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This work includes a study and a complete, annotated translation of the late twelfth- or early thirteenth-century Japanese tale collection, the Kara monogatari (Tales of China). The twenty-seven tales are interesting as stories, literate as short written pieces, and important as a Japanese cultural source, as well as being of interest to students of China. The Kara monogatari gave Japanese readers vernacular translations of some of the most well-known stories about China. It offers an interesting example of the transition in Japanese literature from the uta monogatari (poem tale) form to the setsuwa bungaku (story literature) form.