Keigo Seki


Keigo Seki was a Japanese folklorist. He joined a group under Yanagita Kunio, but often came to different conclusions regarding the same folktales. Along with collecting and compiling folktales, Seki also arranged them into a series of categories.
This work culminated in his Nihon mukashibanashi shūsei , in six volumes, which classified Japanese folktales after the model of the Aarne-Thompson system.
A selection was published as Nihon No Mukashi-Banashi, and was translated into English as Folktales of Japan by Robert J. Adams.
Seki founded the Japanese Society for Folk Literature in 1977.

University Life

Seki was a native of Nagasaki Prefecture and graduate of Toyo University. He studied philosophy and worked as a librarian for the university. He founded the Japanese Society for Folk Literature in 1977 and was its first president. Seki understood German and translated two works of folktales from German to Japanese, Kaarle Krohn's Die folkloristische Arbeitsmethode and Aarne's Vergleichende Märchenforschung.

Research and Hypotheses

Keigo Seki's research was on how folklore came to Japan and if some folktales had been imported to Japan from countries such as India and China. Seki's second hypothesis was that folktales should be examined to understand their impact on ordinary events and are to help people in their daily lives. Seki also thought that there was a universal element to folktales and that they are not based on particular ethnic groups.

Major works

  • Nihon Mukashibanashi Shūsei

  • Categorization

In “Types of Japanese Folktales.” Asian Folklore Studies, vol. 25, 1966, Keigo Seki details his own categorization system for folktales, but it did not catch on and the Aarne-Thompson system prevailed. Seki's new categorization method was named “Nihon mukashibanashi no kata”. Seki's system had Japanese folktales divided into in the following 18 categories:
  1. Origin of Animals
  2. * Folktales 1-30
  3. Animal Tales
  4. Man and Animal
  5. * Escape from Ogre
  6. ** Folktales 31-74
  7. * Stupid Animals
  8. ** Folktales 87-118
  9. * Grateful Animals
  10. ** Folktales 119-132
  11. Supernatural Wives and Husbands
  12. * Supernatural Husbands
  13. ** Folktales 133-140
  14. * Supernatural Wives
  15. ** Folktales 141-150
  16. Supernatural Birth
  17. * Folktales 151-165
  18. Man and Waterspirit
  19. * Folktales 166-170
  20. Magic Objects
  21. * Folktales 171-182
  22. Tales of Fate
  23. * Folktales 183-188
  24. Human Marriage
  25. * Folktales 189-200
  26. Acquisition of Riches
  27. * Folktales 201-209
  28. Conflicts
  29. * Parent and Child
  30. ** Folktales 210-223
  31. * Brothers
  32. ** Folktales 224-233
  33. * Neighbors
  34. ** Folktales 234-262
  35. The Clever Man
  36. * Folktales 254-262
  37. Jokes
  38. * Folktales 263-308
  39. Contests
  40. * Folktales 309-326
  41. Osho and Kozo
  42. * Folktales 327-344
  43. Lucky Accidents
  44. * Folktales 345-356
  45. Fools and Numskulls
  46. * Fools
  47. ** Folktales 357-385
  48. * Blunderers
  49. ** Folktales 386-399
  50. * Village of Numskulls
  51. ** Folktales 400-417
  52. * Foolish Son-in-Law
  53. ** Folktales 418-441
  54. * Foolish Daughter-in-Law
  55. ** Folktales 442-452
  56. Formula Tales
  57. * Folktales 453-457