Konjaku Monogatarishū (今昔物語集; lit.Anthology of Tales Old and New), also known as the Konjaku Monogatari (今昔物語), is aJapanese collection of over one thousand tales written during the lateHeian period (794–1185).[1] The entire collection was originally contained in 31 volumes, of which 28 remain today.[2] The volumes cover various tales fromIndia,China andJapan. Detailed evidence of lostmonogatari exist in the form of literary critique, which can be studied to reconstruct the objects of their critique to some extent.
Each tale in theKonjaku Monogatarishū starts with the phraseonce upon a time (今は昔) (lit. now long ago), which in its Japanese reading is pronouncedima wa mukashi. TheSino-Japanese reading of this phrase iskonjaku, and it is from the Chinese-style reading that the collection is named.[2] TheKonjaku Monogatarishū is commonly known by the shorter name "Konjaku Monogatari". Since it is ananthology rather than a single tale, however, the longer title is more accurate.
TheKonjaku Monogatarishū is divided according to the region of the text. The first five volumes, the 天竺 (Tenjiku) section, contain tales set in India. The next five volumes, the 震旦 (Shintan) section, contain tales set in China. The remainder of the anthology, the 本朝 (Honchō) section, contains tales from Japan.[2]
It is important to note that the arrangement of the stories is in parallel to how Buddhism travelled to Japan. The collection emphasizes the path that Buddhism took to Japan in order to further understand what Buddhism means to Japan. First, Buddhism leaves India and becomes very popular in China. As many things have been borrowed from the Chinese, Buddhism then travels to Japan. Each move leads to a morphing of the basics of this religion so by that time it arrived in Japan, it became a new form of Buddhism for the Japanese.
The subject-matter is largely drawn fromBuddhist and popularfolklore. The anthology contains nomythology, and references toShinto-related themes are notably few.[1] The Buddhist tales cover a wide range of topics; both historical tales about the development, transmission and spread of Buddhism along withdogmatic tales which emphasizekarmic retribution. The folkloric tales mostly depict encounters between human beings and the supernatural. The typical characters are drawn from Japanese society of the time — nobility, warriors, monks, scholars, doctors, peasant farmers, fishermen, merchants, prostitutes, bandits, beggars, widows. Their supernatural counterparts areoni andtengu.
The work is anonymous. Several theories of authorship have been put forward: one argues that the compiler wasMinamoto no Takakuni, author ofUji Dainagon Monogatari; another suggests the Buddhist monk Tobane Sōjō, and a third one proposes a Buddhist monk living somewhere in the vicinity ofKyoto orNara during the late Heian period. So far no substantive evidence has emerged to decide the question and no general consensus has formed.
The date of the work is also uncertain. From the events depicted in some of the tales it seems likely that it was written down at some point during the early half of the 12th century, after the year 1120.
The oldest extant copy of the Konjaku Monogatarishū is the Suzuka Manuscript (鈴鹿家旧蔵本). Designated as aNational Treasure in 1996, it was assembled by a Shinto priest named Tsuretane Suzuka in theKamakura period (1185–1333). The manuscript was then brought toKyoto University by a descendant who was a librarian at the university for donation and archiving. The manuscript has been scanned and made available in digital format on the internet.
In this work, specific human traits and characteristics such as the ability to think, feel and speak in a human form of cognition are assigned to various types of animals. By assigning human traits to the animals and through the utilization of these anthropomorphic animals, the authorship was more effectively able to communicate the various motifs, which impart a variety of moral teachings. To be able to implement such a paradigm, the authorship would have utilized pre-conceived common traits which were attributable to specific animals. The animals and their respective traits would have been common and implicit knowledge in ancient Japan and therefore known ubiquitously. The types of tales inKonjaku which include the use of anthropomorphic animals can be broadly classified into categories, in which a particular moral is accentuated.
Many of the tales which appear in the Konjaku are also found in other collections, such as ghost story collections. All these tales, having passed into the common consciousness, have been retold many times over the succeeding centuries. Modern writers have adapted tales from theKonjaku Monogatarishū: a famous example isAkutagawa Ryūnosuke'sIn a Grove (well known in the West fromKurosawa's filmRashomon). Other authors who have written stories based on tales from the Konjaku includeJun'ichirō Tanizaki andHori Tatsuo.
Thesetsuwa ("spoken story") inKonjaku Monogatari Shū has two main purposes: religious and secular. The religious aspect is important in leading the reader into a deeper understanding ofBuddhism and what it means to the Japanese people.[3] These stories try to appeal to average people of the time by presenting Buddhism in a simple yet meaningful way, one that people from any background can understand. In these tales both the reward for faith and the punishment for sin will be immediate. The secular aspect of these tales is that they can entertain an audience as well as provide enjoyment for an individual reader.
A cryptic line in Akutagawa's classicshort story "Rashōmon" says 「旧記の記者の語を借りれば、『頭身の毛も太る』ように感じたのである。」 (To borrow a phrase from the writers of the chronicles of old, he felt as if 'even the hairs on his head and body had grown thick'.) This is a reference to a line from theKonjaku Monogatarishū, the last part figuratively meaning thathe was scared; he felt as if his hair was standing on end.
| Mythic texts |   | |
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| Japanese creation myth | ||
| Takamagahara mythology | ||
| Izumo mythology | ||
| Hyūga mythology | ||
| Human age | ||
| Mythological locations | ||
| Mythological weapons | ||
| Major Buddhist figures | ||
| Seven Lucky Gods | ||
| Legendary creatures | ||
| Other | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
