Authority over Death: Two Tales Related to the Lord of Mount Tai in Konjaku Monogatarishū

Two tales from the 12th-century Japanese setsuwa collection Konjaku Monogatarishū reveal how Daoist elements and traditional Chinese philosophical principles were reshaped into an integral part of Japan's orthodox structure by the late Heian period. Focusing on the Lord of Mount Tai, this study demonstrates that despite Daoism's rejection as a formal religion in Japan, its influence persisted deeply in Japanese esoteric cosmology and folk beliefs, contributing to the development of a more organized form of government. The research adopts a comparative Japan–China perspective, analyzing textual transformations within their historical and religious contexts.

Shen, Y. (2023). Authority over Death: Two Tales Related to the Lord of Mount Tai in Konjaku Monogatarishū. Religions, 14(10), 1309. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14101309