as Haishi (commonly translated as petty history, or people's history), a Chinese genre of vernacular historical fiction. Bakin often stated that the primary purpose of the novel was to encourage virtue and chastise vice, which was central to the novel's plots and character archetypes; likening himself to the authors of Haishi in that he used entertaining stories to entice less-educated readers, who would, in turn, be taught morals through allegory. As a work of gesaku, however, the novel also contains tacit social commentary, and often plays with traditional concepts relating to gender and morality. History of reception Although only a limited number of copies of the books themselves were printed, the tale was retold through various mediums, including oration and live performance, leading to its popularity among many social classes at the time. Kabuki plays based on Hakkenden were often performed, and ukiyo-e depicting kabuki actors playing the roles of eight warriors were also popular. Hakkenden, and Bakin's work at large, maintained much of its popularity amongst common people throughout the 19th century, but drew some academic criticism in the Meiji era for its didacticism and one-dimensional characters, as novelists and scholars sought to modernize Japan's literary style. Notably, in literary reformer Tsubouchi Shōyō's influential book Essence of the Novel, published 1885–1886, Bakin is lauded for both his style and his role in popularizing novels, but imitation of Bakin's work is cited as a widespread problem among novelists of the time. A complete reprinting in ten volumes is available in the original Japanese, as well as various modern Japanese translations, most of them abridged. Only a few chapters have been translated into English, Chapter 25 by Donald Keene, Chapters 12, 13, and 19 by Chris Drake, and in 2021 the first volume of a translation by Glynne Walley, titled Eight Dogs, or "Hakkenden" Part One – An Ill-Considered Jest was published by Cornell University Press. Adaptations and influenced works In live-action film and TV there have been numerous adaptions: the first in 1913, then a series in the 1950s, and since the influential TV series Shin Hakkenden (:ja:新八犬伝) from the early 1970s, every decade has had either a live-action adaptation or a show significantly influenced by the novel, right up through the 2010s. The novel has also been adapted into kabuki theatre several times. In August 2006, the Kabuki-za put on the play. In 1959, the TOEI motion picture company