The Tale of the Heike is a Japanese epic poem that chronicles the rise and eventual, inevitable fall of the Taira clan, also known as the Heike, during the late 12th century. The epic consists of thirteen books. Within the first five, the consolidation of the power of the Taira with the "tyrant" Taira no Kiyomori is outlined. After Kiyomori's death in the sixth book, the focus shifts to the rival clan, the Minamoto or Genji, as they orchestrate the complete destruction of the Taira and establish themselves as the ruling house. In contextualizing the importance of this work, Heike is considered a "fundamental masterpiece of Japanese culture" on the level of The Tale of Genji. Because the epic has a history of being performed and read, the physical structure of passages can vary significantly. . Royall Tyler, the translator, chose to incorporate three formats into the text, those of speech, recitative and song. The purpose of this is to reflect how the text would have been presented in a performance context. The formats are analogous to “spoken dialogue, recitative and aria in oratorio or opera”. This manifests itself as justified prose against the right margin, "highly irregular lines starting from the left margin", and verse, respectively. When examining the plot structure of the poem, a distinctive pattern emerges. The story is often interrupted by anecdotes directly or indirectly linked to current events. This often takes the form of recounting historical precedent as a way to contextualize a character's actions or, if precedent is lacking, perhaps to note a departure from tradition. For example, when Kiyomori decides to move the capital to Fukuhara, the key of “calming influence and good judgment”. The text portrays him as a model example of a devoted son, even though his father does not display equivalent, admirable attributes in return. While Kiyomori may not be a senior role model in his relationship with Shigemori, he clearly values ​​his son's advice and holds him in high regard even if he doesn't always act perfectly on his advice. When restless spirits try to prevent Kiyomori's daughter, Kenreimon-in, from having a child while pregnant, Kiyomori takes action by deciding to "soften the living and the dead. The text seems to endorse this action as it states that “the dead angry inspire fear” and numerous anecdotes are mentioned regarding the ghosts' nefarious interference. However, Kiyomori's efforts seem insufficient as Shigemori is called in to advise him on further actions..