is a literary form in traditional

Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japa ...

– an extended

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...

tale comparable to

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

literature. ''Monogatari'' is closely tied to aspects of the

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...

, and almost always relates a

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

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 the ''monogatari'' form.

History

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

Genres

The genre is subdivided 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 In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

age. These narratives were commonly written in ''

kanbun ''Kanbun'' ( 'Han Chinese, Han writing') is a system for writing Literary Chinese used in Japan from the Nara period until the 20th century. Much of Japanese literature was written in this style and it was the general writing style for offici ...

'' (hybrid form of Chinese) or ''wabun'' ( Japanese). 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.

''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 ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...

'' is known as ''Nito Monogatari'' (), ''

One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition ( ...

'' as ''Sen'ichiya Monogatari'' () and more recently ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'' as ''Yubiwa Monogatari'' () and ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a 1960 Southern Gothic novel by American author Harper Lee. It became instantly successful after its release; in the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' ...

'' as ''Arabama Monogatari'' ().

Citations

General and cited references

* * * {{Authority control Buddhist literature Culture of Japan Japanese chronicles