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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