is a late 10th century Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese story. Along with 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...

, it is representative of Japanese Cinderella

Cinderella

"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...

-type literature dealing with stepmother bullying and harassment. It belongs to the tsukuri monogatari genre.

Composition

The author is unknown. Sone no Yoshitada (曽禰好忠) is suggested as a possible candidate. Originally written late in the 10th century, the original text is now lost. It only survives now in a c. 12th century revised edition.

The story was quite influential on Japanese literature. It is referenced in works such as Makura no Sōshi

The Pillow Book

is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Empress Consort Teishi during the 990s and early 11th century in Heian Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002....

and 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...

. The Tamakatsura chapter of Genji was written with Sumiyoshi Monogatari in mind. Its popularity is evident in that it inspired more than 120 existing manuscripts. In addition, many later stories, generally of the Otogizōshi

Otogizoshi

refers to a group of approximately 350 Japanese prose narratives written primarily in the Muromachi period . These illustrated short stories, which remain unattributed, together form one of the representative literary genres of the Japanese medieval era.-Overview:This type of short prose narrative...

 genre, dealing with similar motifs are referred to as Sumiyoshi-style.

Contents

The story exists in single and two volume editions. It tells the story of a Middle Chancellor's daughter who runs away from home to escape the bullying from her stepmother. She falls in love with a Minor Captain and gets engaged. However, her stepmother forces him to marry her real daughter. The stepmother also obstructs her from serving in the palace or marrying a Left Watch Guard. When the daughter discovers the truth, the runs away from home to Sumiyoshi Shrine. The Minor Captain is lead to the shrine through a mystical dream. They marry and live happily ever after.

See also

• 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...
  
  , a similar Cinderella-like story dealing bullying and harassment

External links

• Manuscript scans, Waseda University Library
  Waseda University Library
  The library of Waseda University is one of the largest libraries in Japan. It was established in 1882, and currently holds some 4.5 million volumes and 46,000 serials.-History:...
  
  .