To be more accurate, it is titled "A Collection of Tales of Times Now Past", it is the oldest collection of tales in Japan.
This name is said to have been given to the collection because each tale begins with the phrase, "Now is the past". [(今は昔), effectively the same as "once upon a time"]
It is believed to have, been completed in the first half of the 12th century, and although the compiler is currently unknown, they are thought to have been related to Uji Dainagon and Minamoto no Takakuni.
It consists of more than 1,000 stories in 31 volumes, divided into three parts, the Tenjiku (India) compilation, the Shintan (China) compilation, and the Nihon (Japan) compilation, each of which contains the stories of a different country, of which only 28 volumes are extant.
Many of the tales are devoted to Buddhist narratives, but some secular ones are also present.
No comments:
Post a Comment