, and the rearguard of 200-odd ships from the Kindachi clan. In particular, Hyoudoujihidetou of Yamaga was the strongest archer in Kyushu, and there was no one who could match him, but he selected 500 ordinary elite archers and had them stand at the front and back of the ship, and they fired 500 arrows at once.
The Genji also had over 3,000 ships, but they did not know where the elite troops were. In particular, the Genji’s general Minamoto no Yoshitsune was unable to withstand the shields and armor, and was hit by arrows. The Heike side, confident of victory, beat the war drums and raised a cry of joy.
▼Click here for the rest of the story, “Touya”.
https://morinorijapan.com/tale-of-the-heike/touya
The final sea, Dannoura. Click here for the concert feature page
https://morinorijapan.com/heike-tale-final-sea-dannoura
Thank you for reading this far.
I hope to see you somewhere someday.
