The is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese gunki monogatari

Gunki monogatari

, or “war tales,” is a category of Japanese literature written primarily in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods that focus on wars and conflicts, especially the civil wars that took place between 1156 and 1568...

 ("war-tale") that focuses on the legends of Minamoto no Yoshitsune

Minamoto no Yoshitsune

was a general of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's older brother Minamoto no Yoritomo founded the Kamakura...

 and his followers. Considered to have been composed during the Nanboku-chō period, it has provided inspiration to numerous Noh

Noh

, or - derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent" - is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh "performance day" lasts all day and...

, kabuki

Kabuki

is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

 and bunraku

Bunraku

, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...

 plays. Much of the image that people today have of Yoshitsune and those associated with him (Saitō no Musashibō Benkei and Shizuka Gozen

Shizuka Gozen

Shizuka Gozen , 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...

, for example) is considered to have been influenced by the Gikeiki.

The word "Gikeiki" literally means "The Record of Yoshitsune", but the on-yomi of the kanji

Kanji

Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...

 for his name are used in reading it aloud – "yoshi" is read as "gi", and "tsune" is read "kei".

External links

• Gikeiki (Japanese)