Ancient stories - Kojidan

A collection of tales from the early Kamakura period. It consists of six volumes: The Way of the King and the Empress, The Faithfulness of Subjects, The Practice of Monks, Brave Warriors, Shrines and Temples, and The Ways of Pavilions and Houses. Compiled by Minamoto Akikane, it was probably completed just before the editor's death (1215). It frankly contains many secrets and behind-the-scenes stories about aristocratic society and politics, such as the adulterous affairs of Empress Shotoku, the truth behind Emperor Kazan's decision to become a monk, and the adulterous affair between Ariwara no Narihira and Saigū Ise and how it was handled afterwards, and it tells a very impressive story of a hidden side of imperial society. The majority of the 450 or so tales are excerpts or abridgements from diaries and historical books such as "Shoyuuki" (compiled after 1032) and "Fusouryakki" (compiled around 1094), as well as historical texts such as "Chugaisho" (compiled after 1154) and "Fukego" (compiled after 1161), and are written in a somewhat difficult style of Chinese mixed with kana, but the content is highly valuable and extremely interesting. They provided much of the material for subsequent tale collections such as "Zoku Kojidan" (compiled in 1219) and "Uji Shui Monogatari" (compiled around 1221), making them important in literary history as well.

[Kazuhiko Asami]

"Kojidan, Volumes 1 and 2, edited by Yasuharu Kobayashi (1981, Gendai Shichosha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

鎌倉初期の説話集。王道后宮、臣節、僧行、勇士、神社仏寺、亭宅諸道の6巻からなる。源顕兼(あきかね)編で、編者の没年（1215）直前の成立か。称徳(しょうとく)女帝の淫事(いんじ)、花山(かざん)帝の出家の真相、在原業平(ありわらのなりひら)と伊勢斎宮(いせさいくう)との密通事件とその事後処理など、貴族社会や政治にまつわる秘話や裏面話の数々があからさまに書き付けられており、王朝社会の隠れた一面をきわめて印象的に物語っている。説話の総数450余のうち大半が『小右記(しょうゆうき)』（1032以降成立）、『扶桑略記(ふそうりゃっき)』（1094ころ成立）などの日記・歴史書、『中外抄(ちゅうがいしょう)』（1154以降成立）、『富家語(ふけご)』（1161以降成立）などの故実書から抜粋、抄出されたもので、やや難解な漢文体仮名交り文で綴(つづ)られているが、内容的には価値が高く、きわめて興味深いものがある。『続古事談』（1219成立）という影響作のほか、『宇治拾遺(うじしゅうい)物語』（1221ころ成立）など後続の説話集に多くの素材を提供しており、文学史的にも重要である。

［浅見和彦］

『小林保治校注『古事談』上下（1981・現代思潮社）』

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