The Tale of Genji is a classic work of Japanese literature written in the early 11th century by the noblewoman and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu. The original manuscript, created around the peak of the Heian period, no longer exists. It was made in "concertina" or orihon style: several sheets of paper pasted together and folded alternately in one direction then the other.
Hikaru Genji (光源氏) is the protagonist of Murasaki Shikibu's important Heian-era Japanese novel The Tale of Genji. The story describes him as a superbly handsome man and a genius. Genji is the second son of a Japanese emperor, but he is relegated to civilian life for political reasons and lives as an imperial officer.
The Tale of Genji is a Japanese manga version of Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji by Waki Yamato.
Minamoto (源) was a noble surname bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility since 814. The Minamoto was the most powerful and most important clan of all four great clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi and Edo periods in Japanese history—the other three were the Fujiwara, the Taira, and the Tachibana.
The Taira (平) was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi periods of Japanese history – the others being the Minamoto, the Fujiwara, and the Tachibana. The clan is divided into four major groups, named after the emperors they descended from: Kanmu Heishi, Ninmyō Heishi, Montoku Heishi, and Kōkō Heishi.
Meisho originally referred to sites in Japan famous for their associations with specific poetic or literary references. With the development of woodblock printing and newer styles of tourism during the Edo period, the term came to denote a wider range of places of interest.
The Genpei War was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himself as Shōgun in 1192, governing Japan as a military dictator from the eastern city of Kamakura.
The Tale of the Heike is an epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). Heike (平家) refers to the Taira (平), hei being the on'yomi reading of the first kanji and "ke" (家) means family. Note that in the title of the Genpei War, "hei" is in this combination read as "pei" and the "gen" (源) is the first kanji used in the Minamoto clan's name.
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is a monogatari containing elements of Japanese folklore. Written by an unknown author in the late 9th or early 10th century during the Heian period, it is considered the oldest surviving work in the monogatari form.
Chikako, Princess Kazu (Kazunomiya) was the wife of 14th shōgun Tokugawa Iemochi. She was renamed Lady Seikan'in-no-miya after she took the tonsure as a widow. Chikako was the youngest child of Emperor Ninkō.
Suetsumuhana (末摘花) is the archaic Japanese word for the safflower. It is known now as Benibana (紅花).
Lady Fujitsubo (藤壺) is a fictional character in Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji.
Shizuka Gozen (静御前) (1165–1211), or Lady Shizuka, one of the most famous women in Japanese history and literature, was a shirabyōshi of the 12th century, and a mistress of Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Since she, like many others, are featured largely in the Heike Monogatari, Gikeiki, and a number of plays of various traditions, her story is quite well known, but it is difficult to separate fact from fiction within it.
Ashikaga Yoshikane was a Japanese samurai military commander, feudal lord in the late Heian and early Kamakura period of Japan's history. He played an active part in the Jishō-Juei War and the later military campaign as a closely related person of the first Kamakura shōgun Minamoto no Yoritomo, and made Ashikaga clan influential position in gokenin vassal of the Kamakura shogunate.
Crows Zero, also known as Crows: Episode 0, is a 2007 Japanese action film based on the manga Crows by Hiroshi Takahashi. The film was directed by Takashi Miike with a screenplay by Shōgo Mutō, and stars Shun Oguri, Kyōsuke Yabe, Meisa Kuroki, and Takayuki Yamada. The plot serves as a prequel to the manga, and focuses on the power struggle between gangs of students at Suzuran All-Boys High School. The film was released in Japan on October 27, 2007. It has spawned two sequels, Crows Zero 2 and Crows Explode, as well as a manga adaptation released November 13, 2008.
Beauty's Rival in Palace is a 2010 Chinese television series adapted from Xiao Qiying's short story Turbulence in the Empress' Chamber (未央沉浮). It was first broadcast on Shanghai TV Drama on 15 March 2010. The series was one of the highest-rated Chinese TV series in 2010.
Yoshitsune (義経) is a Japanese television drama series originally broadcast between 9 January and 11 December 2005, with a three-part special compilation being aired from 24 December to 25 December 2005. The 44th Taiga Drama, the original work is by Miyao Tomiko, screenplay by Kaneko Narito and starring Hideaki Takizawa.
Fujiwara no Teishi, also known as Sadako, was an empress consort of the Japanese Emperor Ichijō. She appears in the literary classic The Pillow Book written by her court lady Sei Shōnagon.
The Heike Story is a Japanese original net animation series adapted from Hideo Furukawa's 2016 translation into modern Japanese of The Tale of the Heike, a 13th-century historical epic depicting the rise and fall of the Taira clan. The series was produced by Science SARU and directed by Naoko Yamada, and released from September 16 to November 25, 2021 on the Japanese streaming service Fuji TV on Demand and on Funimation's streaming service. A Japanese television broadcast on Fuji TV's +Ultra programming block aired from January 13 to March 17, 2022.
