This paper gives a synoptic view of the distribution of places mentioned in the setsuwa stories compiled in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods (the 12th and first half of the 13th centuries). The author deals with places that were described as the staging areas for various events occurring during the Heian period, in and around Heian-kyo (present-day Kyoto).
The author presents a geographical analysis of classical Japanese literature. Existing studies of the field have tended to focus on individual works or authors. In this paper, various stories including similar contents from different compilations are classified and analyzed in temporal and spatial dimensions.
The category of setsuwa literature consists of many stories that include miracles and reasoning based on Buddhist teachings. Those stories were collected and resulted in several compilations (setsuwa-shu) in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. The events told in the stories were distinguished ‘desirable’ from ‘undesirable’ for the people described. Then the locations of the events were plotted on maps of different times during the Heian period.
By examining such maps, we can see that the locations of those events were familiar to the inhabitants of Heian-kyo. We can also see that residences and Buddhist temples related to the ruling people of the time were mentioned frequently. This suggests that the events in the stories were told as occurring in reality, reflecting the nature of setsuwa literature.
In analyzing the contents of the stories, we can see that undesirable events often occur within the city boundary, whereas desirable events tend to happen in the peripheral zone. This peripheral zone can be associated with Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines which were religious foci for people of that time. Several events were described as having occurred just outside the city boundary, suggesting that the city area was not clearly circumscribed.
The author concludes that the locational nature of events mentioned in the setsuwa literature can be considered to reflect the spatial structure of the metropolis of the Heian period. Further research should analyze factual records in diaries written by noblemen for comparative studies with literary materials.
