Welcome to our site.
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 Heike Monogatari, Volume 12, “Haserokudai”. It’s not very good, but please take a look if you like.
▼For first-time visitors
https://morinorijapan.com/en/welcome
▼Program introduction
https://morinorijapan.com/en/performance-lineup
▼Listen to Heikyoku
https://morinorijapan.com/en/watch-the-sound/
▼Click here for a list of modern translations of the Tale of the Heike
The Tale of the Heike is performed at concerts and lectures, etc., in modern Japanese translation.
https://morinorijapan.com/en/category/tale-of-the-heike-en/
Tale of the Heike, Volume XII: “Haserokudai” – A Brief Summary
Mongaku arrives and saves the life of Rokudai Gozen. Mongaku offers to take Rokudai Gozen back with him. He uses all sorts of tricks to get permission from the Kamakura Shogun. After that, Rokudai Gozen and the others head for the capital and arrive at Daikakuji, but there is no sign of anyone there. The Rokudai Gozen, who had been holding on to life with the hope of seeing her mother again, was disappointed. The next morning, when she learned that her mother was at Hase Temple, Saitouroku went to see her. When they were reunited, her mother encouraged the Rokudai Gozen to become a nun, but Mongaku was reluctant to let her go, and took her to Takao instead. Through the great compassion of the Goddess of Mercy, the Rokudai Gozen was saved for a time.
The Tale of the Heike, Volume XII: “Haserokudai” – Full modern translation of the
text, written from the Heikyoku score “Haserokudai”
After that, Mongaku also appeared and asked to take care of the young lord. His attitude was very solemn and serious. The young lord’s father, the third-ranking general, had served as the generalissimo in many battles, and he said that no matter what anyone said, his request would not be granted. However, he argued that “if we break the heart of the holy (Mongaku), how can we obtain the blessings of Buddha?” and so on, but he was still refused the request to take care of the young lord.
When he eventually went out hunting in Nasuno, he accompanied them to the hunting grounds and, as he had once again exhausted all possible means, he said that this was why he was so late. Hojo replied, “As the number of days that you promised, twenty days, has passed, I judged that this was not permitted and, out of fear, I was about to commit a grave error.” He then had the horses put down their saddles and let them be ridden by Saitougo and Saitouroku, and sent them back to the capital. Hojo also sent them off as far as he could, but then they parted ways, with Hojo saying, “I would like to accompany you for a while longer, but I have many things to report to the Lord of Kamakura,” and they went their separate ways, descending into the Kanto region. It was truly a compassionate thing to do.
After that, the priest Mongaku of Takao took the Rokudai Gozen with him and hurried to the capital day and night, and by the time they reached the area of Atsuta in Owari Province, the year was already coming to an end. On the night of the fifth day of the New Year, they entered the capital and settled in the lodging of the Mongaku-bo in Nijo Inokuma, and after resting for a while, they took the Rokudai Gozen to Daikakuji Temple after midnight.
He knocked on the gate, but no one answered, and he could not hear any sound. Then, the white dog that the young lord kept ran out from the collapsed part of the wall and greeted him, wagging its tail. The young lord asked where his mother was, and the scene was very pitiful.
Saitouroku knew the location, so he jumped over the wall and opened the gate for them to enter. However, there were no signs of people living nearby, and it felt like a ruin. The young lord agonized, “The only reason I wanted to live was to see my mother again. But now, what is the point of living?”
He spent the night there, and the next morning, when he asked the people of the nearby village, they replied, “We heard that you went to pray at the Great Buddha during the year, but we heard that you were staying at Hase Temple during the New Year.” Saitouroku hurried to Hase Temple and told his mother about this, and she immediately returned to the capital and came to Daikakuji Temple.
When the mother saw the young lord, she said, “What is the matter? You should become a priest quickly, Rokudai-no-Gozen,” but Mongaku was reluctant to do so and did not make him become a priest. It is said that he took Rokudai Gozen to Takao and supported his mother as well. The great compassion of the Goddess of Mercy saves both the guilty and the innocent, and there have been many such examples since ancient times, but it is truly something to be grateful for.
▼Click here for a list of modern translations of the Tale of the Heike
*The Tale of the Heike is performed at concerts and lectures, etc., in modern Japanese translation.
https://morinorijapan.com/category/tale-of-the-heike/
Thank you for reading this far.
I hope to see you somewhere someday.
