Book 6 of Tale of the Heike explores the early life of the Late Emperor Takakura by describing his life as an emperor, to attempt to appease his spirit after his death. Besides the Late emperor Takakura, this book retell's the karmic events leading to Kiyomori's downfall, and eventual death. This book also details the uprising and the early stages of the war between the Taira and the Minamoto.
Below are four story arcs found within Book Six:
The first few episodes of Book Six talk about the death of Retired Emperor Takakura and act as a eulogy of sorts by sharing a few anecdotes about what made him such a well loved emperor.
Episodes 5 and 6 focus on the beginning of the uprisings against the Taira and includes detailed information on which families and areas switched from the Taira clan to the Minamoto clan. See the maps section for the geographic relevance of who switched.
Similar to how the first few episodes were a eulogy to Takakura, these episodes tell the story of Kiyomori's death and some of the tales and legends about him that soon spread throughout the populace of Japan.
The last two episodes detail some early battles between the Taira and the Minamoto. They mainly serve to depict the turning point in the war, the beginning of the end of the Taira, and the rise of Minamoto with Yoritomo as its budding leader.