Japanese tales from times past
Subtitle: stories of fantasy and folklore from the Konjaku monogatari shu : new translations from Japan's most famous collection of folk wisdom
By: translated by Naoshi Koriyama and Bruce Allen ; with a foreword by Karen Thornber
Edition: First edition.
Published: 2015
Language: eng
Number of pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9784805313411
Subjects: Social life and customs; Japanese literature; Buddhist legends; Japanese Folk literature; Translations into English; Fiction
Work titles: Konjaku monogatari. Selections. English
Description: "This collection of translated stories from the classic work of Japanese medieval literature, the "Konjaku Monogatari shu", contains powerfully entertaining tales that reveal striking aspects of the imagination, fantasy, and creativeness of the Japanese. The ninety stories contain psychological insight, wry sarcasm, and barely veiled criticisms of the doings of clergy, nobles, and peasants alike, suggesting that there are, among all classes and peoples, similar susceptibilities to pride, vanity, superstition, and greed--as well as aspirations toward higher moral goals. This is the largest selection from the "Konjaku Monogatari shu" ever gathered together in one volume. It presents the low life and the high, the humble and the devout; the drinking, flirting, farting and fornicating, as well as the yearning for wisdom, transcendence and compassion that are all part and of our shared human nature."--