Paper short abstract:

The presentation aims at explaining the significance of the 14th century setsuwa collection Shintōshū for the literary history of medieval Japan by focusing on its narrative techniques and comparing them to those of later versions of its tales transmitted in historical as well as literary contexts.

Paper long abstract:

Usually classified as a setsuwa collection, the 'Shintōshū' 神道集 compiled by monks of the Agui tradition 安居院流 in the middle of the 14th century is believed to be a precursor of the late medieval and early modern honji-mono, which are transmitted in otogizōshi and kojōruri texts. My presentation attempts to explain its significance for the literary history of Japan by focusing on its narrative structure.

A narratological analysis of the tale of Hachirō-no-daimyōjin 八郎大明神 allows to divide the story into three parts. The middle part contains much more psycho-narration, speech and thought representation as well as focalized passages ‒ aspects pertaining to Gérard Genette's 'modes' of narration ‒, but also greatly differs concerning its temporal and spatial dimensions. While time is represented on a more microscopic level, the order of places follows the conventions set in previous tales. It is thus possible to distinguish between a setsuwa style of narration, which recounts events in a historical or anecdotal fashion, and a monogatari style of narration, which is much more fictional and allows for a higher degree of experientiality.

It will be argued that this fictional monogatari style accounts for the popularity of the 'Shintōshū' in later centuries. To prove this point, the development of two tales will be traced regarding later manifestations of its stories in Edo period engi and historical records on the one hand, and in a kojōruri text on the other. The presentation aims at showing how the increase of fictionality in late medieval Japanese literature can be traced back to the 14th century 'Shintōshū'. Furthermore, this diachronic approach will be complemented by a comparison of the narrative devices employed by the 'Shintōshū' with those that can be found in other setsuwa collections such as the 'Konjaku monogatari shū'.