The history of tales began with "Taketori Monogatari" (The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter), which was mentioned in "The Tale of Genji" as the predecessor of tales, and many tales which are still exist were written: "Ise Monogatari" (The Tales of Ise), "Utsuho Monogatari" (The Tale of Utsuho), "Ochikubo Monogatari" (The Tale of Ochikubo), and so on.
『源氏物語』で「物語の出で来はじめの祖なる竹取の翁」と表現される『竹取物語』にはじまり、『伊勢物語』・『宇津保物語』・『落窪物語』など現存する物語が多く書かれている。