For the first time in Russian, the genre of medieval Japanese “otogizoshi” is so fully represented. The collection contains twenty-nine stories created between the 14th and 16th centuries and is a true encyclopedia of the magical and real world of medieval Japan. On the pages of this book you will meet famous historical figures and fairy-tale heroes, ministers of the Heian court and young beauties, monks and nuns, herring traders and salt workers, werewolves and hungry demons. They rise to heaven and descend to hell, travel through the underwater world and visit fabulous islands. But they are all driven by higher powers - gods and buddhas.