The New Tale of Taira (4)

Eiji Yoshikawa (1892 - 1962) is one of Japan's best-known writer as of popular literature. He wrote novels about historical characters and themes from an early age. From 1935 to 1939, he published the serial novel Miyamoto Musashi in a weekly newspaper. Japanese read no other serial novel as widely as Miyamoto Musashi. His literary portrayal of the famous swordsman resonated strongly with the Japanese suffering under the miserable circumstances of the Second World War. As a renowned literature novel, Miyamoto Musashi was a great success. Eiji Yoshikawa was very disappointed by the defeat of the Second World War and the unimaginable destruction of Japan and was unable to write for several years. He only began writing the great novel Shin Heike Monogatari, The New Tale of Taira, in 1950 and completed it after 7 years. In this novel, which Shukan Asahi published as a newspaper series, Eiji Yoshikawa interpreted the classic novel The Tale of The Heike from a new perspective. The Taira tribe perishes in the power struggle against arch-rival Minamoto. This long novel appealed to many Japanese, whom the postwar situation badly shook. A literature scholar says this novel is his life's work and Japan's eternal literature. Kodansha published 1989 the paperback version with 16 volumes. Shinchosha followed in 2014 with 20 books.