This collection of translated tales is from the most famous work in all of Japanese classical literature-the Konjaku Monogatari Shu. This collection of traditional Japanese folklore is akin to the Canterbury Tales of Chaucer or Dante's...
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This collection of translated tales is from the most famous work in all of Japanese classical literature-the Konjaku Monogatari Shu. This collection of traditional Japanese folklore is akin to the Canterbury Tales of Chaucer or Dante's Inferno-powerfully entertaining tales that reveal striking aspects of the cultural psychology, fantasy, and creativity of medieval Japan-tales that still resonate with modern Japanese readers today.The ninety stories in this book are filled with keen psychological insights, wry sarcasm, and scarcely veiled criticisms of the clergy, nobles, and peasants alike-sug
Frontcover; Title page; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgments; A Note on Place Names; Foreword; Introduction; 1 Kume, the Hermit with Magical Powers, Builds Kume Temple; 2 One of Emperor Tenchi's Princes Builds Kasagi Temple; 3 The Kegon Buddhist Service Held at Todaiji Temple; 4 The Copper Statue of the Buddha at Jineji Tellmple Is Destroyed by a Robber; 5 Two Men from Kii Province Are Saved by the Buddha while Drifting at Sea; 6 Fish are Turned into the Lotus Sutra; 7 A Clerk from Higo Province Escapes from a Demon's Scheme
8 Enku, a Monk of the Tendai Sect, Hears a Flying Hermit Chanting a Sutra9 A Monk from Kazurakawa Meets the Hermit of Mt. Hiranoyama; 10 A Monk from Shimotsuke Province Resides in an Old Cave; 11 Unjo, a Sutra-chanting Monk, Escapes a Snake's Attack by Chanting the Lotus Sutra; 12 A Shameless, Depraved Monk Recites the Chapter on the Buddha's Life from the Lotus Sutra; 13 Biwa no Otodo Copies the Lotus Sutra and Saves a Precept Master; 14 A Monk of Dojoji Temple in Kii Province Brings Salvation to Two Snakes by Copying the Lotus Sutra; 15 How a Man Copied the Lotus Sutra to Save a Dead Fox
16 A Nun Who Was the Mother of the High Priest Genshin Goes to Heaven17 A County Administrator of Tamba Province Has a Statue of Kannon Made; 18 A Man from Michinoku Province, Who Catches Hawks' Chicks, Is Saved by Kannon; 19 A Believer in Kannon Goes to the Dragon's Palace and Returns Rich; 20 A Woman from Yamashiro Province Is Saved from the Danger of a Snake by the Grace of Kannon; 21 Kaya no Yoshifuji of Bitchu Province Marries a Fox and Is Saved by Kannon; 22 The Kannon of Ishiyama Temple Helps a Man Compose a Tanka Poem
23 A Woman Traveling to Chinzei Escapes from Bandits with the Help of Kannon24 A Woman Who Could Not Speak Is Healed, Owing to the Grace of the Kannon of Ishiyama ; 25 A Poor Woman Who Worships the Kannon of Kiyomizu Temple Is Saved; 26 A Man from Kii Province Falsely Accuses His Wife and Is Punished; 27 A Monk from a Temple on Mt. Hiei Receives Enlightenment with the Help of the Bodhisattva of Boundless Space; 28 The Monk Koku Is Saved from Death with the Help of Fugen Bodhisattva; 29 On Seeing a Wild Duck Mourning the Death of the Drake He Shot, a Man Becomes a Monk
30 Snakes Are Seen in a Vat of Sake Made from Rice Cake Offerings31 A Turtle Repays the Kindness of Gusai of Paekche; 32 A Human Skull Repays the Kindness of Doto, a Priest from Korea; 33 A Woman Haunted by a Tengu Goblin Visits the Quarters of Ninsho, the Eminent Monk of Butsugenji Temple; 34 Empress Somedono Is Abused by a Tengu Goblin; 35 A Dragon Is Caught by a Tengu Goblin; 36 A Monk from Mt. Atago Is Bewitched by a Wild Boar; 37 A Man from Settsu Who Killed Cows Is Saved and Returns to This World; 38 A Man from the Old Capital Strikes a Mendicant Monk and Is Punished
39 A Man from Yamato Province Catches a Hare and Is Punished
