is a post late-Heian period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

 Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese collection of short stories

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

.

Authorship

With the exception of one story, the authorship is unknown. It is likely each story was written by different authors at various times and later collected together into a single text.

Ōsaka Koenu Gonchūnagon is known to have been composed in 1055 by Lady Koshikibu. This is confirmed in volume 8 of which includes one of the poems from this story.

In addition, poems from Hanazakura Oru Shōshō, Hodohodo no Kesō, Kaiawase, and Haizumi are included in the 1271 Fūyō Wakashū

Fūyō Wakashū

is a late 13th century collection of poetry from Japanese literature..-Composition:The collection of poems was compiled in the year 1271. Although this is not completely certain, the author is believed to be Fujiwara no Tameie...

indicating an upper bound for these stories.

Tradition states that Fujiwara no Tameuji (1222–1286) and Fujiwara no Tamesuke (1263–1328) created copies of the manuscripts also indicating completion of the text by the 13th century.

Contents

The meaning of the title is unknown. There are two main theories:

• A reflection of the various stories (monogatari) bound (tsutsumi) together into a single collection.
• An appellation to Fujiwara no Kanesuke
  Fujiwara no Kanesuke
  Fujiwara no Kanesuke was a middle Heian waka poet and Japanese nobleman. He is designated as a member of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals and one of his poems is included in the famous anthology Hyakunin Isshu...
  
   who was known as the Riverside Middle Counselor due to his residence near the Kamo River
  Kamo River
  The is located in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The riverbanks are popular walking spots for residents and tourists. In summer, restaurants open balconies looking out to the river. There are pathways running alongside the river on which one can walk along the river, and some stepping stones that cross...
  
  .

The text contains ten short stories:

The Princess Who Loved Insects was about a clever and beautiful princess who rather than beautifying herself and courting, would spend her time outdoors playing with bugs and caterpillars.

There is also an incomplete fragment at the end. It is untitled, but variously known by its first few words as .

Manuscripts

There are approximately 60 existing manuscripts, but the original no longer exists. Each manuscript has difficult to read passages and the text as a whole needs to be supplemented by comparison with other manuscripts.

External links

• Kyōto University manuscript