Terminology and Translations

Terminology and Translations In Japa nese studies, scholars within the same field frequently disagree on appropriate terminology and translations, perhaps much more so if they belong to different disciplines. In our view, this is not necessarily a prob lem, since variations may in fact indicate the actual historical usage of a term and point out the differences more clearly between modern and premodern linguistic usages. Thus, while we recognize the importance of consistency and have indeed encouraged it, the observant reader will also find variations within this book, although they are relatively few and should not prevent interested readers from engaging with the general arguments. Although Japa nese terms have, unavoid- ably, been used throughout this book, we have provided translations both in the individual chapters and in the glossary- index at the end of the book. We have followed common academic practices in citing Japa nese names with the sur- name first, followed by the given name. When appropriate, we have retained the genitive no in the names of individuals from large and high- ranking families (e.g., Fujiwara no Michinaga), since that was the practice during the Heian era. For years and dates, we use the generally accepted hybrid form, that is, giving the Western year followed by the month and day of the lunar calendar. Japa nese era names are consistently listed in the notes to facilitate the location of entries in diaries that are cited in this study. Readers may notice that the essays in this book avoid the use of the term clan, although it is commonly found in English- language scholarship on this period in Japa nese history. The term clan is problematic in its implication of large- scale corporate identity and extended- familial cohesion, conditions that were not found in the late Heian period. Smaller- scale social structures such as houses, lineages, and families, rather than large extended clans, wer e the meaning- ful po liti cal units in twelfth- century Japan. The people to whose action and memory this book is devoted were, specifically, the descendants of Taira no Masamori (?–1121), as opposed to members of the other several lineages that bear the Taira name (not all of whom were related by blood). This par tic u lar Taira lineage is referred to by several names interchangeably in the vari ous chapters of this volume: Ise Taira, Heishi, and Heike. “Ise Taira” reflects Masamori’s family’s recent origins as provincial officials in Ise Province xiii xiv Terminology and Translations (modern Mie Prefecture) and distinguishes them from other Taira lineages. Heishi is a Sino- Japanese term commonly used by historians to refer to the families bearing the name Taira who emerged in the early ninth cen tury and can be subdivided into vari ous lineages. These include the Kanmu Heishi, the lines descended from sons of Emperor Kanmu (737–806, r. 781–806), which include Masamori and his fam ily group. While the term Heishi is used in Heian- period sources to refer to members of vari ous Taira lineages, Heike comes to be used to refer to Masamori’s descendants in par tic u lar as they rise in status; Takahashi Masaaki argues that the change from Heishi to Heike reflects the ascent of Kiyomori and his relatives into the social and po liti cal elite, the ke (“house”) ele ment of Heike indicating a higher status than the shi (“ family”) of Heishi. Thus the title of the war tale Heike monogatari (The Tale of the Heike, thirteenth century) indicates that it is about the Ise Taira rather than any other bearers of the Taira name. We have accordingly encouraged using Ise Taira before the rise of Kiyomori, and Heike from there on. We have aimed for a similar level of specificity when referring to the Kawa- chi Minamoto, the par tic u lar Minamoto lineage that took the lead in opposing the Heike during the Genpei War of 1180–1185. Just as the Ise Taira were in- cluded in the Kanmu Heishi, there were a number of Minamoto lineages descended from the imperial house, particularly Emperor Seiwa (850–880, r. 858–876). Among the Seiwa Genji, the Kawachi Minamoto (or Kawachi Genji) are descended from Minamoto no Yorinobu (968–1048), whose grandson Yo- shiie (1039–1106) was instrumental in establishing a Minamoto power base in the eastern provinces. The leading Minamoto commanders in the Genpei War, Yoritomo (1147–1199) and Yoshitsune (1159–1189), wer e Yoshiie’s great- great- grandsons; they and members of their line are thus referred to her e as the Kawachi Minamoto or Kawachi Genji. Map 1. Provinces and Highways of Heian Japan. Printed with permission from Bruce Batten and University of Hawai‘i Press. Map 2. Central Japan. Printed with the permission of Mikael Adolphson and University of Hawai‘i Press. Map 3. Kyoto (Heian- kyō) in the Twelfth Century. Adapted from volume 8 of Nihon no rekishi: Ōcho kizoku (Tokyo: Shōgakkan, 1974). Table 1: Abbreviated Genealogy of the Ise Taira Rokudai Koremori Shigemori Daughter Sukemori Motomori Yukimori Kiyomune Munemori Nobumune (Fukushō) Tomomori Tomoakira Kiyomori m. Tokiko Shigehira Tokushi (Kenreimon’in) Emperor m. Emperor Takakura Antoku Seishi, m. Motozane Emperor Masamori Tadamori Daughter, m. Takafusa Kanmu Tsunemasa Tsunemori Atsumori Michimori Noritsune Norimori Chūkai Daughter, m. Naritsune Yorimori Tadanori.

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