Setsuwa

literary work

literary work

collection of Japanese tales written around the beginning of the 13th century

[[File:Pelliot chinois 4524-06.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The Magical Combat (Jiang Mo Bian Wen) (降魔變文)]]

Setsuwa () is a Japanese literary genre. It consists of myths, legends, folktales, and anecdotes. Among the , those that are full-length are generally referred to as . In Japan, the term is also applied to similar works around the world.

Japanese folk tale

The , also read as Sasekishū, translated into English as Collection of Stone and Sand, is a five-volume collection of Buddhist parables written by the Japanese monk Mujū in 1283 during the Kamakura period.

The text is six volumes in length and contains 462 setsuwa stories many of which focus on monks, the aristocracy, and the imperial palace. It was extremely popular and influenced a number of following collections beginning with the 1219 text Zoku Kojidan and Uji Shūi Monogatari.