Tales of Yamato

A song story from the mid-Heian period. The author is unknown. It was completed around 951 (Tenryaku 5) and was completed up to around 168th paragraph in the extant version. It seems that from then on, around 1005 to 107, paragraphs 169 to 173 were added, and some other parts were added. The content is a collection of song stories over 173 paragraphs, but it goes beyond the realm of mere mechanical interview records and there are many parts that seem to be fiction or embellishment. It contains 295 poems by over 140 monks, men and women of all ranks, from Yozei to Daigo, and covers a wide range of topics. The first half is mainly about song stories born in the imperial court of the time, and the second half is full of old folklore such as Obasuteyama, Ashikari, and Tatsutayama. The arrangement of each section is similar to the classification method of ancient story collections based on social status, such as placing a story about Emperor Uda at the beginning of the volume, and there is also a sense of classification similar to that of imperially commissioned poetry collections, but overall, the chapters are linked together through fairly free associations, such as grouping by characters, similarities in material, and common vocabulary. The thematic unity throughout the work is weak, and it appears chaotic at first glance, but this linked structure supports its miscellaneous form. Also, although it is influenced by the preceding "Tales of Ise," it lacks the intense and pure lyricism of "Tales of Ise," and is more closely aligned with the level of secular gossip, and in many ways conveys the average state of contemporary literature.

The extant versions are roughly divided into the Nijo family version and the Rokujo family version. The former version, written by Fujiwara Tameie and copied in 1261, is considered the best, and the Teika version that has been in circulation up until now is mostly the Nijo family version.

Furthermore, among the Rokujo family versions, the Shomei version held at Kyushu University Library was copied around the same time as the Tameie version, but it is an unpublished copy from paragraph 134 onwards; the Mikanagi version and Suzuka version, copies made in the early modern period, are also said to be of this lineage, but there are significant differences and similarities between them and the Shomei version.

[Gen'ei Imai]

"Abe Toshiko, 'A revised version of Yamato Monogatari and its research' (1954, Sanseido)" ▽ "Kakimoto Susumu, 'Annotations and research on Yamato Monogatari' (1981, Musashino Shoin)" ▽ "Abe Toshiko and Imai Gen'ei, annotated 'Yamato Monogatari' (included in 'Japanese Classical Literature Series 9', 1957, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "Takahashi Masaharu, annotated and translated 'Yamato Monogatari' (included in 'Japanese Classical Literature Collection 8', 1972, Shogakukan)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

平安時代中期の歌物語。作者不明。成立は951年（天暦5）ごろ現存本168段あたりまでほぼ成立、以後『拾遺集(しゅういしゅう)』成立（1005ころ～07ころ）ごろまでに169段から173段まで、および他にも部分的な加筆があるらしい。内容は173段にわたる歌語りの集成であるが、単なる機械的な打ち聞き記録の域を超えて、虚構ないし潤色とみられる部分も少なくない。陽成(ようぜい)～醍醐(だいご)朝にわたる、僧侶(そうりょ)男女貴賤(きせん)140余名に上る人の歌295首を含み、話題は多様である。前半は当代の宮廷に生まれた歌語りを主とし、後半は、姥捨(おばすて)山、芦刈(あしかり)、立田(たつた)山などの古い伝承が多い。各段の配列に際しては、巻頭に宇多(うだ)天皇に関する説話を置くなど、身分本位の古代説話集の部類方法に通ずるところもあり、また勅撰(ちょくせん)歌集に似た部類意識もないわけではないが、全体としては、登場人物による取りまとめ、素材の類似性、語彙(ごい)の共通性など、かなり自由な連想作用によって、章段と章段とは連接されている。全編にわたる主題的統一性は微弱で、一見無秩序にみえるが、こうした連鎖的構成がその雑纂(ざっさん)的形態を支えている。また、先行する『伊勢(いせ)物語』の影響下にあるものの、それにあった強烈で純粋な叙情性は薄く、世俗的なゴシップの次元に密着しており、当代の文芸の平均的な実態を伝える点が多い。

　伝本は、二条家本系統と六条家本系統とに大別される。前者に属する弘長(こうちょう)元年（1261）写の藤原為家(ためいえ)筆本が最善本とされており、従来流布した定家(ていか)本もおおむね二条家本である。

　また六条家本では、九州大学図書館蔵勝命(しょうめい)本は、為家本と同じころの写にかかるが、134段以降の零本(れいほん)であり、近世初期写の御巫(みかなぎ)本・鈴鹿(すずか)本もこの系統といわれるが、勝命本との間にはかなりの異同がある。

［今井源衛］

『阿部俊子著『校本大和物語とその研究』（1954・三省堂）』▽『柿本奨著『大和物語の注釈と研究』（1981・武蔵野書院）』▽『阿部俊子・今井源衛校注『大和物語』（『日本古典文学大系9』所収・1957・岩波書店）』▽『高橋正治校注・訳『大和物語』（『日本古典文学全集8』所収・1972・小学館）』

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