Konjaku Monogatarishū (今昔物語集, kon present + jaku past + monogatari tale + shū collection) is a Japanese collection of over one thousand tales written during the late Heian Period (794-1192). The entire collection was originally contained in 31 volumes, of which only 28 remain today. The volumes cover various tales from India, China, and Japan. The Heian period (Japanese: 平安時代, Heian-jidai) is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. ... Events Kyoto becomes the Japanese capital. ... // Events The Third Crusade ends in disaster. ...

The work is also commonly known by the name "Konjaku Monogatari"; since it is an anthology rather than a single tale, however, the longer title is more accurate.

On the Radiohead 2006 wall calendar, April 16th is marked as "Konjaku Monogatari Sunday." Radiohead are a British quintet from Oxfordshire, England. ...

Contents

The tales contained in the work are divided according to the region in which the tales take place. The first 5 volumes contain tales from India, the next five tales from China, and the remainder tales from Japan. The subject-matter is drawn from Buddhism and secular folklore. Buddhism is a religion and philosophy focusing on the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni (Siddhārtha Gautama), who probably lived in the 5th century BCE. Buddhism spread throughout the ancient Indian sub-continent in the five centuries following the Buddhas death, and propagated into Central, Southeast, and East Asia... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ... Folklore is the body of verbal expressive culture, including tales, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs current among a particular population, comprising the oral tradition of that culture, subculture, or group. ...

All of the tales in the collection start of with the phrase "The time is of days of old" (今ハ昔 ima wa mukashi). When read in the Japanese Chinese-style pronunciation this becomes "Konjaku", and it is from this that the collection is named.

The Buddhist tales cover a wide range of topics, both historical tales about the development, transmission, and spread of Buddhism, and dogmatic tales which emphasis karmic retribution. Dogma (the plural is either dogmata or dogmas) is belief or doctrine held by a religion, ideology or any kind of organization to be authoritative and not to be disputed or doubted. ... Karma (Sanskrit: from the root , to do, [meaning deed] meaning action, effect, destiny) is a term that comprises the entire cycle of cause and effect. ...

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. Their supernatural counterparts are oni and tengu. A statue of an Oni wielding a tetsubo. ... Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Elephant catching a flying tengu Tengu ) are minor kami or yokai found in Japanese folklore. ...

Date and authorship

The work is anonymous. Several theories of authorship have been put forward: one argues that the compiler was Minamoto no Takakuni, author of Ujidainagon Monogatari, another suggests the Buddhist monk Tobane Sōjō, a third proposes a Buddhist monk living somewhere in the vicinity of Kyoto or Nara during the late Heian period. So far no substantive evidence has emerged to decide the question, and no general consensus has formed. Kyoto Hall Mayor Yorikane Masumoto Address 〒604-8571 Kyoto-shi, Nakagyo-ku, Teramachi-Oike, 488 Phone number 075-222-3111 Official website: Kyoto City This page is about the city Kyoto. ... Nara (Japanese: 奈良市, Nara-shi) is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan, near Kyoto. ...

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. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Events Welcher of Malvern creates a system of measurement for the earth using degrees, minutes, and seconds of latitude and longitude. ...

Significance

Many of the tales which appear in the Konjaku are also found in other collections, such as ghost story collections; having passed into the common consciousness, they have been retold many times over the succeeding centuries. Modern writers too have adapted tales from the Konjaku Monogatarishū: a famous example is Akutagawa Ryūnosuke's In a Grove (well known in the West from Kurosawa's film Rashomon). Other authors who have written stories based on tales from the Konjaku include Tanizaki Jun'ichiro and Hori Tatsuo. A commemoration of Akutagawa and Rashōmon Akutagawa RyÅ«nosuke (芥川 龍之介, March 1, 1892 - July 24, 1927) was a Japanese poet and writer. ... In a Grove (藪の中 Yabu no Naka) is a 1922 short tale by Akutagawa Ryunosuke that, along with the short story Rashomon, provided the plot for Akira Kurosawas movie Rashomon. ... Akira Kurosawa (黒澤 明 Kurosawa Akira, also é»’æ²¢ 明 in Shinjitai, 23 March 1910 – 6 September 1998) was a prominent Japanese film director, film producer, and screenwriter. ... Rashomon (羅生門) is a Japanese motion picture made in 1950 by director Akira Kurosawa. ... Junichiro Tanizaki (谷崎潤一郎 Tanizaki Junichirō, July 24, 1886 - July 30, 1965) was a Japanese author. ... Hori Tatsuo (堀辰雄, 1904 December 28-1953 May 28) was a Japanese author. ...

A cryptic line in Akutagawa's classic Rashomon 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。」 (Lit. "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 the Konjaku Monogatarishu. The phrase means figuratively, "He was scared."/"He felt as if his hair was standing on end". Rashomon can refer to several things: The Rashōmon Gate (羅生門 or 羅城門 Rajōmon) is the main city gates in Heijokyō (Nara), and later Heiankyō (Kyoto), Japan. ...