'Heiji Monogatari' [Tale of the Heiji Insurrection] and Hogen Monogatari [Tale of the Hogen Insurrection]

These volumes are based on earlier fictionalized accounts of the Hogen Insurrection of 1156 and the Heiji insurrection of 1159, both of which are centred on power struggles within the palace in Kyoto. The tales were already being circulated by itinerant chanters (biwa hoshi) by the early Kamakura period (1185-1333) and remained popular through the centuries. The illustrations are in the style of so-called Nara ehon (Nara picture books), popular in the late 16th and 17th centuries, which are noted for their bold and brightly coloured illustrations - a simplified form of earlier Tosa court painting.

Note that volume 5 of the Hogen Insurrection is incomplete.

Requests to consult the original manuscript should be emailed to docenquiry@soas.ac.uk and marked for the attention of the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

Restrictions Apply

Purchased in 1941

H23.5 x W17.05cm

For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library in the first instance

Formerly in custody of Mrs. J.J. O'Brien Sexton