The collection presents its one hundred and twenty-one tales of men and women who renounce the things of this world in favor of Buddhist prayer and devotions as having been compiled by Saigyo (1118-1190). Although it is no longer accepted as the work of that poetpriest, the attribution both affected the idea of Saigyo held by later generations, and caused the book to be read with special veneration. The second chapter of this dissertation describes features of the collection that foster the impression that Saigyo was its compiler, and also arguments showing that he could not have been. The question of the relationship of Senjusho to Kankyo no tomo is taken up in the same chapter.

Historians of Japanese literature include this work in the genre setsuwa, yet its fictional first person narration seems to conflict with the generally accepted definition of that genre as non-fiction--tales transmitted by writers who believed them to be true. Accordingly I attempt in Chapter I to make clearer the senses in which the term setsuwa has been used. Chapter I also includes a discussion of nature and poetry in the context of the tradition of reclusion in Japan, as well as a short biography of Saigyo.

Chapter III deals with Senjusho as a work of religious literature, examining its structure and the ways in which poetry and natural imagery supplement direct exhortation in this work as a means of inducing religious commitment.

Translations of twenty tales from Senjusho make up Chapter IV.