otogi-zōshi

{{transliteration|ja|Otogi-zōshi}} is a general term for narrative literature written between the Muromachi period (approximately 1336–1573) and the beginning of the Edo period (1603–1867).{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} The term originates with a mid-Edo collection of 23 stories, titled {{nihongo||御伽文庫|Otogi Bunko}} or {{nihongo||御伽草紙/御伽草子|Otogi-zōshi}}.{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} It later came to denote other works of the same genre and period.{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} Modern scholarship sometimes distinguishes between "true" {{transliteration|ja|otogi-zōshi}}, covering only the 23 works included in the aforementioned collection, and other works that it instead terms {{nihongo||室町時代物語|Muromachi-jidai monogatari}} or {{nihongo||中世小説|chūsei shōsetsu}}.{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}

The 23 tales covered by the narrow definition are:

• {{nihongo||文正草子|Bunshō-zōshi}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||鉢かづき|Hachikazuki}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||小町草紙|Komachi Sōshi}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||御曹子島渡り|Onzōshi Shima-watari}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||唐糸草紙|Karaito-zōshi}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||木幡狐|Kowata-gitsune}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||七草草紙|Nanakusa Sōshi}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||猿源氏草紙|Saru Genji Sōshi}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||物くさ太郎|Monokusa Tarō}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||さざれ石|Sazare-ishi}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||蛤の草紙|Hamaguri no Sōshi}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||小敦盛|Ko-Atsumori}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||二十四孝|Nijūshi-kō}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||梵天国|Bongengoku}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||のせ猿草子|Nose-zaru Sōshi}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||猫の草紙|Neko no Sōshi}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||浜出|Hamade}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||和泉式部|Izumi Shikibu}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||一寸法師|Issun-bōshi}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||さいき|Saiki}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||浦嶋太郎|Urashima Tarō}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||横笛草紙|Yokobue-zōshi}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
• {{nihongo||酒呑童子|Shutendōji}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}

Under the broad definition, there are around 500 surviving examples of {{transliteration|ja|otogi-zōshi}}.{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} Most are around 30–40 pages in length,{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} and are of uncertain date.{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} Their authors are also largely unknown,{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} but whereas Heian and Kamakura {{transliteration|ja|monogatari}} were almost all composed by members of the aristocracy, these works were composed by not just aristocrats but also Buddhist monks, hermits, educated members of the warrior class.{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} Some of the later {{transliteration|ja|otogi-zōshi}} may have been written by members of the emerging urban merchant class.{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} Similarly, the works' intended readership was probably broader than the {{transliteration|ja|monogatari}} of earlier eras.{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} They therefore have a wide variety of contents and draw material from various literary works of the past.{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} Based on their contents, scholars have divided them into six genres:{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}

1. {{nihongo||公家物|kuge-mono}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
2. {{nihongo||宗教物|shūkyō-mono}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
3. {{nihongo||武家物|buke-mono}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
4. {{nihongo||庶民物|shomin-mono}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
5. {{nihongo||外国物|gaikoku-mono}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}
6. {{nihongo||異類物|irui-mono}}{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}

{{transliteration|ja|Kuge-mono}} are tales of the aristocracy.{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} They mark a continuation of the earlier {{transliteration|ja|monogatari}} literature,{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} and are noted for the influence of The Tale of Genji.{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} Many of them are rewritten or abridged versions of earlier works.{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} Among the romantic works in this sub-genre are {{nihongo||忍音物語|Shinobine Monogatari}} and {{nihongo||若草物語|Wakakusa Monogatari}},{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}} and most end sadly with the characters cutting themselves off from society ({{nihongo||悲恋遁世|hiren tonsei}}).{{sfnm|1a1=Ichiko|1y=1983|1p=498}}

Image:Otogizoshi4.jpg

{{transliteration|ja|Otogi-zōshi}} have been broken down into multiple categories: tales of the aristocracy, which are derived from earlier works such as The Tale of Genji; religious tales; tales of warriors, often based on The Tale of the Heike, the {{transliteration|ja|Taiheiki}}, The Tale of the Soga and the {{transliteration|ja|Gikeiki}} (The Tale of Yoshitsune); tales of foreign countries, based on the {{transliteration|ja|Konjaku Monogatarishū}}. The most well-known of the tales, however, are retellings of familiar legends and folktales, such as {{transliteration|ja|Issun-bōshi}}, the story of a one-inch-tall boy who overcomes countless obstacles to achieve success in the capital.

The term {{transliteration|ja|otogi}} literally means 'companion', with the full name of the genre translating to 'companion tale'. This designation, however, did not come into use until 1725, when a publisher in Osaka released a set of 23 illustrated booklets titled {{transliteration|ja|Shūgen otogibunko}} (Fortuitous Companion Library). As other publishers produced their own versions of {{transliteration|ja|Shūgen otogibunko}}, they began referring to the set of tales as {{transliteration|ja|otogi-zōshi}}. 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 {{transliteration|ja|Shūgen otogibunko}}.

{{transliteration|ja|Otogi-zōshi}} came to the attention of modern literary historians in the late 19th 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 {{transliteration|ja|otogi-zōshi}} from their discussions of medieval Japanese literature. Recent studies, however, have contradicted this critical stance, highlighting the vitality and inherent appeal of this underappreciated genre. The term {{transliteration|ja|chusei shosetsu}} ('medieval novels'), coined by eminent scholar Ichiko Teiji, attempts to situate the tales within a narrative continuum.

• {{transliteration|ja|Aisome-gawa}}
• {{transliteration|ja|Aki no Yo no Naga Monogatari}}
• {{transliteration|ja|Ame no Wakahiko sōshi}}
• {{transliteration|ja|Komachi Sōshi}}
• {{transliteration|ja|Koshikibu}} (I)
• {{transliteration|ja|Koshikibu}} (II)
• {{transliteration|ja|Urashima Tarō (otogi-zōshi)}}
• {{transliteration|ja|Utatane no Sōshi}}

{{reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book

|last = Ichiko

|first = Teiji

|author-link = Teiji Ichiko

|chapter = Otogi-zōshi

|pages = 498–499

|title = Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten

|script-title = ja:日本古典文学大辞典

|language = Japanese

|year = 1983

|volume = 1

|location = Tokyo

|publisher = Iwanami Shoten

|oclc = 11917421

|title-link = Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten

}}

{{Refend}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite journal |last=Araki |first=James T. |title=Otogi-Zōshi and Nara-Ehon: A Field of Study in Flux |journal=Monumenta Nipponica |volume=36 |issue=1 |date=1981 |pages=1–20 |doi=10.2307/2384084|jstor=2384084 }}
• {{cite journal |last=Kavanagh |first=Frederick G. |title=An Errant Priest. Sasayaki Tale |journal=Monumenta Nipponica |volume=51 |issue=2 |date=1996 |pages=219–44 |doi=10.2307/2385088 |jstor=2385088}}
• {{cite journal |last=Mulhern |first=Chieko Irie |title=Otogi-Zōshi. Short Stories of the Muromachi Period |journal=Monumenta Nipponica |volume=29 |issue=2 |date=1974 |pages=181–98 |doi=10.2307/2383805|jstor=2383805 }}. Accessed 12 Jan. 2023.
• {{cite journal |last=Strippoli |first=Roberta |title=ORIGINE ED EVOLUZIONE DEGLI 'OTOGIZŌSHI', RACCONTI BREVI DI EPOCA MUROMACHI |journal=Rivista Degli Studi Orientali |volume=69 |issue=3/4 |date=1995 |pages=467–79 |jstor=41880884 |language=Italian}}
• 『室町時代物語大成』. Kadokawa Shoten.
• 奥野健男. 『お伽草紙』. 新潮文庫.　{{ISBN|4-10-100607-5}}
• Skord, Virginia. "Tales of Tears and Laughter: Short Fiction of Medieval Japan", University of Hawaii Press, 1991.
• Skord, Virginia. "Monogusa Tarō: From Rags to Riches and Beyond", Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 44, 171-198.
• Waters, Virginia Skord. "Sex, Lies and the Illustrated Scroll: The Dojoji Engi Emaki", Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 52,59-84.

{{refend}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080616032835/http://dbs.humi.keio.ac.jp/naraehon/index-e.html "Sekai no Dejitaru Nara Ehon Detabesu" at Keiō University]
• [http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~pmjs/rom/trans_or.html Translations of Classical Japanese Works], Meiji Gakuin University
• [https://rmda.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/classification/pickup-illus Online Colored Illustrations edition of the Otogizōshi] at Kyoto University Rare Materials Digital Archive (RMDA)

{{Japanese folklore long}}

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Category:Japanese folklore

Category:Late Middle Japanese texts