The epic elements in “The Chronicle of Yoshitsune”

Abstract

There is a great deal of debate among researchers of the Japanese literature about whether it is possible to consider the narrative form called gunki-monogatari a branch of epic genre, but, according to the tradition, these narratives - including “The Chronicle of Yoshitsune” (15^th c.) - are regarded as literary works, despite their folkloric nature. This main characters biographies. First of all it shows that not only the presence of an “epic core” brings this work closer to the epic but also its certain motifs and topical units have clear epic provenance. Secondly, despite the researchers’ suggestions about the selection of legendary material undertaken by the authors of “The Chronicle” in order to create a more real image, in fact, there were no prerequisites for this technique in the Japanese culture of that period. It seems that in “The Chronicle of Yoshitsune” oral legends were structured in accordance with an epic plot structure. Thus, we can see that in spite of the lack of traditional epic forms, that function can be assumed by gunki-monogatari , engendering a narrative structurally and thematically similar to the epic.