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PROMINENT ACTIVITY OF BIWA HOSHI 
(BUDDHIST PRIEST)

  There are magnificent drama of prosperity and vicissitudes
between Genji(Minamoto Clan) and Heik(Taira Clan) almost 
all Japanese people know. It includes episodes of
Yoshitsune and Benkei at Gojo bridge, a folding fun target 
of Yoichi Nasu, a flute of Aoba and the death Atsumori, 
sincere loves of Tomoe Gogen, Heike Clan submerged 
themselves into the sea of Dannoura. Heroic battles and 
beautiful love stories scattered among them. It was blind 
biwa hoshi who popularlized and let the original work Heike
Monogatari(Stories of Heike Clan) was deeply into minds 
among people.
  They narrated each paragrph of stories accompanied with 
the long loved biwa at cities or on occasion of festive days
of shrines and temples in front of many people to earn daily
foods. Without such activities of wandering from place to 
place and reciting them, the melanchoric stories, might not 
have been so much widely known all over Japan.
  It was also those biwa hoshi that added tastes and 
sophisticated them better while chanting. Those biwa hoshi 
appear often in literatures of Muromachi period, also in 
wellknown Choju Giga(Comic of birds and animals).

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