The Tale of the Heike is an epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). Heike (平家) refers to the Taira (平), hei being the on'yomi reading of the first kanji and "ke" (家) means family. Note that in the title of the Genpei War, "hei" is in this combination read as "pei" and the "gen" (源) is the first kanji used in the Minamoto clan's name.
Detail of a screen painting depicting scenes from The Tales of Heike
Battle scenes from the Tale of Heike, early 17th century
"Kogō" and "The Imperial Procession to Ōhara"
Battle of Dan-no-ura (1185)
An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants.
A tablet containing a fragment of the Epic of Gilgamesh.
The first edition (1835) of the Finnish national epic poem Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot