The
Nihon Ryōiki, shortened from the full title ''Nihonkoku Genpō Zen'aku Ryōiki
(A Chronicle of Wondrous Tales of Good and Evil in Japan), is a collection of setsuwa
tales focused entirely on Buddhist themes, and is the oldest known collection of Buddhist legends in the setsuwa
style. Nihon Ryōiki
was compiled in the early 9th century (Heian period) by the monk Kyōkai
, and contains 116 stories split between three volumes as well as nine poems. These stories originate both from older sources and from times contemporary to the compilation’s completion, and— like many Buddhist setsuwa
— are often focused on the concept of karmic retribution. No single complete manuscript of the Nihon Ryōiki'' exists— the complete text must be assembled from multiple sources.
Konjaku Monogatarishū (Anthology of Tales from the Past) is a large compilation of disputed authorship (many suggest that the compilation was assembled by a Buddhist monk) comprising tales in the
setsuwa style.
Konjaku Monogatarishū was composed in Japan during the late Heian period, though the exact date of completion is unknown.
Konjaku Monogatarishū contains over one thousand tales, and the works draw their content largely from folklore— both Buddhist and secular— from India, China, and Japan. The stories assembled contain relatively few references to Shinto and other non-Buddhist Japanese spirituality. The tales are not of great length, keeping with the style of
setsuwa and its basis in oral tradition. The collection contains stories focusing on characters and happenings of many origins, including monks, peasantry, and nobility. The
Tendai priest
Keisei wrote
Kankyo no Tomo in 1222. ==See also==