CHAPTER VII
"YEIGWA MONOGATARI" AND "Ō-KAGAMI"
It was inevitable that the Japanese language, which had now reached its highest degree of perfection as an instrument for the expression of thought, should, sooner or later, be applied to some more serious purpose than the writing of poetry, stories, diaries, and other light literature. The Yeigwa Monogatari is notable as the first instance of its being used for history. The authorship of this work is unknown. A not very trustworthy tradition ascribes it to a celebrated poetess of this period named Akazome Yemon, but as it mentions events which occurred after her death, it cannot all be from her pen. She may however, have left materials which were incorporated into the work of a subsequent writer. The date of its composition is also uncertain. It must be near the end of the eleventh century.
The Yeigwa Monogatari consists of forty books, which cover a period of about two centuries of Japanese history, ending with A.D. 1088. It is, however, not so much the general history of the country during this time as of the glorious rule (Yeigwa Monogatari means "A Tale of Glory") of Fujiwara no Michinaga, who was Chief Minister in the three reigns of Ichijō, Sanjō, and Go Ichijō, and who died A.D. 1027. The latter part of the work is the history of his two
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