Nikki Bungaku - Influence of Monogatari

Influence of Monogatari

Monogatari, or the Japanese narrative literature, and nikki bungaku greatly influenced each other. In fact, with some works having multiple names—Ise Monogatari or Zaigo Chūjō no Nikki and the Heichū Monogatari or Heichū Nikki—the line between the two genres was not always clear.

In writing her Kagerō Nikki, Mother of Michitsuna starts with her motive of realism in contrast to the monogatari she has read. Despite the overt rejection of the monogatari form, one can see the influence of the genre on diary literature in terms of style and paradigm; the discontent of the authors of both the Sarashina Nikki and Kagero Nikki seems to stem from the gap between their realities and life as idealized in monogatari. Lastly, perhaps the most famous of all monogatari, Genji Monogatari, delves into psychological aspects of its characters' private lives much like that of nikki bungaku.