Memoirs of the Warrior Kumagai: A Historical Novel (Tuttle Classics)

“A tour de force combining a commanding mastery of historical fact and detail, a comprehensive understanding of the human spirit, and a poetic quality of expression that transforms the hearts of all those it touches." —The Japan Foundation Newsletter Kumagai Naozane was a Japanese warrior famous for having taken the head of the young and handsome samurai Atsumori. This episode has become one of the best-known and best-loved stories in the Japanese historical classic, The Heiké Story (Heike Monogatari). This book is a fictionalized version of Kumagai's own attempt to come to terms with his past—that real past which is his and that other past which he hears the monks inventing as they compose the text which will eventually become The Heiké Story. As the warrior remembers his past and compares it to its fictional parallel, he evokes the wonders of the city of Heiankyo (Kyoto); the wars which raised the Taira (Heike) clan to power and later reduced it to ruin at the hands of the Genji clan; the battles at the Uji River; life in the imperial court of the retired emperor Go-Shirakawa; and the celebrated final Taira battle—the naval encounter at Dannoura, where the infant emperor Antoku was delivered to the depths of the sea. Among the many pleasures of this brilliantly colored chronicle is how the common humanity of this honest, hopeless man transcends his time and milieu to speak to us, here and now.

a Warrior Wrestles Down An Enemy Commander, Only To Discover His Foe Is As Young As His Own Son. Shaken By His Warrior's Duty To Slay The Youth, He Becomes A Monk. This Famous Encounter Between Kumagai No Jiro Naozane And Taira No Atsumori During Japan's Heike Wars Has Been Essential To Japan's Historical And Religious Tradition Ever Since It Was First Told. In Memoires Of The Warrior Kumagai Donald Richie Challenges And Upends Conventionl Versions Of This Incident, Even As He Vividly Evokes The World Of A 12th Century Japanese Warrior With Uncompromised Precision And Authority. The Result Is A Historical Novel In The Grand Tradition, A Work At Once Fresh And Timeless.

Donald Ritchie, The Dean Of Art Critics In Japan (time), Is Renowned Throughout The World As The Preeminent Authority On Japanese Film. A Resident Of Japan Since 1947, Richie Has Also Written Extensively On Japanese Literature And Culture, And Is A Regular Contributor To The Japan Times. His Most Recent Works Include The Honorable Visitors, Tokyo Nights, And Lafcadio Hearn's Japan.

In this retelling of an old tale, a warrior wrestles down an enemy commander only to discover his foe is as young as his own son. Shaken and unable to abide by his duty and slay the youth, he decides to become a monk. This famous encounter between Kumagai no Jiro Naozane and Taira no Atsumori during Japan's Heike wars has been an important part of Japan's historical and religious tradition ever since. In Memoirs of the Warrior Kumagai, Donald Richie challenges and upends conventional versions of this incident, even as he vividly evokes the world of the twelfth century Japanese warrior with uncompromising precision and authority. The result is a historical novel in the grand tradition, a work at once fresh and timeless. "Kumagai Naozane was a Japanese warrior famous for having taken the head of the young and handsome samurai Atsumori. This episode has become of the best-known and best-loved stories of the Japanese historical classic, the Heiké Story (Heike Monogatari). This book is a fictionalized version of Kumagai’s own attempt to come to terms with his past—that real past which is his and that other past which he hears the monks inventing as they compose the text which will eventually become The Heiké Story." -- Back cover