Mirror objects

Among historical tales, this one uses the historical narrative style of dialogue and round-table discussion that was first introduced in "Ookagami." "Ookagami," "Suikagami," and "Masukagami" are called the Three Mirrors (Sankyo), and adding "Imakagami" they are also called the Four Mirrors (Shikyo). "Akitsushima Monogatari," "The Destination of the Moon," and "Ike no Mokuzu" are pseudo-archaic works that only imitate the format. In these works, the narrator and listeners are first established in the prologue, and the story unfolds through dialogue and round-table discussion between the people, with the author observing and recording the process from nearby. In particular, the Ohkagami is consistent in its dialogue and discussion format, capturing the light and darkness of history from multiple angles and effectively illuminating the truth of history, whereas the Imakagami and Suikagami are perfunctory and do not fully utilize the functions of the dialogue and discussion format, and Masukagami is also incomplete in form.

Furthermore, the word "mirror" that appears in the titles of the works means a turtle mirror in "Now Mirror," suggesting the idea of ​​using history as a source of discernment, but in other works it means a clear mirror that reflects what is genuine.

[Takehana Tsune]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

歴史物語のなかで、『大鏡(おおかがみ)』の創始した問答、座談形式の歴史叙述を用いたもの。『大鏡』『水鏡』『増鏡(ますかがみ)』を三鏡(さんきょう)とよび、これに『今鏡』を加えて四鏡(しきょう)ともいう。『秋津島(あきつしま)物語』『月の行方(ゆくえ)』『池の藻屑(もくず)』などは体裁だけ模倣した擬古的な作品である。これらの作品では、まず序文で語り手と聞き手を設定し、それらの人々の問答、座談によって物語が展開し、作者はかたわらでそれを観察しながら筆録する体裁になっている。とくに『大鏡』は、この問答、座談形式が首尾一貫し、歴史の表裏明暗を多角的にとらえて、歴史の真実を照らし出すのに効果をあげているが、『今鏡』『水鏡』は形式的で、問答、座談形式の機能が十分に生かされず、『増鏡』は形式的にも不完全である。

　なお、作品名に共通の「鏡」の語は、『今鏡』では亀鏡(きけい)の意で、歴史を鑑戒(かんかい)の資となす考えがうかがえるが、それ以外の作品では、真正なものを映し出す明鏡の意である。

［竹鼻　績］

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