Focus on Heiji Monogatari Emaki and explore the Description.
Today, only three scrolls of the original emakimono remain, narrating the rebellion passages corresponding to the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, thirteenth and the beginning of the fourteenth chapters in The Tale of Heiji. According to Dietrich Seckel, the original version probably had between ten and fifteen chapters, covering the thirty-six chapters of The Tale. Period fragments of a fourth scroll also exist, as well as later copies of a fifth.The first scroll, measuring 41.2 cm (16.2 in) by 730.6 cm (287.6 in), is at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; two sections of texts framing a long painting are taken from the third chapter of The Tale and relate the burning of Sanjō Palace by Fujiwara no Nobuyori (an ally of the Minamoto clan) and Minamoto no Yoshitomo. The whole scene, cruel and pathetic, is built around the fire, bloody fighting around the palace, and the pursuit and arrest of Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa. Nobles of the court, including women, were for the most part savagely killed by guns, fire or horses.The second scroll, 42.7 cm (16.8 in) by 1,011.7 cm (398.3 in), is at the Seikadō Bunko Art Museum in Tokyo; it includes three short texts from chapters four, five and six of The Tale. The scroll opens with a Minamoto war council about Shinzei (Fujiwara no Michinori), an enemy who fled the palace. Alas, the latter commits suicide in the mountains around Kyoto and his body is found by Minamoto no Mitsuyasu's men, who behead him to bring back his head as a trophy. Clan leaders then visit Mitsuyasu's home to verify Shinzei's death and return to Kyoto showing off his head.
The third scroll, 42.3 cm (16.7 in) by 951 cm (374 in), is kept at the Tokyo National Museum. Composed of four paintings and four portions of texts taken from chapter thirteen of The Tale, it depicts another famous moment of the Heiji rebellion: the escape of the young Emperor Nijō, disguised as a woman, followed by that of Bifukumon-in (wife of the late Emperor Toba). Under the cover of night and with the help of his followers, his escort managed to escape the Minamoto guards and to join Taira no Kiyomori in Rokuhara (his men however failed to bring back the shinkyō, or sacred mirror). The final scenes offer a view of the Taira stronghold and the splendour of their army as Nobuyori is stunned when he discovers the escape.The fourteen fragments of the fourth scroll, scattered in various collections, are about the Battle of Rokuhara: Minamoto no Yoshitomo attacks the stronghold of the Taira, but he is defeated and must flee to the east of the country. Although the composition of this scroll is very similar to that of the other scrolls, it cannot be said with certainty that all of the fragments belong to the original work, as there are slight stylistic variations.Several copies of the original four scrolls remain, as well as copies of a fifth, which is entirely lost: the battle of the Taiken Gate, without text, narrating the Taira's assault on the Imperial Palace where the Minamoto warriors had entrenched themselves.The first scroll, now in Boston, depicting the burning of the Sanjō Palace, is regularly described as one of the masterpieces of Japanese emakimono art and of military painting of the world in general. The second, or Shinzei, scroll is listed in the Register of Important Cultural Property, and the third scroll, relating Emperor Nijō's flight, is included in the Register of National Treasures of Japan.
Emperor Toba Rokuhara Minamoto no Yoshitomo The Tale of Heiji Dietrich Seckel ink Retired Emperor Sanjō Heiji Fujiwara no Nobuyori Register of National Treasures of Japan Toba Shinzei Seikadō Bunko Taira no Kiyomori Minamoto Emperor Nijō Fujiwara no Michinori Heiji rebellion Emperor Go-Shirakawa National Treasure Minamoto clan Taira Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Tokyo National Museum emakimono Go-Shirakawa Fujiwara Seikadō Bunko Art Museum Nijō