Shin heike monogatari

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Selected for
the Festival of the Arts 1955

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Until the 12th century,
the nobility and the priesthood

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possessed immense estates,
which were exempt from tax

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despite the precarious condition
of the national economy.

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Chaos reigned
in the Capital,

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famine and riot
in the provinces.

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The Fujiwara clan,
which for centuries

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assured the security of the State,

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was impotent to remedy
this situation.

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Thus it was that the retired
Emperor Shirakawa,

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who was cloistered in a monastery,
re-asserted his authority.

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Japan was torn
between this Monk-Emperor

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and the Imperial Court of
the current Emperor, Toba.

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The nobility called
upon professional warriors,

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the samurai.

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The monks also created an army,

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which carried before it
the sacred palanquins,

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repositories for the souls
of the venerated dead.

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So began the struggle for power
between the nobility and the priesthood.

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Momentous events are inevitable...

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Our story begins in 1137,

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and takes place in Kyoto,
which was then the Capital.

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DAIEI presents

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in a DAIEI colour process

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LEGEND OF THE TAIRA CLAN