was a collection of stories said to have been written by

Minamoto no Takakuni (1004–1077), also known as , was a noble and a scholar of ancient Japan. He was also the father of Toba Sōjō, an important painter. Takakuni was also mentioned as Dainagon of Uji in "gleanings from '' Uji Dainagon Monogatari''" - a collectio ...

in the late

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

. These stories heavily influenced

Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japa ...

, and later turned up in such works as the ''

Konjaku Monogatarishū , also known as the , is a Japanese collection of over one thousand tales written during the late Heian period (794–1185). The entire collection was originally contained in 31 volumes, of which 28 remain today. The volumes cover various tales f ...

'' and the ''

Uji Shūi Monogatari is a collection of Japanese tales written around the beginning of the 13th century. The author is unknown, and it may have been revised several times. The title references the '' Uji Dainagon Monogatari'', a book which no longer exists. The Dai ...

''. The exact date of its composition is unknown. However, clues are given in the preface to ''

'' which suggest sometime after 1052 and before 1077. The book is no longer extant.

Title

The book is referenced in many other stories. The exact title varies and includes the following: * * * * * *

The book no longer exists. However, according to the preface of ''

'', it contained various stories from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Other texts indicate that the stories were Buddhist and secular in nature and included tales about Buddhist karma, miracles, poetry, and humor.

References

* Late Old Japanese texts 11th-century Japanese books {{Japan-lit-stub

Title

Contents

References