Stories collected in Uji

The name of the author and the exact time of the creation of the collection is unknown. Despite the fact that the earliest surviving list dates back to the 16th century. An analysis of the language of the monument and the described historical events suggests that it was created no later than the first half of the 13th century . The work is a compilation of stories from various collections of the Setsuv genre of the Heian era. It includes 197 stories, divided into fifteen scrolls of maki 巻. "Uji Shui Monogatari" is recorded in the classic Japanese language Bungotai 文 語 体 using the mixed letter Kanji-kana-maziri-bun (Japanese 漢字 仮 字 交 じ り 文). Eleven lists and printed editions of the monument, dating from the periods of Muromachi (1336–1573) and Edo (1603–1868), have survived to this day.

The meaning of the name of the collection is disclosed in the Preface, which contains a reference to "Tales of the Dinagona from Uji", the author of which was a famous nobleman of the XI century. Minamoto no Takakuni. According to the author of the Preface, being in old age, Takakuni withdrew from public affairs and spent the summer months in a monastery in Uji , near the capital. He called to passers-by both high and low ranks, and listened to their stories about the past. It is believed that it was from these stories that the book was compiled. Subsequently, as stated in the Preface, “knowledgeable people” added more modern stories to existing stories. So there was a book called “Uji Shui Monogatari ^[1] . It is very difficult to judge the reliability of the above information, since the text of the mentioned work of Takakuni, even if it existed, has been lost. However, the mere fact of the correlation of the collection of interest to us with earlier works of this kind is beyond doubt.

The storytelling in Uji Shui Monogatari is inconsistent and at first glance devoid of logic. There is no classification by topic, unlike its predecessor, Konjaku Monogatari, of the 12th century In the collection you can find a variety of stories, both in content and in mood, scary and funny, instructive and frivolous, or even shameful and stupid. The latter include real stories that have occurred with metropolitan aristocrats, whose names are openly called in the stories. However, a significant part of the stories, especially those recorded after the death of Takakuni, has much in common with the famous works of the Setsuva genre, the legends of old India and China , as well as the texts of Buddhist sutras . The plot organization of the stories of the monument, represented by the “mosaic” arrangement of stories, deserves special attention: a tidy story is adjacent to the story of the honorable aristocrat, the zealous servant of Buddha is opposed to the impostor monk, the hardworking craftsman is a thief. Thus, the work clearly presents the social differentiation of the time, different spiritual conditions and moral principles of society. It is in such a unique organization of stories “Uji Sui Monogatari,” which at first glance looks incoherent and devoid of logic, and its value lies. ^[one]

“The Tales Collected in Uji” is an invaluable source that provides ample opportunity to study Japanese Buddhism in the late Kheyan period, which is a kind of synthesis of primordially Japanese Shinto , Taoist magic, esoteric Buddhism, and Amidism . “The time reflected in the work was very difficult: the Buddhist church began to play almost the main role in the spiritual life of the population, and each school claimed to be the bearer of a true creed. In addition, the year 1052 was called the first year of the end of the Buddha Law, according to which humanity entered the last and most terrible of the kalps, when, according to the teachings of the Buddha, all kinds of unrest and cataclysms would begin in the world. The population of Japan rushed to seek salvation in the prayer of Buddha Amida and the all-merciful bodhisattva Jizo ”(Grigoryeva, 1993, p. 194–197). The appearance of heretical manifestations of amidism in the form of mass or single suicides was inevitable. The collection “Uji Shui Monogatari” became a harbinger of an important stage in the development of the story genre (short story), which was destined to have a long life in Japanese literature. A direct thread stretches from this collection to the works of Saikaku , Akinari and further into the 20th century , when many of its subjects were embodied in the works of such illustrious masters as Akutagawa , Tanizaki , etc.

• A thousand cranes. Anthology of Japanese classical literature of the VIII — XIX centuries. (2005)
  
• D. Kiknadze. “Uji Shui Monogatari” as a source on the spiritual culture of Japan in the Heian era (794–1185)

^[one]

1. ↑ D. Kiknadze. “Uji Shui Monogatari” as a source on the spiritual culture of Japan in the Heian era (794–1185)