was a collection of stories said to have been written by Minamoto no Takakuni

Minamoto-no-Takakuni

, also known as , was a noble and a scholar of ancient Japan. He was also the father of Toba Sōjō.- References :*Kōjien, 6th edition....

 in the 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...

. These stories heavily influenced Japanese literature

Japanese literature

Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...

, and later turned up in such works as the Konjaku Monogatarishū

Konjaku Monogatarishu

is a Japanese collection of over one thousand tales written during the late Heian period . The entire collection was originally contained in 31 volumes, of which only 28 remain today...

and the Uji Shūi Monogatari

Uji Shui Monogatari

is a collection of Japanese tales written around the beginning of the 13th century. The author is unknown, and it may have been revised several times....

.

The exact date of its composition is unknown. However, clues are given in the preface to Uji Shūi Monogatari

Uji Shui Monogatari

is a collection of Japanese tales written around the beginning of the 13th century. The author is unknown, and it may have been revised several times....

which suggest sometime after 1052 and before 1077.

The book is no longer extant.

Title

The book is referenced in many other stories. The exact title varies and includes the following:

Contents

The book no longer exists. However, according to the preface of Uji Shūi Monogatari

Uji Shui Monogatari

is a collection of Japanese tales written around the beginning of the 13th century. The author is unknown, and it may have been revised several times....

, it contained various stories from India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, and 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...

. Others texts indicate that the stories were Buddhist and secular in nature and included tales about Buddhist karma, miracles, poetry, and humor.