- Setsuwa
is a Japanese literary genre. It consists of myths, legends, folktales, and anecdotes.
Setsuwa are based foremost on oral tradition. The stories are told to each other and later committed to text. As a genre, they " [...] have in common brevity; an uncomplicated plot unfolded in plain, direct language; character delineation through dialogue and action rather than through description and psychological analysis; and a predilection for amusing, starting, dramatic, or marvelous subject matter." [McCullough (1990: 7-8)]
The genre may be divided into two major subcategories: general and Buddhist. A number of setsuwa deal with Buddhist matters such as karma and miracles.
Setsuwa may be found integrated in other literature or in setsuwa collections. The myths found within
Kojiki (712) are the oldest individual ones known to exist. TheNihon Ryōiki (c. 822) is the oldest setsuwa collection.The setsuwa genre last until the early
14th century when it was succeeded by the otogizōshi genre.Notes
References
* cite book
last = Kubota
first = Jun
title = Iwanami Nihon Koten Bungaku Jiten
publisher = Iwanami Shoten
date = 2007
language = Japanese
id = ISBN 978-4-00-080310-6
* cite book
last = McCullough
first = Helen Craig
authorlink = Helen Craig McCullough
title = Classical Japanese Prose: An Anthology
publisher = Stanford University Press
date = 1990
language = English
id = ISBN 0-8047-1960-8
* cite book
last = Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten Henshū Iinkai
title = Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten
publisher = Iwanami Shoten
date = 1986
language = Japanese
id = ISBN 4-00-080067-1
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