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Monogatari (Japanese: 物語, [monoɡaꜜtaɾi]) is a literary form in traditional Japanese literature – an extended prose narrative tale comparable to epic literature. Monogatari is closely tied to aspects of the oral tradition, and almost always relates a fictional or fictionalized story, even when retelling a historical event. Many of the great works of Japanese fiction, such as the Genji Monogatari and the Heike Monogatari, are in the monogatari form.
The form was prominent around the 9th to 15th centuries, reaching a peak between the 10th and 11th centuries.[1] Monogatari was the court literature during the Heian era and also persisted in the form of archaic fiction until the sixteenth century.[1] According to the Fūyō Wakashū (1271), at least 198 monogatari existed by the 13th century and that only 24 exist today.[2]
The genre is sub-divided into multiple categories depending on their contents:
Stories dealing with fantastical events.
Stories drawn from poetry.
Aristocratic court romances.
Historical tales that emerged during the late Heian period, flourishing until the medieval age.[3] These narratives were commonly written in kanbun (hybrid form of Chinese) or wabun (Japanese).[3] Two of the most notable of this monogatari included the Eiga Monogatari and Ōkagami, which both narrated the story of Michinaga, the renowned Fujiwara regent.[3]
Military chronicles and stories about war.
Anecdotal tales.
Pseudo-classical imitations of earlier tales.
When European and other foreign literature later became known to Japan, the word monogatari began to be used in Japanese titles of foreign works of a similar nature. For example, A Tale of Two Cities is known as Nito Monogatari (二都物語), One Thousand and One NightsasSen'ichiya Monogatari (千一夜物語) and more recently The Lord of the RingsasYubiwa Monogatari (指輪物語) and To Kill a MockingbirdasArabama Monogatari (アラバマ物語).