Murasaki Shikibu, author of Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji)

Monogatari (Japanese: 物語, [monoɡaꜜtaɾi]) is a literary form in traditional Japanese literature – an extended prose narrative tale comparable to epic literature. Monogatari is closely tied to aspects of the oral tradition, and almost always relates a fictional 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 the monogatari form.

History

The form was prominent around the 9th to 15th centuries, reaching a peak between the 10th and 11th centuries.[1] Monogatari was the court literature during the Heian era and also persisted in the form of archaic fiction until the sixteenth century.[1] According to the Fūyō Wakashū (1271), at least 198 monogatari existed by the 13th century and that only 24 exist today.[2]

Genres

The genre is sub-divided into multiple categories depending on their contents:

Denki-monogatari

Stories dealing with fantastical events.

Uta-monogatari

Stories drawn from poetry.

Tsukuri-monogatari

Aristocratic court romances.

Rekishi-monogatari

Historical tales that emerged during the late Heian period, flourishing until the medieval age.[3] These narratives were commonly written in kanbun (hybrid form of Chinese) or wabun (Japanese).[3] Two of the most notable of this monogatari included the Eiga Monogatari and Ōkagami, which both narrated the story of Michinaga, the renowned Fujiwara regent.[3]

Gunki-monogatari

Military chronicles and stories about war.

Setsuwa-monogatari

Anecdotal tales.

Giko-monogatari

Pseudo-classical imitations of earlier tales.

Influence

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 is known as Nito Monogatari (二都物語), One Thousand and One Nights as Sen'ichiya Monogatari (千一夜物語) and more recently The Lord of the Rings as Yubiwa Monogatari (指輪物語) and To Kill a Mockingbird as Arabama Monogatari (アラバマ物語).

See also

  • Mumyōzōshi, a 13th-century literary critique on monogatari, many of which are no longer extant
  • Fūyō Wakashū, a 13th-century collection of poetry from various monogatari sources, many of which are no longer extant
  • Konjaku Monogatarishū, a collection of over one thousand Heian period monogatari, of which 28 remain today.

References

  1. 1 2 Gunilla, Anders (2011). Literary History: Towards a Global Perspective: Volume 1. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. p. 13. ISBN 9783110189322.
  2. ↑ A Tale of Eleventh-Century Japan: Hamamatsu Chunagon Monogatari. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 2014-07-14. p. 4. ISBN 9781400856688.
  3. 1 2 3 Perez, Louis G. (2013). Japan at War: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 464. ISBN 9781598847413.

Sources

  • Frederic, Louis (2002). "Monogatari." Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
  • Kubota, Jun (2007). Iwanami Nihon Koten Bungaku Jiten [Iwanami dictionary of Japanese classical literature] (in Japanese). Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 978-4-00-080310-6.
  • Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten: Kan'yakuban [A Comprehensive Dictionary of Classical Japanese Literature: Concise Edition]. Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten. 1986. ISBN 4-00-080067-1.
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