Heiji Monogatari Emaki (Illustrated Stories about the Heiji Civil War)

Heiji Monogatari Emaki (Illustrated Stories about the Heiji Civil War)
Vol. of the Removal of the Imperial Family to Rokuhara
Kamakura period, 13th century
Handscroll, color on paper
Height 42.2 cm; Total length 952.9 cm
(Tokyo National Museum)

During the Kamakura period it was the warrior (samurai) class which formed the core of society, and thus many handscrolls depicting war tales were produced. The Heiji monogatari emaki, of which there were several versions, though only parts of these remain, are among the best-known examples of this genre. They are based on the Tale of Heiji, which describes the strife between Taira no Kiyomori and Minamoto no Yoshitomo and describes the so-called Heiji Disturbance of 1159, during which the Minamoto clan was defeated and the political dominance of the Taira clan established. This scene shows Emperor Nijo, who had been kept captive in the imperial palace by the military forces of the Minamoto, escaping to the residence of Taira no Kiyomori in Kyoto's Rokuhara district. Taira warriors are greeting an oxcart that bears the emperor.

• Scroll Painting(Emaki)
• Screen and Partition Painting(Shoheiga)
• Buddhist Painting(Butsuga)
• Ink Painting(Suibokuga)
• Litearati Painting(Bunjiga)
• History of Painting