Burton Watson and Haruo Shirane, renowned translators and scholars, introduce English-speaking readers to the vivid tradition of early and medieval Japanese anecdotal (setsuwa) literature. These orally narrated and written tales drew on both local folk tradition and continental sources. Taken from seven major anthologies of anecdotal literature compiled between the ninth and thirteenth centuries, these dramatic and often amusing stories open a major window onto the foundations of Japanese culture.
Out of thousands of setsuwa, Shirane has selected thirty-eight of the most powerful and influential, each of which is briefly introduced. Recounting the exploits of warriors, farmers, priests, and aristocrats, and concerning topics as varied as poetry, violence, power, and sex, these tales reveal the creative origins of a range of literary and dramatic genres, from court tales and travel accounts to no drama and Kabuki. Watson's impeccable translations relay the wit, mystery, and Buddhist sensibility of these protean works, while Shirane's sophisticated analysis illuminates the meaning and context of their compact stories. Capped by an extensive bibliography, this collection fully immerses the reader in the thrilling world of secular and religious tales.
- CONTENTS
- PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- A NOTE ON THE TRANSLATIONS
- INTRODUCTION TOANECDOTAL (SETSUWA) LITERATURE
- RECORD OF MIRACULOUS EVENTS IN JAPAN NIHON RYŌIKI
- On a Boy of Great Strength Who Was Born of theThunder’s Rejoicing (1:3)
- On the Evil Death Visited Immediately on an Evil and Perverse Son Who, Out of Love for His Wife, Plotted to Kill His Mother (2:3)
- On Receiving the Immediate Penalty of an Evil Death for Collecting Debts in an Unreasonable Manner and with High Interest (3:26)
- TALES OF TIMES NOW PAST KONJAKU MONOGATARI SHŪ
- Tales from India
- How the One-Horned Ascetic Carried a Woman on His Back from the Mountains to the Royal City (5:4)
- How Three Beasts Practiced the Bodhisattva Way and How the Rabbit Roasted Himself (5:13)
- How a Lion Showed Pity for a Monkey’s Children and Tore Out His Own Flesh for an Eagle (5:14)
- How a Nine-Colored Deer Came Out of a Mountainand Saved a Man from Drowning (5:18)
- Tales from China
- How Moye of China Made a Sword and Presented It to theKing and How His Son, Broad-of-Brow, Was Killed (9:44)
- How Wang Zhaojun, Consort of Emperor Yuan of the Han,Went to the Land of the Hu (10:5)
- Buddhist Tales of Japan
- How a Monk of Dōjō-ji in Kii Province Copied the Lotus Sutraand Brought Salvation to the Snakes (14:3)
- How Kaya no Yoshifuji of Bitchū Province Became theHusband of a Fox and Was Saved by Kannon (16:17)
- How Ōe no Sadamoto, Governor of Mikawa,Became a Buddhist Monk (19:2)
- How a Palace Guard of the Takiguchi Unit Went to Collect GoldDuring the Reign of Emperor Yōzei (20:10)
- Secular Tales of Japan
- How a Child of Fujiwara no Chikakatsu, Having Been Taken Hostage by a Thief, Was Released Through Words Spokenby Yorinobu (25:11)
- How Minamoto no Yorinobu’s Son Yoriyoshi Shot Downa Horse Thief (25:12)
- How the Demon at Agi Bridge in Ōmi Province Ate Somebody (27:13)
- How Ki no Tōsuke of Mino Province Met Female Spiritsand Died (27:21)
- How a Group of Nuns Went into the Mountains,Ate Some Mushrooms, and Danced (28:28)
- How Fujiwara no Nobutada, Governor of Shinano,Took a Tumble at Misaka (28:38)
- How a Thief Climbed to the Upper Story of Rashōmon Gateand Came on a Corpse (29:18)
- How a Man Was Traveling with His Wife to Tanba andGot Tied Up at Ōeyama (29:23)
- How a Poor Man Left His Wife and She Became the Wife of theGovernor of Settsu (30:5)
- A COLLECTION OF TALES FROM UJI UJI SHŪI MONOGATARI
- How Someone Had a Wen Removed by Demons (3)
- About the Priest with the Long Nose (25)
- How Yoshihide, a Painter of Buddhist Pictures,Took Pleasure in Seeing His House on Fire (38)
- How a Sparrow Repaid Its Debt of Gratitude (48)
- How a Man Received a Bounty After a Period of Prayer at theHase Temple (96)
- How a Priest Falsely Stated That He Would Drown Himself (133)
- A COMPANION IN SOLITUDE KANKYO NO TOMO
- How a Woman Out of Deep Resentment Changedinto a Demon in Her Present Existence (2:3)
- How a Court Lady of Royal Birth Demonstrated the Foulnessof Her Bodily Form (2:9)
- A COLLECTION OF THINGS WRITTEN AND HEARDIN THE PAST AND PRESENTKOKON CHOMONJŪ
- How Saeki Ujinaga Met Ooiko, a Very Strong Womanof Takashima, and of Ooiko’s Earlier Display of Great Strengthin Water Disputes (15:377)
- How a Samurai Who Served Lord Kazan’in Tadatsune,Minister of the Right, Won at Gambling and Received the TonsureThanks to His Wife (18:423)
- How a Man Called Umanojō Shot a Male Mandarin Duck inAkanuma in Michinoku Province and Then Received the Tonsure(30:713)
- TALES OF RENUNCIATION SENJŪSHŌ
- The Venerable Zōga (1:1)
- The Woman of Pleasure at Eguchi (9:8)
- COLLECTION OF SAND AND PEBBLES SHASEKISHŪ
- The Scholar Who Loved Poetry (5:11)
- The Deep Meaning Underlying the Way of Japanese Poetry (5:12)
- BIBLIOGRAPHY OF TRANSLATIONS ANDSTUDIES IN WESTERN LANGUAGES
- TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ASIAN CLASSICS
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