The Heike Story

The Taira clan, also known as the Heike, has reached unprecedented power and influence in Japan; through strange and terrible circumstances, a biwa-playing girl finds herself enmeshed in the story of their political strife.

An orphan named Biwa is taken in by the powerful Taira Clan after their leader witnesses her psychic abilities; what she predicts is a future of bloodshed, violence and civil war.

Tokuko finally carries Emperor Takakura's child; the prospect of an emperor from the Taira lineage is a happy tiding, but the prospect of Kiyomori's tightening grip on power bodes ill.

Shigemori's passing hits Kiyomori hard; with Shigemori gone, no one is left to stand up to Kiyomori, leaving his whims and ambitions unchecked.