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Japanese: 連環記 - れんかんき

A novel by Koda Rohan. Published in Nihon Hyoron in 1940 (Showa 15). This work was written when Rohan was 73 years old, and is the culmination of his splendor in his later years. It depicts the deeds of high priests in the mid-Heian period, arranged in a sequential manner like a chain, based on the stories of their afterlife and tales. It is written neither in the beautiful old-fashioned style of "Five-Storied Pagoda" nor in the elegant classical style of "Unmei," but in a relaxed, colloquial style that can sometimes feel too casual. However, in the section at the center of the work, which tells of the awakening of Mikawa no Kami Oe Sadamoto, tracing how he reached the path of Buddhism after reaching the end of the path of worldly passions, the seemingly casual style of narrative is perceived as the power of words that can simultaneously cover both the lowest and highest realms of the human world.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

幸田露伴の小説。1940年(昭和15)《日本評論》に発表。露伴73歳，晩年の華やぎの頂点に位する作。平安時代中期の高僧たちの事跡を，往生伝や説話類によりながら，環を連ねるように順次に配列し，描きだしている。《五重塔》のような古風な美文調でも《運命》のような格調高い漢文調でもなく，くつろいだ語り口調の口語体で記されており，場合によっては砕けすぎの感じを与えることもなくはない。しかし全体の中心にある三河守大江定基の発心を語る条で，彼が現世の愛欲の道を行きつくした果てに仏の道に入る次第をたどるとき，一見さりげない語り口は，人間世界の最低と最高の領域を同時に覆うことのできる言葉の力として感得される。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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