Disappearance of Gautama Buddha as the bodhisattva in the jātaka fables of the Uji Shūi Monogatari

Abstract

The Jātaka tales constitute one of the most prolific and influential literary traditions in human history. Introduced from the oral transmission of ancient India, the composition of this text aims to unify its protagonists as the bodhisattva, a concept that attributes past lives to Gautama Buddha. These fables performed a significant role in the transmission of Buddhism throughout Asia. From early on, some versions of them, translated into classical Chinese from Sanskrit texts, were introduced into pieces of medieval Japanese literature. The Uji Shūi Monogatari (13th century), a Japanese anthology that is well-known in the Western world, includes a few of the oldest Jātaka tales of Indian Buddhism. However, the traditional figure of the bodhisattva is omitted from the narratives. The transformation of Buddhist thought is evident in the adaptation of these stories from India to Medieval Japan.