Book One introduces the overarching theme of The Tale of the Heike: "The arrogant will not long endure: They are like a dream on one night in spring. The bold and the brave perish in the end: They are dust before the wind" (p. 3). In Japanese, this sentiment is expressed by the term mujō (無常), "impermanence," a concept closely linked to the Buddhist thought that frames the tale. In the opening episode, we meet Taira no Kiyomori, who will be the tale's villain, and learn of his fast rise to power and the various ways he abuses that power once he has it. Book One concludes with Kiyomori having arranged for his daughter to be made a consort to the newly appointed emperor, Takakura. The book opens with a Buddhist warning about arrogance and ambition, and it concludes with a fire ravaging the capital, suggesting that the world of the tale is disordered and headed toward disaster.