The Tale of the HeikeThe 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 (also known as "Genji" which is also pronounced using on'yomi, for example as in The Tale of Genji) clan's name.
Forty-seven rōninThe revenge of the 'forty-seven rōnin', also known as the Akō incident or Akō vendetta, is a historical event in Japan in which a band of rōnin (lordless samurai) avenged the death of their master on 31 January 1703. The incident has since become legendary. It is one of the three major adauchi vendetta incidents in Japan, alongside the Revenge of the Soga Brothers and the Igagoe vendetta. The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless after their daimyō (feudal lord) Asano Naganori was compelled to perform seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a powerful court official named Kira Yoshinaka.
Kabuki-zaKabuki-za in Ginza is the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional kabuki drama form. The Kabuki-za was originally opened by a Meiji era journalist, Fukuchi Gen'ichirō. Fukuchi wrote kabuki dramas in which Ichikawa Danjūrō IX and others starred; upon Danjūrō's death in 1903, Fukuchi retired from the management of the theater. The theater is now run by the Shochiku Corporation which took over in 1914. The original Kabuki-za was a wooden structure, built in 1889 on land which had been either the Tokyo residence of the Hosokawa clan of Kumamoto, or that of Matsudaira clan of Izu.
Jidaimonoare Japanese kabuki or jōruri plays that feature historical plots and characters, often famous samurai battles. These are in contrast to sewamono, contemporary plays, which generally focus on commoners and domestic issues. 'Jidaimono' is usually translated as "period plays". Film and television productions in this mode are called jidaigeki, and share many of the same features.
Oiran花魁 is a collective term for the highest-ranking courtesans in Japanese history, who were considered to be above common prostitutes (known as woman of pleasure) for their more refined entertainment skills and training in the traditional arts. Divided into a number of ranks within this category, the highest rank of oiran were the tayū, who were considered to be set apart from other oiran due to their intensive training in the traditional arts.
Chōnin町人 was a social class that emerged in Japan during the early years of the Tokugawa period. In the social hierarchy, it was considered subordinate to the samurai warrior class. The chōnin emerged in joka-machi or castle towns during the sixteenth century. The majority of chōnin were merchants, but some were craftsmen. 農民 were not considered chōnin. Later, peasants, servants, and workers were also considered members of the social class.
