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dc.contributor.authorMayo, Christopher Michael
dc.date.accessioned2021-10-08T19:17:22Z
dc.date.available2021-10-08T19:17:22Z
dc.date.issued2007-05-31
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1808/32059
dc.descriptionThesis (M.A.)--University of Kansas, East Asian Languages & Cultures, 2007.en_US
dc.description.abstractThe primary theme of impermanence for all things and the secondary theme of retribution are widely acknowledged by literary scholars to be unifying themes in the Tale of the Heike, a medieval Japanese narrative. These themes are apparent from the famous opening lines of the tale's Preface, but interpretations differ regarding their subsequent development in the main narrative. In English scholarship, the implications of impermanence in the Heike have not been adequately explored, and the sad fate of the whole Taira clan has often been misunderstood as simply karmic retribution for Taira Kiyomori's evil deeds.

This thesis re-examines these themes to demonstrate how: (1) the Heike's emphasis on the Buddhist law of impermanence for all things in general, and the decline of the proud and mighty in particular, is manifested not only in the fate of the Taira clan, but also in the fate of the retired emperors, (2) Confucian, Buddhist, and kami beliefs function together to justify retribution for the Taira clan, and (3) the suffering endured by Taira Kiyomori's descendants can be read as one aspect of retribution for Kiyomori, similar to the practice of enza, or the execution of an offender with his kin.
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dc.publisherUniversity of Kansasen_US
dc.rightsThis item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author.en_US
dc.subjectPhilosophy, religion and theologyen_US
dc.subjectSocial sciencesen_US
dc.subjectLanguage, literature and linguisticsen_US
dc.subjectJapanen_US
dc.titleImpermanence and retribution: A re-examination of two unifying themes in the "Tale of the Heike"en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.thesis.degreeDisciplineEast Asian Languages & Cultures
dc.thesis.degreeLevelM.A.
kusw.bibid5349296
dc.rights.accessrightsopenAccessen_US


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