Otogi Zoshi

Otogi Zoshi (お伽草子), also known as Otogizōshi, are a group of approximately 350 Japanese prose narratives primarily written during the Muromachi period (1392–1573). These illustrated short stories constitute a representative literary genre of the Japanese medieval era. The authors of these stories are largely unknown, and their content spans various themes including aristocracy, religion, warriors, foreign cultures, and folk tales. Some stories are derived from earlier literary works like The Tale of Genji, while others are retellings of Japanese folk tales, such as Issun-boshi. The original readership of these works was broader than that of earlier aristocratic literature, including warriors, monks, hermits, and even later urban merchants. Otogi Zoshi is characterized by its accessible language and entertaining storylines designed to appeal to a wide audience. The term 'Otogi Zoshi' gained prominence after a publisher in Osaka released a collection of 23 such stories in 1725, titled Otogi Bunko, and has since been used to refer to similar works from that period.