Lotus and other tales of medieval Japan
By: Takeshi Umehara ; translated by Paul McCarthy.
Contributors: McCarthy, Paul.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Charles E. Tuttle
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Rutland, Vt
Language: eng
Number of pages: 199
Subjects: Short stories, Japanese -- Translations into English.; Japan -- History -- 1185-1600 -- Fiction.
Description: The medieval period in Japan, spanning the years from about 1200 to 1600, was a time of rapid cultural development that saw the emergence and refinement of many new art forms. One of these was the religious folk tale, or setsuwa, many collections of which were compiled during this time. Unlike the rarified court poems and accounts of aristocratic life written during this period, setsuwa were literature for the common man.

Like the classic fables and parables of the West, these stories are varied in origin, many of them collected from Indian and Chinese sources and retold and embellished by succeeding generations of authors. In Lotus: and Other Tales of Medieval Japan, the author has carefully chosen eight particularly notable setsuwa for their timeless interest and fascinating plot developments.
Table of contents: title: Heads (Kubi); title: Haseo's love (Haseo no koi); title: The Nun Oyō (Oyō no ama); title: A tale of luck and riches (Fukutomi monogatari); title: Lazy bones Tarō (Monogusa Tarō); title: Lotus (Hasu); title: How the gods came to Kumano (Kumano no honji); title: Sanshō Dayū.