Episode 623 – The Great Peace, Part 2

April 10, 2026

This week: how does the Taiheiki depict its most famous characters? How does it describe the downfall of the Hojo? And from that, what can we say about the charge that it’s purely derivative from a more famous text?

 

Sources

McCullough, Helen Craig. Taiheiki: A Chronicle of Medieval Japan

Piggott, Joan. “Introduction to the Taiheiki: The Chronicle of Great Peace.” Asia Pacific Journal: Japan Focus

Images

Ashikaga Takauji dressed in the style of his class for battle.
Kusunoki Masahige, Go-Daigo’s loyal servant to the end. His valorous death earned him a statue in the Imperial Palace, but Ashikaga Takauji earned nothing but scorn in the Meiji Period.
Armor belonging to Ashikaga Takauji (sans shoulder guards). Now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The siege of Akasaka Castle. From a later emaki scroll. Date unknown.