The Demon at Agi Bridge, a collection of tales translated by Burton Watson and edited by Haruo Shirane, is the most recent and very welcome addition to a growing body of translations and studies in English of setsuwa, a loosely-defined narrative genre from early Japan that Shirane translates here as "anecdotes." Scholars have long wrestled with naming and defining the quirky category of short narratives, often extant in numerous variants, collected in anthologies starting with Nihon Ryōoki (Record of Miraculous Events in Japan, ca. 822), through the representative anthologies Uji shūi monogatari (A Collection of Tales from Uji) and Konjaku monogatari shū (Tales of Times Now Past) from the medieval period, when such collections flourished and were very influential in the developing genres of the noh theater and medieval war tales. Setsuwa originated in the story-telling traditions of early Japan and were probably first organized in handbooks carried by itinerant preachers as sources for their sermons and lectures. As time went on, setsuwa collections were produced by religious institutions and learned scholars (many with an ethnographic bent), a trend that reached its apex during Japan's medieval age.
Most setsuwa range from less than a page to several pages long in translation. Many are either inherently didactic Buddhist tales or are framed as such. Others seem intended solely to produce laughter in the reader or audience, emphasizing human foibles often by resorting to earthy humor. Many of both extremes contain grotesque elements, as evidenced by a good number in The Demon at Agi Bridge, including the title story. Nearly all are snapshots of human behavior that contemporary audiences will find familiar despite the medieval Japanese context. The stories chosen for this collection have long lives in the setsuwa tradition and beyond, including several that serve as the bases for Akutagawa Ryūnosuke's (1892-1927) famous short stories Nose, and Rashōmon, the latter of which was the inspiration for Kurosawa Akira's famous film of the same name.
Shirane's introduction provides a welcome revision of traditional interpretations of the setstuwa tradition. By situating setsuwa first within oral story-telling tradition (and only then within Buddhist preaching practices), he shifts attention to the genre's connections with other works and traditions in pre-modern Japan. He also situates the study of setsuwa historiographically, remarking that setsuwa became the subject of intense public and scholarly interest in Japan after World War II, in large part as a response to the drive to "democratize" following Japan's defeat--in modern times, in other words, setsuwa gained scholarly attention as stories of the people, rather than the politicized military or aristocratic classes (9).
In English, the genre has received sporadic attention since that time, and sections of the two best-known collections, Konjaku monogatari shū and Uji shūi monogatari, were translated by Marian Ury (University of California Press, 1979) and D. E. Mills (Cambridge University Press, 1970), respectively. In 1987, Royall Tyler produced Japanese Tales (Pantheon Press, reissued 2002), which, as a fine collection by a renowned master translator, is perhaps the most comparable antecedent for The Demon at Agi Bridge. However, whereas the former collection organizes the stories thematically, The Demon at Agi Bridge presents the tales in a format more useful for the reader interested in their historical context.
This volume arrives at a time when the field of setsuwa studies is enjoying something of a boom in this country: recently published monographs focused solely or primarily on the genre include R. Keller Kimbrough's Preachers, Poets, Women and the Way: Izumi Shikibu and the Buddhist Literature of Medieval Japan (University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies, 2008) and Michelle Osterfeld Li's Ambiguous Bodies: Reading the Grotesque in Japanese Setsuwa Tales (Stanford University Press, 2009). Although a number of setsuwa are translated in both of these works (some of them very well), The Demon at Agi Bridge alone is intended for and accessible to a broad audience.
Following a short but comprehensive introduction by the eminently clear and reliable Shirane, the work is arranged chronologically by setsuwa collection. In addition to the collections better- known in the west, it also includes excerpts from less often translated works like Kokon chūmonju (A Collection of Things Written and Heard in the Past and Present) and Shasekishū (Collection of Sand and Pebbles). Solid, erudite introductions situate each collection both within its specific historical milieu and in relation to other setsuwa anthologies. Watson's lively translations of some of early Japan's most interesting (and often funny) anecdotal literature follow, interspersed with illustrations from early-modern manuscripts and print editions of the texts. A very useful bibliography of translations and studies concludes the work, making The Demon at Agi Bridge a great resource for the undergraduate classroom as well as the general reader.
Burton Watson is among the most prominent translators of classical Chinese and Japanese works into English, and his deep knowledge of early Asian cultures, and particularly Buddhist texts and contexts, enriches this collection. The Hindu, Buddhist, and other religious characters, ritual objects, and other unfamiliar terms are described either within the stories themselves or in the occasional, non- intrusive notes. The introductions contain larger discussions of the prominence of particular deities (Avalokiteśvara/Kannon, for example). Where the text itself is unclear (a not-uncommon situation in the setsuwa tradition), Watson includes explanatory notes. In general, he does a superlative job of rendering obscure passages or particularly colloquial speech into English. The choice to avoid overwhelming the reader with notes is appropriate for a work intended for a generalist audience, and Shirane and Watson are to be commended for the combination of strong introductions and clear translations that allows them to accomplish this. One minor quibble with the notes is what seems to be an inconsistency in directing the reader to other works discussing a specific tale. In some cases, they are given, as in p. 40 n. 8, remarking on Li's treatment of "How Moye of China Made a Sword and Presented it to the King, and How His Son, Broad-of-Brow, Was Killed," while in others, they are not, as with Li's work on a version of "How a Palace Guard of the Takiguchi Unit Went to Collect Gold During the Reign of Emperor Yōzei" (60) or the anecdote from which the volume takes its title (74). This may have been an editorial decision, but if pointing readers toward contextualizing material per se was a goal, a more thorough job might have been helpful. Otherwise, the comprehensive and up-to-date bibliography provides a complete reading list for the serious student of setsuwa.
Earlier renderings of about two-thirds of the stories translated here appear in Columbia University Press' Anthology of Pre-Modern Japanese Literature, also edited by Shirane. Watson has made a few minor improvements to his consistently strong translations for The Demon at Agi Bridge, but they are in the main very similar to the earlier collection. The setsuwa added to The Demon at Agi Bridge round out the volume nicely and were clearly carefully chosen. Whereas the very thick Anthology is intended specifically for the undergraduate class in pre-modern Japanese literature, The Demon at Agi Bridge would work well for seminars in medieval Japanese, Asian, or comparative literature and culture. And it is a fine read for anyone interested in Japan, oral storytelling traditions, humor, religion, or the weird.