Episode Summaries

Episode 1: Exile of the Abbot

Meiun, Abbot of Mount Hiei, is denounced by Saiko, to Go-Shirakawa; Go-Shirakawa sends Meiun into exile in Izu. Meiun’s exile greatly angers the monks of Mount Hiei, who now see Saiko and his sons as a threat. The priest Chōken accompanies Meiun on the first leg of his exile as far as Awazu, where both lamented their parting. At this juncture, the Taira are supportive of Meiun and the monks, not Go-Shirakawa.

Episode 1 Notes

Meiun (明雲) is the religious name taken by Fujii no Matsueda when he was ordained. When Meiun is censured, he is stripped of his religious name. Abe no Yasuchika's comment on the name Meiun draws attention the the two radicals (parts of Chinese characters) making up the first character of Meiun's name. "Mei" is composed of the radicals meaning sun (日) and moon (月).
Chōken would go on to be an important mediating figure between the Minamoto, victors of the Genpei War, and the court.
The name Awazu is homophonous with a word meaning "not to meet," an allusion that emphasizes the pathos of the situation.
Shakyamuni is the historical Buddha and the founder of Buddhism in what is now India. Here and elsewhere, we see Japan portrayed as "remote, like a few scattered grains of millet," a characterization that stresses the geographical distance between Japan and the homeland of Buddhism (southern India). This geographic distance is also a temporal one with cosmological consequences: the havoc of the Genpei War reveals the disintegration of Buddhist order over time.
Women customarily were forbidden from ascending holy mountains like Mt. Hiei because they were characterized as being impure and inferior.
Higashi-Sakamoto is at the base of Mt. Hiei on the side closest to Lake Biwa.

Episode 2: The Adept Yixing

The monks of the Jūzenji Shrine are described as being extremely angered over the exile of Meiun. Through this chapter they search for him in many directions to bring him out of exile. They eventually find him in the temple of Otsu. Meiun is found, however he is very hesitant on coming back. However Adept Yukie convinces him to come by essentially a physical intimidation kind of mean. Meiun shows great appreciation towards the men almost like a teacher and student relationship in a Chinese Confucianism fashion. His story was compared to the story of Adept Yixing in this chapter. Yixing was the chaplain of Emperor Xuanzong, who was exiled and was shown the 9 Luminaries. This is a collection of hymns.

Episode 2 Notes

Jūzenji Gongen (the Jūzenji avatar) is worshipped at Jūzenji temple, part of the Enryakuji complex on Mt. Hiei, and located at Higashi-Sakamoto.
The Sannō ("King of the Mountain") deity is the base kami, or native Japanese god, resident on Mt. Hiei. For more information, see: https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Hiei.
A map of the environs of Lake Biwa can be found here.
Portrayal of fighting monks from the Tale of the Heike Illustrated Scroll, 17th c. (insert image of fighting monk).
Kōfukuji and Miidera are rivals to Enryakuji for political power. Miidera actually sits in the Higashi-Sakamoto area, while Kōfukuji, its parent temple, is one of the oldest temples in Japan and is located in the former capital at Nara.
Emperor Xuanzong is particularly famous in Japan because of his love for the beautiful consort Yang Guifei. Yang Guifei and her family took advantage of the emperor's favor and rose to considerable power before being overthrown by Xuanzong's troops; Xuanzong in the end was forced to have Yang Guifei executed. While on the one hand their relationship is a cautionary tale for powerful men (it is referenced in the Giō episode of Book One as well), the story is beloved in Japan as a tragic love story, a perspective introduced in the poem "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" (Ch: 長恨歌) by Bai Juyi (772-846 CE), a Tang-period poet from China who enjoyed extreme popularity among the Japanese elite during the Heian period. For more information on the poem, see: https://www.ancient.eu/article/888/song-of-everlasting-sorrow/. For a translation into English, see: http://www.musicated.com/syh/TangPoems/EverlastingRegret.htm

Episode 3: The Execution of Saikō

Saikō was described as being completely unaware of his impending doom and what was to unfold. Tada no Yukitsuna sells out Naritsune, the Cloistered Emperor, and many more in order to stay alive since he also plotted against Taira no Kiyomori. Taira no Kiyomori arrests all who were associated with them. Kiyomori personally interrogates Saikō, who shows no fear. He insults Kiyomori, chastising him for aspiring to rise above his appropriate position. Saikō is tortured horribly: among other things, his limbs were broken. Saikō confesses, is finally executed, and so are all of his male relatives. The episode ends with the narrator's condemnation of their behavior and their treatment of those protected by the Sannō deity.

Episode 3 Notes

For hitatare, see here.
Note that the warriors are described as carrying bows and arrows: at this stage in Japanese history, the bow and arrow, rather than the sword, were the most common weapons associated with fighting men. They "swept in line gathering clouds or mists" (p. 76): this is a formulaic description used often in battle scenes to evoke a large army -- the grounds were so thick with warriors, one couldn't see through them.
Nishi-Hachijō is the second of the Taira main residences, along with Rokuhara.

Episode 4: The Lesser Remonstrance

Narichika panics. Taira no Shigemori, who is Narichika's brother-in-law, negotiates with Kiyomori on Narichika’s behalf, pleading for his life. Shigemori then tells the Taira housemen not to obey Kiyomori. Narichika’s house attendants run back to Narichika’s estate and inform Narichika's family of Kiyomori's plans. Narichika’s wife flees with their children to Unrin-in temple.

Episode 4 Notes

For more on Enma and the Great Mirror of Truth, see here. http://www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/dictio/choukoku/enma.html
Han Gaozu was a Chinese emperor, and Xiao He, Fan Kuai, Han Xin, and Peng Yue were all ministers serving him. For more on Gaozu, see: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gaozu-emperor-of-Han-dynasty. For Xiao He, see: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Xiao-He. For Fan Xin, see: http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Han/personsfankuai.html. For Han Xin, see: http://www.china.org.cn/top10/2011-08/26/content_23291459_6.htm. For Peng Yue, see: http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Han/personspengyue.html.
Chao Cuo, Zhou, and Wei (2nd c. BCE) all served the Han-dynasty Jing emperor and were executed or jailed due to slander by political rivals.
More on Jizō, who remains a very popular bodhisattva and protector children and travelers, can be found here: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2012/03/31/our-lives/a-guide-to-jizo-guardian-of-travelers-and-the-weak/#.WyEMtaknb_Q.
Mt. Koya is a popular pilgrimage site and place of Shingon Buddhist retreat. For more, see here (link). Kokawa temple is close by, and lies on the pilgrimage routes to Koya and other sites in the Kii peninsula. For more information, see: http://templesofjapan.com/Kokawadera-Temple.html
For more on Sugawara Michizane, perhaps Japan's most famous banished statesman who, after his death while in exile, underwent apotheosis and is now worshipped as the deity Tenman Tenjin. For more, see: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sugawara-Michizane. Takaakira is another exile celebrated in literature and culture. For more on these and other exiles, and the importance of the trope of exile in Japanese literature, see Jonathan Stockdale, Imagining Exile in Heian Japan: Banishment in Law, Literature, and Cult (University of Hawaii Press, 2015).
Unrin-in was an important site for large-scale Enlightenment Sermons during the late Heian period. It is now a small sub-temple of Daitokuji. It is in the northwest outskirts of Kyoto.
Oe no Atsutsuna (886-958) was a Heian-period courtier, scholar, and poet. Some of his kanbun (Chinese-language) poems are included in the Wakan rōeishū, which can be found in English translation: J. Thomas Rimer and Jonathan Chaves, eds. and trs., Chinese and Japanese Poems to Sing: The Wakan Rōei Shū (Columbia University Press, 1997).

Episode 5: The Plea for Naritsune

Narichika's son Naritsune is ordered to be brought to Nishi-Hachijō. He first goes to the villa of his father-inlaw, Norimori, who is Kiyomori's brother. Norimori accompanies Narichika to Nishi-Hachijō and pleads for his life; he threatens to take the tonsure if Kiyomori does not agree to spare Narichika.

Episode 5 Notes

The "latter age" that Go-Shirakawa hates (p. 87) is the "latter age of the [Buddhist] law," (末法, mappō), the period of moral decline because of temporal distance from the age of the historical Buddha. The Japanese of the late Heian and medieval periods considered 1052 CE to the be beginning of this period. For more on mappō, see: https://www.britannica.com/topic/mappo.
Naritsune's wife is about to give birth, and is in her father's house. It was common during the Heian period for aristocratic husbands and wives to live separately, the husband visiting his wife (or wives) at their residences. Even in cases where wives lived elsewhere (serving at court, for example), they would return home to give birth, as birth (because it involved blood and also often the death of the child and/or the mother) was considered to be polluting. For more, see William McCullough, "Japanese Marriage Institutions in the Heian Period." Here is a link to the article on JSTOR: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2718385?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents.
p. 88: "Ever Since Hōgen and Heiji, I have fought in repeated battles..." Note that the Hōgen and Heiji rebellions are raised time and again throughout the tale. In the medieval period, these three conflicts are generally considered a set: the Hōgen and Heiji rebellions inevitably led to the Genpei War, and men who had fought in all of them (like Norimori) positioned their identities in terms of their loyalties in these conflicts.
See here for more on filial piety and parent-child relations in the tale.

Episode 6: The Remonstrance

Kiyomori masses troops at his Nishi-Hachijō residence and plans to take Go-Shirakawa and put him under house arrest. Shigemori races to Nishi-Hachijō, where he chastises his father for his lack of loyalty to the throne.

Episode 6 Notes

Itsukushima (shrine) is the tutelary shrine of the Taira; Kiyomori was its first major patron. It lies on an island in the inland sea near the present-day city of Hiroshima, and is famed for its large red toriii (gate) that sits in the shallow waters off the island. More on the Taira and their patronage of Itsukushima can be found here (link) Blair, Heather. "Rites and Rule: Kiyomori at Itsukushima and Fukuhara." Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, vol. 73 no. 1, 2013, pp. 1-42. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/jas.2013.0002.
Emperor Sutoku was the imperial head of the losing side in the Hōgen rebellion. He was exiled to Sanuki province on the island of Shikoku, where he died. Many disasters ensuing over the next several centuries were blamed on his angry spirit, and he is one of the dead whose posthumous appeasement the Heike is thought to serve. For more on Sutoku, see Stockdale, Imagining Exile in Heian Japan.
The Toba mansion, where Go-Shirakawa is eventually installed under what amounted to house arrest, lies southeast of the capital near Fushimi. Built by Retired Emperor Shirakawa in 1086, it was an important site for aristocratic events and celebrations during the late Heian period. It also served as an early stop on the pilgrimage route from the capital to Kumano during this period. For more, see: http://www.jonangu.com/english.html
p. 92: Nishi-Hachijō is filled with warriors of all ranks, ready to fight for Kiyomori. The place is so full that those of the lower ranks (provincial governors and guards officers) spill out into the courtyard. Shigemori provides a stark contrast: he is dressed in his court robes, not armor, and arrives without a large entourage of armed men. Ashamed to be confronted by his son dressed this way, Kiyomori thows a cassock over his armor. The cassock is the garb of a renunciant, which Kiyomori in fact is by this point. That he throws it over his armor can be seen as a metaphor for his insincerity: he is a renunciant on the surface, but at heart an ambitious fighting man.
The Great Sun Goddess (Amaterasu) is considered to be the ancestor of the Japanese imperial house. Ame-no-koyane is her (legendary) descendent from whom the imperial line was born.
The sage Xu You was a legendary hermit who was so revered by the legendary Emperor Yao that Yao asked Xu to succeed him as emperor, but Xu refused out of humility. He then washed his ears in the Ying river to clear the words from them. He is mentioned in the famous historian Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian as a virtuous man. Sima's work was well known to the Japanese. For Sima Qian, see: https://www.ancient.eu/Sima_Qian/. The sage Boyi lived during the transition between the Shang and Zhou dynasties (ca. 1050 BCE). He was so appalled by the debauchery of the Zhou that he refused to eat grains produced on the lands of the new dynasty and retreated to Mount Shouyang where he subsisted on bracken until he realized that even the bracken belonged to the Zhou, at which point he starved himself to death.
Hachiman is the god of war as well as the tutelary deity of the Minamoto clan. For more, see: (link) https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hachiman.
For more on Prince Shōtoku, see: https://www.ancient.eu/Prince_Shotoku/.

Episode 7: The Signal Fires

Taira no Shigemori continues to remonstrate; telling Kiyomori that if he moves against Go-Shirakawa, he, Shigemori, will defend the throne. Kiyomori backs down, and Shigemori leaves Nishi-Hachijō. He then summons all warriors loyal to the Taira to his side to test their loyalty. All join him. He then recounts the story of King You and Baosi, a "boy who cried wolf" story. He tells his men that when he next summons them, there will indeed be need of their service. Go-Shirakawa hears of this incident and is impressed. The narrator also praises Shigemori.

Episode 7 Notes

Mt. Sumeru is the cosmological center of the Buddhist world (and therefore geographically located in India). It is portrayed as being extremely tall and having roots that go extremely deep. For more information, see: https://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=1063.
For more on Xiao He, see: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Xiao-He.
Shigemori often cites Chinese precedent; this helps underscore his characterization as a righteous man who is well aware of the pitfalls of selfishness and greed. The Chinese classics were considered the repositories of Confucian political philosophy, which is based on responsibility between rulers and the ruled, parents and children, etc. For more on Confucianism, see: https://asiasociety.org/education/confucianism.
In the parable of King You of Zhou, the consort Baosi turns into a fox when You is overthrown. Foxes were considered to be shape-shifters who frequently appeared in the form of beautiful young women to bewitch men.

Episode 8: The Exile of Narichika

Narichika goes into exile; his journey from the capital to Daimotsu harbor (at the mouth of the Yodo river) is described in a poetic travel sequence. He is not permitted to take leave of Shigemori or anyone else, and the tone of the episode is melancholic. At Daimotsu, word reaches him that he will be exiled to Kojima Island, off the coast of Bizen. His current situation is compared to his former glory.

Episode 8 Notes

p. 100: the indented portion (Tyler's "song") here is a michiyuki, or "travel sequence." Such passages are usually presented in poetic lines of alternating syllable counts of 5-7-5-7-5-7, etc. Haiku, the form of Japanese poetry most familiar to westerners, consists of three lines following the 5-7-5 syllable-count pattern. Michiyuki are not poems in themselves, but use this poetic rythm and trace a journey past generally famous locations (often with poetic associations themselves). Here, we find Suzaku gate; the Toba Mansion; Suhama Villa. Michiyuki that take a character into exile or towards death became increasingly popular in song and drama from the medieval period onward.
Here and elsewhere, warriors weep when confronted with tragic or pathetic situations. This was considered appropriate, tasteful, and manly.
Tennōji is in modern Osaka, and remains the site of the important Tennōji temple, founded by Prince Shōtoku: https://www.osakastation.com/shitennoji-temple/
The digression about Narichika's earlier exile is set 10 years before the time of the current exile.
Daimotsu is located in modern Amagasaki city, between Osaka and Kobe, where the Yodo River enters the inland sea.
Map (link) WHICH MAP From this chapter's exile maps

Episode 9: The Akoya Pine

Naritsune is exiled to Bitchū. He bids farewell to his family and is taken to the site of banishment. His father, Narichika, is moved from Kojima to Ariki in Bizen, just several miles away. When Naritsune asks his warden about the distance, he is told that it is far greater. This prompts him to recount the story of a famous exile, Fujiwara no Sanekata, who searched for the Akoya Pine while in exile in MIchinoku, to the north.

Episode 9 Notes

Other conspirators are exiled to conventional locations of exile: Sado, Harima, and Awa. Others are sent to less traditional locations.
Kiyomori's Fukuhara estate was located in present-day Kobe, in Settsu province. This is some remove from the capital, but at a site where Kiyomori had built a harbor to promote trade with the continent -- Fukuhara was, in essence, his home and economic base.
Naritsune's parting with his family includes not only his wife and son, but also the many serving women (including nurses) who would have served the family. Generally speaking, aristocratic children at this time were in the care of high-ranking servants, and spent less time with their parents.
Norimori's anger is at Kiyomori; he does not ride with Naritsune in order to avoid having to see Kiyomori.
Map (link) which map see this chapter's exile maps.?
Bizen, Bitchū, and Bingo (備前、備中、備後), as can be seen from the characters used to write them, all share 備. Bizen is in the front (前), Bitchū the center (中), and Bingo the rear (後). These positions are in respect to the capital, Kyoto.
Dewa and Michinoku together comprise the northern end of Japan's main island, Honshu, including the Tohoku area.
Fujiwara no Sanekata (d. 998) is another famous exile, who, like Sugawara no Michizane, was demoted and sent to a provincial position rather than formally banished. He died while serving in Michinoku. Naritsune's situation is compared to Sanekata's: both were exiled to provinces that had been divided into two or three provinces, hence obscuring the actual location of named places. Naritsune's lack of geographical knowledge is suggested by the narrator's final comment that one could travel half the length of the realm in 12 or 13 days, but Naritsune didn't find his warden's description of the distance to Narichika's place of exile suspicious.

Episode 10: The Death of Narichika

Shunkan, Yasuyori, and Naritsune are banished to the distant island of Kikai-ga-shima, whose foreignness is described in depth. When Narichika learns of Naritsune's fate, he loses hope and takes the tonsure. Narichika's wife sends him a letter through one of their housemen, Nobutoshi. Narichika is executed, but the exact cause of death is not known to the narrator, who conveys a number of rumors about how it was carried out. Narichika’s wife goes to Bodai-in and becomes a nun.

Episode 10 Notes

Eboshi hats were worn by courtiers as seen here. As with the other characteristics of the Kikai-ga-shima inhabitants here, this marks them as outsiders and something less than human.
Unrin-in temple was an important site for Enlightenment Rituals during the Heian period. Images can be found here: http://www.taleofgenji.org/unrin-in.html.
Rokuhara was one of Kiyomori's residences. It is located at the eastern edge of Kyoto. Here, it is used synecdotally to mean "Kiyomori" or "The Taira."
It is curious that the real cause of Narichika's death is a matter of speculation. This increases the sense here and throughout Book 2 that banishment took those exiled beyond the pale, where what actually happened to them could not really be known.
Taking the tonsure is the great step taken by Narichika's wife after his execution. It was common for widows, particularly those who were no longer of the usual marrying age (up to about 22 or 23) to take the tonsure after the death of a husband. Both men and women, whether widowed or not, often took the tonsure once they reached middle age in order to focus their attention on the afterlife. This did not necessarily require completely renouncing the world (Kiyomori, after all, had taken the tonsure), but it generally meant at least a small step away from the secular world, and, for women, almost necessarily a renunciation of sexual involvement.
The five signs of decline experienced by angels: the flowers adorning their hair wilt; their clothing becomes stained; they sweat; their eyes can't focus; they no longer enjoy life in heaven. This is a stock description of the approach of death. It is also found in 11:18, "The Execution of Munemori."

Episode 11: Tokudaiji Sanesada's Pilgrimage to Itsukushima

Lord Sanesada is frustrated about being rejected for a promotion. A retainer, Shigekane, suggests that Sanesada go on a pilgrimage to Itsukushima shrine to pray for redress, since that is the favorite shrine of Kiyomori. Sanesada makes a pilgrimage, befriends a group of shrine priestesses, and ends up bringing them on his return trip to the capital. After visiting with him, they return to Itsukushima, but first pay a courtesy call to Kiyomori, who asks why they are in the capital. They tell him of Sanesada's pilgrimage and his wish for redress. Kiyomori is flattered.

Episode 11 Notes

Tokudaiji (Fujiwara no) Sanesada is grand counselor, but will eventually be promoted to Minister of the Left. He was also known as a poet. You can see one of his poems, from the famous Hyakunin isshū collection, here: http://www.wakapoetry.net/tag/fujiwara-no-sanesada/.
Itsukushima shrine was patronized by the Taira, and it remains one of Japan's most iconic tourist locations: http://www.en.itsukushimajinja.jp/index.html.
The Itsukushima priestesses were being lovely and receptive to romantic overtures.
Kagura dances are ceremonial dances originating on the continent and performed regularly at shrines and the court during the Heian period. They are performed today as well, but have not been performed consistently since the Heian period, so current practice probably differs from the Heian period predecessor. For more information, see: https://www.japanvisitor.com/japanese-culture/kagura. For a modern performance at Itsukushima, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBrNIG6G7_I.
Fūzoku, rōei, and saibara are all song forms popular in the Heian period. For more information, see: http://tokyocinema.net/GAGAKU.htm.

Episode 12: The Battle with the Rank-and-File Monks

Go-Shirakawa wants to undergo Buddhist initiation rites at Miidera, where his teacher Kōken resides. Enryakuji objects, so Go-Shirakawa has Kōken perform the rites at Tennōji. The Enryakuji monks and the Miidera monks continue to argue however, and the "practitioner monks" start amassing troops in Omi. Kiyomori comes to the aid of the "scholar monks" of Enryakuji, and their joint forces move on the "pracitioner monks" at Sōizaka. There is confusion between the Taira and Enryakuji monks, and the practitioner monks successfully defeat them.

Episode 12 Notes

Miidera (Onjōji) is at the base of Mt. Hiei. Like Enryakuji, it is a Tendai temple. The monks of Miidera have been in conflict with the Mt. Hiei (Enryakuji) monks. For more on Miidera, see: http://www.shiga-miidera.or.jp/translation/eng.html.
Tennōji, rebuilt following WWII, is in present-day Osaka.
Omi province adjoins Lake Biwa; the area on the lake side of Mt. Hiei is in Omi province. So, the monks were raising a large force in the immediate area.
Sōizaka is on the Lake Biwa side of Mt. Hiei.

Episode 13: The Ruin of Mount Hiei

A lament for the destruction of the Buddhist law, as manifest in the ruin of Mt. Hiei, which the monastic communities abandoned (although in reality, Enryakuji continued to function throughout this period). The narrator also comments that the Buddhist strongholds and India and China suffered similar fates, all because of the effects of being in the "Latter days," mappō.

Episode 13 Notes

The Bamboo Grove Temple (Venu Vana) and the Jetavana Temple are associated with the lifetime of the historical Buddha. See: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Rajgir; http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cas/BuddhistHolyLand/Locations/Jetavana.cfm
Tientai-shan, Wutai-shan, Bomasi and Yuquansi are all Chinese Buddhist sites. Tientai-shan is the home of the sect known as Tendai in Japan (https://www.britannica.com/place/Tiantai-Mountains). Wutai-shan, in Shanxi province, is home to many important monasteries and temples. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is one of China's "Four Holy Mountains."
Mahayana and Hinayana (Theravada) are the two main streams of Buddhist teaching; all of the schools in Japan during the late Heian period were of the Mahayana stream. The Theravada is the more esoteric of the two, and is more popular in south Asia. For more on Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism, see: http://factsanddetails.com/asian/cat64/sub416/entry-5587.html. For a Khan Academy summary, see: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/ancient-medieval/buddhism-intro/v/theravada-and-mahayana-buddhism
The Seven Great Temples of Nara are: Todaiji (Great Eastern Temple), Saidaiji (Great Western Temple), Yakushiji, Horyuji, Kofukuji, Gangoji and Daianji (Great Peace Temple). All were established before the capital was relocated from Nara to Kyoto at the end of the eighth century. See: http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/six-nara-schools-seven-nara-temples.html; http://www.taleofgenji.org/seven_great_temples_nara.html
The eight schools of Buddhism include the six Nara schools (Hosō, Jojitsu, Kegon, Kusha, Ritsu, Sanron) plus the Heian period additions of Shingon and Tendai (the most prominent in the tale). The ninth is Pure Land Buddhism, which was taking hold at the end of the Heian period and is important in shaping the worldview of the tale. See: http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/six-nara-schools-seven-nara-temples.html
Atago and Takao are both mountain-top temple complexes at the edge of Kyoto.
Tengu are often portrayed as bird-like creatures with beaks or long noses (link to image)
Shimenawa (link to image)

Episode 14: Zenkōji Destroyed by Fire

A fire breaks out at Zenkōji, burning this old temple to the ground. We then learn of the origin of the founding of the temple (an "engi ," or origin story ). Specifically, we learn how a statue of Amida Buddha was created in India, moved to the Korean peninsula, came to Japan, and was eventually enshrined at Zenkōji. Such origin stories are found throughout the tale, often as digressions like this one.

Episode 14 Notes

Zenkōji is an important pilgrimage destination located in Shinano province (modern Nagano city): link to essay in this chapter.
Amida (Amitābha) Buddha is the central deity worshipped in Pure Land Buddhism. His name means "infinite light," and by medieval times in Japan, he was worshipped as a salvific figure, who would take believers to the Pure Land after death if they sincerely prayed to him, even at the very last moment of their lives.
Paekche was one of the Korean kingdoms. In 660, it was overrun by the neighboring Silla and the Tang (from China). At this time, many Paekche intellectuals and artisans fled to the Japanese archepelago and were important in bringing arts, Buddhism, and other continental ideas to the fledgling Japanese realm. See: https://www.britannica.com/place/Paekche
Naniwa harbor in Settsu province is at the western edge of present-day Osaka.
Konkō (金光) means "golden light." Zenkōji is written 善光寺, thus carrying the character 光 into its name.
The Buddha's Way and the Sovereign's Way (仏法王法 buppō ōhō) are frequently invoked in the tale. The two work in harmony, so if one is disrupted, the other follows. The tale so far has been demonstrating the increasing disruptions in both; this will continue through the restoration of peace at the very end of the tale.

Episode 15: Yasuyori's Prayer

We are back with the exiles on Kikai-ga-shima: Shunkan, Yasuyori, and Naritsune. Naritsune and Yasuyori, devotees of the Kumano gods, decide to fulfill their vow to make 33 pilgrimages to Kumano by inscribing the landscape of Kikai-ga-shima with the place names of Kumano, then circumambulating the island in imitation of a Kumano pilgrimage: Shunkan does not join ithem. Yasuyori offers a formal prayer for release from their banishment.

Episode 15 Notes

Supplies came from Kase estate in Hizen, a province on Kyushu (and therefore relatively close to Kikai-ga-shima), which belonged to Naritsune's father-in-law, Norimori (Noriyori on p. 118 is a typo). Exiles were responsible for feeding and clothing themselves, so such care from relatives or friends was necessary.
Shōshō is a religious name; when one takes the tonsure, one adopts a Buddhist name, always read using the Chinese pronunciation of the characters, that would have auspicious meaning.
Kumano was an important pilgrimage site, especially favored by retired emperors since Shirakawa, that lay in the mountains of the Kii peninsula. It houses the three Kumano shrines. (link) (map) maps in this chapter.
The lyrical description of the island once it becomes the basis for the recreated pilgrimage route transforms the land from hostile to holy and also poetic.
Hiryū Gongen is enshrined at Nachi, one of the three Kumano shrines.
Yasuyori's prayer is the first document embedded in the tale. It is articulated in a manner that mimicks the official reading of such documents. It opens and closes in formulaic style for a formal prayer.
Hiryū Daisatta = Hiryū Gongen. These are the Buddhist and native (kami) names of the same deity.
The universal vow is the vow of Amida Buddha to lead all who sincerely rely on him to the Pure Land.
Shōjō Daigongen = Shōjō Daibosatsu. see note on Hiryū Daisatta, above.
Deities of Hongū and Shingū: the three Kumano shrines are: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi.

Episode 16: Stupas Cast into the Sea

Yasuyori has a prophetic dream in response to his prayer, then both he and Naritsune have the same prophetic dream. Feeling desperate for home, they also make one thousand stupas and write two poems praying for divine assistance on each of them, then set them afloat. One washes up at Itsukushima and makes it back to Kiyomori, who is moved by their devotion and their poetry.

Episode 16 Notes

Imayō songs are generally felicitations, and often with a Buddhist overtone.
Yasuyori has a prophetic dream: such dreams are taken seriously and considered one important mode of communication with the gods.
Kannon (Avalokitêśvara) is the bodhisattva of mercy, a popular object of worship during the Heian and medieval periods. Usually portrayed as female in Japan, her thousand arms are used to protect the weak and needy. See: http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/kannon.shtml.
The Dragon God is the Naga king (originally from Hindu beliefs) who resides at the bottom of the sea and controls ocean, rivers, and rain.
The nagi tree is sacred to the Shingū shrine. Its Latin name is (broadleaf) podocarpus.
The siddham A is the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet. The Siddham script is mainly used by Shingon Buddhists in Japan to write out mantra and sutras in Sanskrit. It was introduced to Japan by Kukai, founder of Shingon Buddhism in Japan, in 806 CE, after he had studied Buddhism in China. A (link) is the first letter in the name Amida, which makes it significant here and elsewhere in medieval Japan.
At Itsukushima shrine today, one can find a marker designating where Yasuyori's stupa allegedly washed ashore (link) the photo inserted below. Can you move it to here?
A torii is a shrine gate; the most famous one is in fact at Itsukushima. http://www.en.itsukushimajinja.jp/index.html.
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (ca. early 8th c.) and Yamabe no Akahito (ca. early 8th c.) are extremely famous early poets; their poems are included in the Man'yōshū (after 759), the first official collection of poetry in Japan. Both poems mentioned here were extremely well known in the Heian and medieval periods.
The deities of Sumiyoshi and Miwa were also said to have composed poetry; both Hitomaro and the Sumiyoshi deity are considered patron deities of poetry and writing.
Susano-o's poem is credited with being the first waka, or Japanese poem (following a pattern of 5 ines, following the syllable count 5-7-5-7-7). Poetry was a revered art form in Japan -- here, we see it is able to move the gods -- and had been theorized as having magical powers by the famed poet and critic Ki no Tsurayuki in his preface to the Kokinshū, Japan's first imperial poetry anthology. For more on early poetry, see: http://www.wakapoetry.net/poets/early-heian-poets/ki-no-tsurayuki/.

Plaque designation the site at Itsukushima where the stupa washed ashore.

Episode 17: Su Wu

The narrator marvels that one of the stupas reached Itsukushima, and all in the capital are also amazed. The narrator then recounts the Chinese story of Su Wu, a general in service to the Han emperor who was captured by the enemy Xiongnu (the barbarians to the north). He is captured and has a leg cut off by his captors. He survived by gleaning from the fields and picking herbs in the mountains. Geese were so used to him sharing the harvested fields with them that he was able to capture one and tie a note to its leg; it migrated southward and eventually reached the Han palace, where the emperor read the letter and learned Su Wu was alive. The emperor sent a force under Li Guang, which freed Su Wu. This story provides an analogy to the situation faced by the Kikai-ga-shima exiles, and the Book ends with the hope that they will be released.

Episode 17 Notes

Su Wu's story was well known in Japan, and the conceit of homing geese carrying thoughts or messages home to loved ones was a common poetic trope. Su Wu's story can also be found here: http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Han/personssuwu.html. The version where Su Wu's leg is cut off appears to be an embellishment specific to the Tale of the Heike.
The Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) was the second great dynasty of China. For more information, see: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Han-dynasty
Li Guang was particularly famed as an archer. See: http://www.china.org.cn/top10/2011-08/26/content_23291459_5.htm.

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