Influenza del Genji monogatari sulla letteratura popolare: alcuni casi poco noti di adattamento, appropriazione e intertestualità negli otogizōshi

Otogizōshi 御伽草子 are popular brief stories that originated during the Kamakura 鎌倉 period (1185-1333) and reached their peak of popularity during the Muromachi 室町 (1333-1573) and Edo 江戸 (1603-1868) periods. Although they are considered a popular literary genre, they have withstood the influence of classical works such as the Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (circa 1008). This study aims to demonstrate that those stories, highly influenced by classical court literature, can be considered actual adaptations and appropriations of Genji monogatari or some of its parts. This also proves that Genji was known and admired among the lower social classes, which do not coincide with its original target audience. Therefore, this article will provide an analysis of some minor and lesser-known otogizōshi, such as Rokujō Aoi no Ue monogatari 六条葵上物語, Nezumi no sōshi 鼠草紙, and Bunshō sōshi 文章草子, to show that they can be considered adaptations of Genji monogatari but that they also contain original elements duly aligned with the new social and cultural inclinations typical of the medieval and pre-modern periods in which they were born and set. These otogizōshi, which tend to reinterpret the story of Rokujō 六条御息所 and the Akashi Lady 明石御方, as well as the chapters of Suma 須磨 and Akashi 明石, should not be considered as poor copies of Genji monogatari. Instead, they are simplified forms of a canonized classical work that has been “domesticated”, representing the natural evolution of high prose as they remodel the original story to follow the new social and cultural standards of the Edo period.