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Japanese folktales are the folktales of Japan. In commonplace usage, it signifies a certain set of well-known classic tales, with a vague distinction of whether they fit the rigorous definition of folktale or not. The admixed imposters are literate written pieces, dating back to the Muromachi period (14th-16th centuries) or even earlier times in the Middle Ages. These would not normally qualify as "folktales" (i.e., pieces collected from oral tradition among the populace). In a more stringent sense, "Japanese folktales" refer to orally transmitted folk narrative. Systematic collection of specimens was pioneered by folklorist Kunio Yanagita. Yanagita disliked the word , a coined term directly translated from "folktale" (Yanagita stated that the term was not familiar to actual old folk he collected folktales from, and was not willing to "go along" with the conventions of other countries〔Yanagita, "Preface to the 1960 edition", appended to ''Nihon no mukashibanashi'' (Folk tales of Japan), Shinchosha, 1983, p.175.〕). He therefore proposed the use of the term to apply to all creative types of folktales (i.e., those that are not "legendary" types which are more of a reportage).〔, encyclopedia, vol.21, 492〕 ==Overview== A representative sampling of Japanese folklore would definitely include the quintessential ''Momotarō'' (Peach Boy), and perhaps other folktales listed among the so-called :〔,p.198. quote:"ごだいおとぎぱなし（五大御伽話）。五大昔話ともいう。桃太郎、猿蟹合戦、舌切雀、花咲爺、かちかち山の五話"〕 the battle between ''The Crab and the Monkey'', ''Shita-kiri Suzume'' (Tongue-cut sparrow), ''Hanasaka Jiisan'' (Flower-blooming old man), and ''Kachi-kachi Yama''. These stories just named are considered genuine folktales, having received those auspices by folklorist Kunio Yanagita.〔, p.253, says calling them ''otogibanashi'' (see below) is a misnomer, since they are ''mukashi banashi'' (Yanagita's preferred term for folktales orally transmitted)〕 During the Edo Period these tales had been adapted by professional writers and woodblock-printed in a form a called ''kusazōshi'' (cf.chapbooks), but a number of local variant versions of the tales have been collected in the field as well. As aforestated, non-genuine folktales are those already committed to writing long ago, the earliest being the tale of Princess Kaguya (or ''The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter''), an example of monogatari type of romance dated to as early as the 10th century, though extant manuscripts are much later. The text gives reference, for example, to the flame-proof " (or salamander)'s fur robe" (perhaps familiar to watchers of the anime ''InuYasha'' as the vestment of the title character), which attests to considerable degree of book-knowledge and learning by its author. Other examples of pseudo-folktales which have been composed in the Middle Ages are the ''Uji Shūi Monogatari'' (13th century) that includes the nucleus of classics as (''Kobutori Jīsan'' - the old man with the hump on his cheek, and ''Straw Millionaire''). This and the ''Konjaku Monogatarishū'' (12th century) also contains a number of type of tales designated ''setsuwa'', a generic term for narratives of various nature, anything from moralizing to comical. Both works, it might be noted, are divided into parts containing tales from India, tales from China, and tales from Japan. In the ''Konjaku Monogatarishū'' can be seen the early developments of the Kintarō legend, familiar in folktale-type form. The Japanese word used to correspond to "folktale" has undergone development over the years. From the Edo Period, the term used was , i.e., tales told by the ''otogii-shū'' who were professional storytellers hired to entertain the daimyo lord at the bedside.〔, encyclopedia, vol.21, 499-504, on mukashibanashi by Shizuka Yamamuro and Taizo Tanaka〕 That term continued to be in currency through the Meiji era (late 19th century), when imported terms such as ''minwa'' began usage.〔 In the Taisho era, the word ''dōwa'' (lit. "children's story" but was a translated coinage for fairy tales or ''märchen'') was used.〔 Then Yanagita popularized the use of ''mukashi-banashi'' "tales of long ago", as mentioned before. Although some Japanese ghost stories or ''kaidan'' such as the story of the Yuki-onna ("snow woman") might be considered examples of folktales, but even though some overlaps may exist, they are usually treated as another genre. The familiar forms of stories are embellished works of literature by gesaku writers, or retooled for the kabuki theater performance, in the case of the bakeneko or monstrous cat. The famous collection ''Kwaidan'' by Lafcadio Hearn also consists of original retellings. Yanagita published a collection ' (1910) which featured a number of fanatastical ''yokai'' creatures such as Zashiki-warashi and kappa. In the middle years of the 20th century storytellers would often travel from town to town telling these stories with special paper illustrations called kamishibai. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Japanese folktales」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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