The Tale of the Heike, in the version which has been passed down from the fourteenth century, has had, and continues to have, a profound influence on Japanese ideology and cultural identity. In contrast to the lack of immediacy of twelfth-century history and literature for the minds of contemporary Western civilization, The Tale of the Heike's affect on Japanese thought cannot be underestimated:

From this age of the clan wars comes the main source of those romances that have delighted generations of audiences in the popular kabuki theater as well as in the classical Noh plays, and have formed an ideal of bravery and loyalty for all Japanese. The effect of this ideal on Japanese thought and on later Japanese history has been very marked extending right into the twentieth century. The modern situation in Japan is, of course, changing very rapidly under the full impact of technology. But at least until recently the famous names of medieval Japan have probably been more intimately present to the minds of their countrymen than the corresponding figures exactly contemporary with them would be to Western minds. (Morton 60)

The Tale of the Heike is a powerful testament to the past and a continual reminder to present day readers of the role of warriors in history. The idealized characters and archetypes of samurai behavior we find in the Heike Monogatari are unique to Japan. These great warriors, however, operate on two distinct levels. On one level, they are representations of the pinnacle of loyalty and the best examples of fighting men. On another level, they live and operate within a greater thematic context, that of a world which is in the midst of dramatic change and chaos:

Although the Taira may be viewed as both warriors and courtiers, the Minamoto who appear in the pages of Heike Monogatari are, with few exceptions, clearly drawn as the dynamic military leaders of the new age. The book's pervasively tragic tone is sustained even in the treatment of these victors: for example, in the vivid detailing of the death in battle of the first great Minamoto field general of the Gempei War, Yoshinaka (1154-84), and in the foreshadowing of the doom of the second, Yoshitsune (1159-89). But otherwise the Minamoto represent the future, and indeed some of them and their followers are portrayed in terms of the exaggeratedly superior prowess and courage that were to become stereotypical of the war tales of the medieval age. (452)

Although The Heike Monogatari portrays the utter destruction of the Taira clan* it is very much a narrative which addresses immediate concerns of both political and religious institutions. The admonishments against pride frame the text on the outset while meta-human warriors play their roles as loyal retainers and ferocious samurai. Despite the grandeur of these characters, the narrator begins with warnings which identify man's place in the universe, the failings and inadequacies of mortal efforts, and the transience of individual existence.

* Taira is the term used to describe the blood-related parts of the Heike, while Heike is used to describe the structure of the entire household complete with servants, warriors, and any other loyal elements.

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