Japan - Tsuruta School

The Tale of Heike, a masterpiece of mediaeval Japanese literature, narrates the rise and fall of the Heike clan. Like blind monks of ancient times, Kakujô Iwasa and Kakuryû Saitô sing episodes of the epic to biwa lute accompaniment : Vocal expressiveness and dynamic lute-playing for a theatrical evocation of heroic conflict, with a Buddhist reminder of the ephemeral nature of existence.