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Paper short abstract:

Scattered comments regarding the perceived brevity of human life appear in medieval tales where encounters with other worlds and forms of existence betoken a vast cosmological framework. How do such tales reflect the relative position of humans within it and articulate layers of temporality?

Paper long abstract:

Things happen within an environment, which is, in the broadest sense, the conjunction of space and time. The way in which people make sense of their world within a temporally constrained existence is shaped by their engagement with it and finds expression in narratives. Kamakura (1185–1333) and Muromachi-period (1336–1573) tales incorporate elements that reveal a preoccupation with death and its inevitability, displaying a profound awareness of a finite allocation of time. Similes such as “life as fleeting as dew” present well-known tropes that utilise natural imagery to convey notions of impermanence. This paper seeks to investigate how temporal delimitation is addressed and portrayed, and what conclusions can be drawn about the conceptualisation of time within the narrative framework. Centring on the theme of the human lifespan as a case study and by taking a closer look at the different layers of temporality in medieval setsuwa and otogi zōshi, different facets of what is subsumed under a generalised notion of time will be examined and how the perceived shortness of a human life is accounted for.

A basic differentiation between experienced time as opposed to constructed time serves to highlight the vast timescales against which human life was measured. In this way, humans are firmly placed within a broader context of other existences and an all-encompassing conception of time, emphasising their embeddedness in a predominantly Buddhist cosmology. Time itself flows differently depending on the realm and the longevity of other beings is characterised by an otherworldly nature. Thus, the juxtaposition of the human realm with other worlds through intersection or infringement uncovers temporal discrepancies that further accentuate the brevity of the human lifespan. Examples of how the fortunate traveller to another realm might prolong life by partaking of it and references to the idea that life expectancy underwent periods of shortening and lengthening in line with Buddhist cyclical notions of time attest to a profound contemplation of life’s conditions as they were encountered. With this paper I hope to contribute a nuanced consideration of the complexities surrounding the multi-layered and interrelated temporalities as they emerge from medieval tale literature.