Kojidan: Tales of the Past

Compiled around 1212–1215, the Kojidan gathers anecdotes about emperors and empresses, ministers, monks, warriors, shrines and the arts in six books. Poisoned rivals, haunted palaces, feuding archers and eccentric priests move through a court on the edge of the age of the samurai.

Minamoto no Akikane's collection of setsuwa tales is one of the great sources of medieval Japanese storytelling, full of gossip, wonders and sharp glimpses of court life. This is a complete translation from the classical text, with endnotes.

For readers of Japanese classics, the Heian and Kamakura eras, and old tales of court and temple.