Burton Watson is one of the premier translators of both Chinese and Japanese literature and history. His rendering into English of selected passages from The Tales of the Heike is a great boon for those of us in medieval Japanese studies. The translation provides an exciting new look at this famous tale of warrior and courtier life in late-twelfth-century Japan. -- Paul Varley, professor emeritus, Columbia University and Sen Soshitsu XV Professor Emeritus, University of Hawaii Burton Watson has, at last, given us an English version of this stirring tale of glory gained and lost that is both accurate and reader-friendly. In turn poignant, elegant, or brisk, his translation strikes the appropriate note in each of the varied anecdotes that compose the work. The abridgement retains all the most memorable scenes and the complicated subplots, and the glossary of characters is an extremely thorough and welcome reference tool. The result is that great clarity has been brought to a text of daunting complexity. -- Margaret H. Childs, associate professor of East Asian language and cultures, University of Kansas This new abridged translation of The Tales of the Heike is one of the most approachable versions of this classic war tale; it retains the sense of sweep and grandeur of the original and includes extensive and valuable reference materials. -- H. Mack Horton, professor of East Asian languages and cultures, University of California, Berkeley

Burton Watson has taught Chinese and Japanese literature at Columbia, Stanford, and Kyoto Universities. He is the winner of the PEN Translation Prize and in 2005 was awarded an American Academy of Arts and Letters Prize in literature. His translations include Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings, Ryokan: Zen Monk-Poet of Japan, and The Lotus Sutra, all published by Columbia University Press. He lives in Tokyo, Japan.Haruo Shirane is Shincho Professor of Japanese Literature and Culture at Columbia University. He is the author and editor of numerous works on Japanese literature, including Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600-1900 (Columbia University Press); Inventing the Classics: Modernity, National Identity, and Japanese Literature; Traces of Dreams: Landscape, Cultural Memory, and the Poetry of Basho; The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of The Tale of Genji; Classical Japanese: A Grammar (Columbia University Press); and the forthcoming Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600 (Columbia University Press).

Preface and AcknowledgmentsIntroductionBook OneBook TwoBook ThreeBook FourBook FiveBook SixBook SevenBook EightBook NineBook TenBook ElevenBook TwelveThe Initiates' BookGlossary of CharactersBibliography