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 (Collection of Japanese Folktales) (1928, revised 1961), in six volumes, which classified Japanese folktales after the model of the Aarne-Thompson system.
A selection was published as Nihon No Mukashi-Banashi (1956–7), and was translated into English as Folktales of Japan (1963) 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 (Nihon Koshobungei Gakkai) 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 (Folklore Methodology, 1926) and Aarne's Vergleichende Märchenforschung (Comparative Studies of Folklore, 1908).
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
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:
Origin of Animals Folktales 1-30 Animal Tales Man and Animal Escape from Ogre Folktales 31-74 Stupid Animals Folktales 87-118 Grateful Animals Folktales 119-132 Supernatural Wives and Husbands Supernatural Husbands Folktales 133-140 Supernatural Wives Folktales 141-150 Supernatural Birth Folktales 151-165 Man and Waterspirit Folktales 166-170 Magic Objects Folktales 171-182 Tales of Fate Folktales 183-188 Human Marriage Folktales 189-200 Acquisition of Riches Folktales 201-209 Conflicts Parent and Child Folktales 210-223 Brothers (or Sisters) Folktales 224-233 Neighbors Folktales 234-262 The Clever Man Folktales 254-262 Jokes Folktales 263-308 Contests Folktales 309-326 Osho and Kozo Folktales 327-344 Lucky Accidents Folktales 345-356 Fools and Numskulls Fools Folktales 357-385 Blunderers Folktales 386-399 Village of Numskulls Folktales 400-417 Foolish Son-in-Law Folktales 418-441 Foolish Daughter-in-Law Folktales 442-452 Formula Tales Folktales 453-457
References Citations
Bibliography