 Illustration from otogizōshi tale, published c. 1725 Otogizōshi (御伽草子, otogi-zōshi?) refers to a group of approximately 350 Japanese prose narratives written primarily in the Muromachi period (1392-1573). These illustrated short stories, which remain unattributed, together form one of the representative literary genres of the Japanese medieval era. Image File history File linksMetadata Otogizoshi5. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Otogizoshi5. ...
The Muromachi period (Japanese: 室町時代, Muromachi-jidai, also known as the Muromachi era, the Muromachi bakufu, the Ashikaga era, the Ashikaga period, or the Ashikaga bakufu) is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. ...
Overview
This type of short prose narrative from Japan is often considered a transitional genre, which bridges the gap between the courtly literature of the Heian period (794-1160) and the more plebeian kanazōshi (tales written in kana) and ukiyozōshi (tales of the floating world) of the Edo period (1600-1868). The stories are illustrated in the Nara-ehon style, a style that itself links the picture scrolls of the Heian era with the woodblock print books of the Edo period. This suggests that otogizōshi were meant to be read aloud, with the illustrations serving as reference guides. The Heian period (Japanese: 平安時代, Heian-jidai) is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. ...
In Ancient Rome, the plebs was the general body of Roman citizens, distinct from the privileged class of the patricians. ...
Printed page of text from kanazôshi, published c. ...
Japanese writing Kanji æ¼¢å— Kana ä»®å Hiragana 平仮å Katakana 片仮å Manyogana 万葉仮å Uses Furigana 振り仮å Okurigana é€ã‚Šä»®å RÅmaji ãƒãƒ¼ãƒžå— For other meanings of Kana, see Kana (disambiguation). ...
Ukiyo-e (Kanji 浮世絵, meaning pictures of the floating world) is the general term for a genre of Japanese woodblock prints produced between the 17th and the 20th century, featuring motifs of landscapes, the theater and pleasure quarters. ...
The Edo period (Japanese: 江戸時代, Edo-jidai), also called Tokugawa period, is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1867. ...
Yuan dynasty woodblock edition of a Chinese play Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text or images used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China sometime between the mid-6th and late 9th centuries. ...
Because the stories were recited before an audience, the narratives are simple, with little description, depth, or development. The majority of the tales are straightforward quest narratives, often revolving around a single heroic figure. In order to advance the plot, the passage of time is swift, with characters sometimes aging years or decades in the space of a single sentence. This article is about the word, for other meanings see Quest (disambiguation) A quest is a journey towards a goal with great meaning and is used in mythology and literature as a plot device. ...
Otogizõshi address a variety of topics, including worldly concerns (love, marriage, family); spiritual matters (the pursuit of enlightenment, encounters with manifestations of the Buddha); martial adventures; and supernatural fantasy. While some of the stories exhibit a clear didactic agenda, most otogizõshi appear to have been composed primarily for the sake of entertainment.
Categories of otogizōshi
 Cover from volume of otogizōshi tales, published c. 1725. Otogizōshi have been broken down into multiple categories: tales of the aristocracy, which are derived from earlier works such as the Genji monogatari, Heike monogatari, and Taiheiki; religious tales; tales of warriors, often based on the Soga monogatari and Gikeiki; tales of foreign countries, based on the Konjaku monogatari. The most famous of the tales, however, are retellings of familiar myths and folklore, such as Issun-bōshi, the story of a one-inch-tall boy who overcomes countless obstacles to achieve success in the capital. Image File history File linksMetadata Otogizoshi4. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Otogizoshi4. ...
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Genji Monogatari (源氏物語), frequently translated as The Tale of Genji, is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period. ...
The Tale of the Heike (Japanese 平家物語, Heike monogatari) is an epic account of the struggle between the Minamoto and Taira clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century. ...
The Taiheiki (太平記) is a Japanese historical epic (see gunki monogatari), written in the late 14th century. ...
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). ...
Japanese mythology is an extremely complex system of beliefs. ...
Japanese mythology is an extremely complex religion and system of beliefs. ...
Origins of the term otogizōshi The term otogi literally means "companion," with the full name of the genre translating to "companion tale." This designation, however, did come into use until 1725, when a publisher from Osaka released a set of 23 illustrated booklets titled Shūgen otogibunko (Fortuitous Companion Library). As other publishers produced their own versions of Shūgen otogibunko, they began referring to the set of tales as otogizôshi. Gradually the term came to describe any work from the Muromachi or early Edo period that exhibited the same general style as the tales in Shūgen otogibunko. Companion is the word for a close friend, or an associate, who stand by you all the time. ...
Events February 8 - Catherine I became empress of Russia February 20 - The first reported case of white men scalping Native Americans takes place in New Hampshire colony. ...
Osaka City Hall Mayor Junichi Seki Address 〒530-8201 Osaka-shi,Kita-ku Nakanoshima 1-3-20 Phone number 06-6208-8181 Official website: Osaka City , Osaka ) is the capital of Osaka Prefecture and the third-largest city in Japan, with a population of 2. ...
History of otogizōshi scholarship Otogizōshi came to the attention of modern literary historians in the late nineteenth century. For the most part, scholars have been critical of this genre, dismissing it for its perceived faults when compared to the aristocratic literature of the Heian and Kamakura periods. As a result, standardized Japanese school textbooks often omit any reference to otogizōshi from their discussions of medieval Japanese literature. Recent studies, however, have attempted to overturn this critical stance, highlighting the vitality and inherent appeal of this underappreciated genre. Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. ...
Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Education has been and is an important issue in Japanese society. ...
The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...
See also Manyoshu (万葉集 ManyÅshÅ«, Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves) is the oldest existing, and most highly revered, collection of Japanese poetry, compiled sometime in the Nara or early Heian periods. ...
The Murasaki Shikibu Diary (紫式部日記 Murasaki Shikibu Nikki) is a record of the daily life of Lady Murasaki, the author of the Tale of Genji. ...
The cover of the 1963 edition of the Kokusho SÅmokuroku. ...
External references
Text references Araki, James. "Otogi-Zoshi and Nara-Ehon: A Field of Study in Flux," Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 36: 1-20. Kavanagh, Frederick G. "An Errant Priest. Sasayaki Tale." Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 51: 219-244. Mulhern, Chieko Irie. "Otogi-zoshi. Short Stories of the Muromachi Period," Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 29: 181-198. Monumenta Nipponica is an English-language academic journal featuring peer-reviewed articles and book reviews on Japanese society, culture, history, religion, literature, art, anthropology, and other topics relevant to Japanese and Asian studies. ...
Online references - "Sekai no Dejitaru Nara Ehon Detabesu", European Association of Japanese Resource Specialists, January 14, 2004
- Translations of Classical Japanese Works, Meiji Gakuin University
- Online edition of the Otogizōshi at Kyoto University
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