Monogatari
Encyclopedia
is a literary form
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...

 in traditional Japanese literature
Japanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...

, an extended prose narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...

 tale comparable to the epic
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...

. Monogatari is closely tied to aspects of the oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...

, and almost always relates a fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...

al or fictionalized story, even when retelling a historical event. Many of the great works of Japanese fiction, such as the Genji monogatari and the Heike monogatari are in this monogatari form.

The form was prominent around the 9th to 15th centuries, reaching a peak between the 10th and 11th centuries. According to the Fūyō Wakashū
Fūyō Wakashū
is a late 13th century collection of poetry from Japanese literature..-Composition:The collection of poems was compiled in the year 1271. Although this is not completely certain, the author is believed to be Fujiwara no Tameie...

(1271), at least 198 monogatari existed by the 13th century. Of these, around forty still exist.

When European and other foreign literature later became known to Japan, the word "monogatari" began to be used in Japanese titles of foreign works of a similar nature. For example, A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. With well over 200 million copies sold, it ranks among the most famous works in the history of fictional literature....

is known as Nito Monogatari and more recently The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...

as Yubiwa Monogatari , and One Thousand and One Nights as Sen'ichiya Monogatari .

Denki-monogatari

Stories dealing with fantastical events.
  • Taketori Monogatari
    The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
    , also known as , is a 10th century Japanese folktale. It is considered the oldest extant Japanese narrative and an early example of proto-science fiction....

  • Utsubo Monogatari
    Utsubo Monogatari
    is a late 10th century Japanese story. It is Japan's oldest full-length narrative.-Composition:The author is unknown. Minamoto no Shitagō is cited as a likely candidate; however, it may have had multiple authors spanning a number of years. The text is referenced in number of later works such as...

  • Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai
    Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai
    was a popular parlour game during the Edo period in Japan.The game was a simple one. In a room, as night fell, one hundred candles were lit. Guests and players gathered around the candles, taking turns telling kaidan. After each kaidan, a single candle was extinguished, and the room slowly grew...


Uta-monogatari

Stories drawn from poetry.
  • Heichū Monogatari
    Heichū Monogatari
    Heichū Monogatari , also known as the Heichū Nikki or Sadafun Nikki is a mid Heian Period Japanese poem tale Authorship unknown. It is believed to have come into existence between 960-965 AD. In total there are 39 sections to this tale. The construction of these tale revolves around the...

  • Ise Monogatari
    The Tales of Ise
    is a Japanese collection of tanka poems and associated narratives, dating from the Heian period. The current version collects 125 sections, with each combining poems and prose, giving a total of 209 poems in most versions....

  • Yamato Monogatari
    Yamato Monogatari
    is a collection of tales and waka poetry from the Heian period of Japan. The exact date of the completion of the text is unknown, but it majority of the text was completed in the year 951 by an unknown author...


Tsukuri-monogatari

Aristocratic count romances.
  • Genji Monogatari
    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. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel still to be...

  • Hamamatsu Chūnagon Monogatari
    Hamamatsu Chūnagon Monogatari
    , also known as , is an eleventh century Japanese monogatari that tells about a chūnagon who discovers his father has been reborn as a Chinese prince. He visits his reincarnated father in China and falls in love with the Hoyang Consort, consort to the Chinese Emperor and mother to his reincarnated...

  • Ochikubo Monogatari
    Ochikubo Monogatari
    , also known as The Tale of Ochikubo, is a story from the Heian period which is similar to the famous fairy tale Cinderella.Ochikubo Monogatari was written during the later part of the 10th century by an unknown author. It is known as the oldest remaining tale in Japanese literature to include...

  • Sagoromo Monogatari
  • Torikaebaya Monogatari
    Torikaebaya Monogatari
    , translated into English as The Changelings, is a Japanese tale from the late Heian period by an unknown author, or possibly more than one author. It is four volumes in length....

  • Tsutsumi Chūnagon Monogatari
    Tsutsumi Chunagon Monogatari
    is a post late-Heian period Japanese collection of short stories.-Authorship:With the exception of one story, the authorship is unknown. It is likely each story was written by different authors at various times and later collected together into a single text....

  • Yoru no Nezame
    Yoru no Nezame
    is a c. 11th century Japanese story. It is one of the major representative Heian period texts. It is a courtly romance and belongs to the tsukuri monogatari genre.-Composition:...


Rekishi-monogatari

Historical tales.
  • Eiga Monogatari
    Eiga monogatari
    is a Japanese monogatari, or epic, which relates events in the life of courtier Fujiwara no Michinaga. It is believed to have been written by a number of authors, over the course of roughly a century, from 1028 to 1107....

  • Ōkagami
    The Great Mirror
    The Great Mirror or Ōkagami is a Japanese historical tale by an unknown author that covers from 850 to 1025, the golden days of Fujiwara family's rule. It is said to be a succession to records of Eiga Monogatari....


Gunki-monogatari

War tales.
  • Gikeiki
    Gikeiki
    The is a Japanese gunki monogatari that focuses on the legends of Minamoto no Yoshitsune and his followers. Considered to have been composed during the Nanboku-chō period, it has provided inspiration to numerous Noh, kabuki and bunraku plays...

  • Heiji Monogatari
    Tale of Heiji
    The Tale of Heiji is a Japanese war epic detailing the events of the Heiji Rebellion of 1159-1160, in which samurai clan head Minamoto no Yoshitomo attacked and besieged Kyoto, as part of an Imperial succession dispute, in which he was opposed by Taira no Kiyomori, head of the Taira clan...

  • Heike Monogatari
    The Tale of the Heike
    is an epic account of the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War...

  • Hōgen Monogatari
    Tale of Hogen
    is a Japanese war chronicle or military tale which relates the events and prominent figures of the Hōgen Rebellion. This literary and historical classic is believed to have been completed in the Kamakura period ca. 1320. Its author or authors remain unknown...

  • Soga Monogatari
  • Taiheiki
    Taiheiki
    The is a Japanese historical epic , written in the late 14th century. It deals primarily with the Nanboku-chō, the period of war between the Northern Court of Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino....


Setsuwa-monogatari

Anecdotal tales.
  • Konjaku Monogatari
    Konjaku Monogatarishu
    is a Japanese collection of over one thousand tales written during the late Heian period . The entire collection was originally contained in 31 volumes, of which only 28 remain today...

  • Uji Shūi Monogatari
    Uji Shui 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....


Giko-monogatari

Pseudo-classical imitations of earlier tales.
  • Matsura no Miya Monogatari
  • Sumiyoshi Monogatari
    Sumiyoshi Monogatari
    is a late 10th century Japanese story. Along with Ochikubo Monogatari, it is representative of Japanese Cinderella-type literature dealing with stepmother bullying and harassment. It belongs to the tsukuri monogatari genre.-Composition:...


See also

  • Mumyōzōshi
    Mumyōzōshi
    is an early 13th century Japanese text. One volume in length, it is the oldest existing Japanese text on literary criticism. The author is unknown.-Composition:...

    , a 13th century literary critique on monogatari, many of which are no longer extant
  • Fūyō Wakashū
    Fūyō Wakashū
    is a late 13th century collection of poetry from Japanese literature..-Composition:The collection of poems was compiled in the year 1271. Although this is not completely certain, the author is believed to be Fujiwara no Tameie...

    , a 13th century collection of poetry from various monogatari sources, many of which are no longer extant
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