Yei Theodora Ozaki (1870–1932)

A great sampling of fairy tales from Japan. Ozaki describes in her preface that she sought to make these 'Western-friendly' in her retellings; I take this as reference to her inserted explanations about certain cultural tokens, or the substitution of certain words (e.g. "samurai" becomes "knight") rather than having reshaped the stories themselves. Their morals are not always clear to me and the story can sometimes turn surprisingly violent, but this is no different from reading the tales related by Perrault, the Grimm brothers or Anderson. Something that is different: a few of these are more like legends, describing the unrelated exploits of semi-historical figures (e.g. Emperor Kotei, Princess Hase, Prince Yamato Take). Recurring themes are also different: frequently there is an old childless peasant couple who are suddenly blessed with a son/daughter via supernatural means, and references to an undersea kingdom ruled by a dragon king. I hope that by becoming familiar with these it will enrich my reading of other Japanese literature.

My Lord Bag of Rice - a hero demonstrates bravery against dire odds

The Tongue-Cut Sparrow - a shewish wife learns a lesson about greed. Eerily similar to Grimms' "The Magical Wishing Fish".

The Story of Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad - the mixed blessings of favours from beyond

The Farmer and the Badger - horrific deceit and sly revenge, a darker tale

The Shinansha, or South Pointing Carriage - concerning Emperor Kotei, legendary Chinese inventor

The Adventures of Kintaro, the Golden Boy - anyone can rise to Samurai, even the son of a disgraced one

The Story of Princess Hase - the legend of Chujo-hime and the Taima Mandala of the Taima-dera Temple in Nara

The Story of the Man Who Did Not Wish to Die - if birthdays are preferable to the alternative, what is preferable to an eternity of birthdays?

The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moon-Child - a young woman from the moon is wooed by the emperor, leading to a Mount Fuji legend

The Mirror of Matsuyama - a young woman believes it is her dead mother looking back from a mirror, rather than her own reflection

The Goblin of Adachigahara - a simple monster story, but perhaps suggesting the monster has other shades

The Sagacious Monkey and the Boar - a monkey reminds his master of their bond

The Happy Hunter and the Skillful Fisher - an meritous quest inevitably meets with reward

The Story of the Old Man Who Made Withered Trees Flower - good fortune cannot be stolen

The Jelly Fish and the Monkey - how the jellyfish came to be

The Quarrel of the Monkey and the Crab - a son avenges his father's murder; another dark one

The White Hare and the Crocodiles - trickery contrasted with kindness

The Story of Prince Yamato Take - legend of the prince and his selfless wife

Momotaro, or the Story of the Son of a Peach - a magical child recruits animals to battle demons

The Ogre of Rashomon - a monster suffers from loss of limb

How an Old Man Lost His Wen - more jealousy of good fortune, but humourous this time

The Stones of Five Colors and the Empress Jokwa - water type versus fire type… (altro)