narrative; storytelling piece
Refers to a traditional Japanese narrative performance genre, such as 平曲, 説経節, or 浄瑠璃, where a story is chanted or recited with musical accompaniment.
Katarimono is one of Japan's traditional narrative performance arts.
The Tale of the Heike was passed down as a katarimono by biwa-playing minstrels.
Compound of 語り (katari, 'narrating') + 物 (mono, 'thing'). The term refers to a category of traditional Japanese narrative performance.