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Konjaku MonogatarishuKonjaku Monogatarishū (今昔物語集, kon present + jaku past + monogatari tale + shū collection) is a Japanese collection of over one thousand tales written during the late Heian Period (794-1192). The entire collection was originally contained in 31 volumes, of which only 28 remain today. The volumes cover various tales from India, China, and Japan. It is also known as simply, "Konjaku Monogatari," however the official name is "Konjaku Monogatarishū" as it is a collection of tales and not one single story. Content The Konjaku's over one thousand tales covered in 31 volumes can be divided by the region in which the tales take place. The first 5 volumes contain tales from India. Volumes 6-10 contain tales from China, and lastly, volumes 11 from 31 contain tales from Japan. Most of the tales in the collection can be classified as Buddhist related tales, or secular folklore. All of the tales in the collection start of with the phrase, "The time is of days of old," (今ハ昔 ima wa mukashi). This phrase when read in the Japanese Chinese-style pronunciation gives the collection its name of "Konjaku." The Buddhist tales cover topics about the development, transmission, and spread of Buddhism and or dogmatic tales which emphasis karmic retribution. The tales function more than just a glorification of Buddhism, they provide an interesting look into the behavior of human beings. The tales of secular folklore depict a wide variety of human beings to the supernatural. The tales often feature nobility, warriors, monks, scholars, doctors, peasant farmers, fishermen, merchants, prostitutes, bandits, beggars, oni, and tengu. Authorship The author or authors of the Konjaku remain unknown however several theories exist. One such theory states that the author of the Ujidainagon Monogatari, Minamoto no Takakuni. Another theory offers the Buddhist monk Tobane Sōjō as the writer, however there is no substantial evidence for either of these claims. Lastly, a more recent theory has emmerged which proposes the tales were collected and written down by a Buddhist monk somewhere in the vicinity of Kyoto or Nara during the late Heian Period. As for an exact year of when the Konjaku was written, there are only a few clues and few concrete evidence. From the events and content of some of the tales it is suggested that the Konjaku was written sometime during the early half of the 12th century after the year 1120. Significance The tales which appear in the Konjaku can also be found in many other collections, such as ghost story collections. The tales have been used for centuries by later writers and compilers of tales. More recently, in modern Japanese literature, some of these tales have become the basis for major writer's stories. One of Akutagawa Ryūnosuke's most famous works, Rashōmon (which also later was modified into a motion picture of the same name, Rashōmon by movie director Akira Kurosawa) was based on a tale from the Konjaku. Other authors who have written stories based on tales from the Konjaku include Tanizaki Jun'ichiro and Hori Tatsuo.
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