The ape stories found in Konjaku monogatari (Ancient Japanese Literature) and The short tales from Tang Dynasty (Ancient Chinese Literature)

Tales about Apes and humans can be easily identified both in Japanese and Chinese literature. Among these tales, humans and apes do not necessarily have a peaceful coexistence. The “Monkey God Extermination (Sarugami Taiji)” genre depicts man and ape at war. Two tales from the Scroll 26 of Konjaku Monogatari are the earliest records of the (“Monkey God Extermination (Sarugami Taiji)” genre) which can still be seen today. This thesis is going to exam these two tales and their similarities and differences to those of the same genre from China. Having previously researched connections between ancient Chinese and Japanese tales, this research focuses on these two tales from Konjaku Monogatari with the purpose of examining the difference between ancient Japanese‘Setsuwa’[說話]and Chinese Tales.