#Most folktale examples series#

But, he was born only one sun (pronounced ‘soon’, a Japanese measurement equalling about 3cm or 1.2 inches) in height. The Inch-High Samurai was born after an old, childless couple prayed to the gods for a child. This is basically the Japanese version of Tom Thumb. It’s a legend to teach children to keep their promises and that maybe some things are better left unknown. There’s a grateful snake, clam, fox, fish and goose, but they all include a woman with a secret to hide and a man who breaks his promise to her. There are many variations of this Japanese story from different regions of Japan, with different animals in the title. She makes him promise again that he will not enter the room while she’s weaving but he inevitably does and faces heartbreaking consequences… When offered a great deal of money to make another sail, the sailmaker’s wife begs and pleads with him not to take the offer but eventually concedes as she knows it would make her husband happy. He promises not to bother her and, at the end of the week, she appears from the room looking ill but, as promised, presents her husband with a beautiful sail that earns them a lot of gold. Her only request is that he doesn’t enter the room while she’s weaving it.

It is the legend of a struggling sailmaker (or farmer in other versions) who meets and marries a beautiful woman who tells him she can weave him a majestic sail that is sure to make him a lot of money. The Grateful Crane is another famous Japanese folktale. The story of Momotarō is the classic Japanese folktale and is likely to be the first one Japanese people think of if you bring up folktales. It’s about this journey of his and the friends and enemies he makes along the way. One day, Momotarō’s family land is destroyed by a gang of demons, and he sets off towards Demon Island to take revenge on them. They name him Momotarō (‘momo’ means ‘peach’, and ‘tarō’ is a name suffix often given to the eldest son in the family). But, when they cut open the peach to eat it, they instead find a baby boy. This Japanese story has gone through several revisions, but the one people are most familiar with goes like this:Īn old woman comes across a giant peach floating down the river and brings it home to her husband. Momotaro is probably the most well-known Japanese folktale, believed to have originated during the Muromachi Period (1336-1573), and written down for the first time only in the Edo Period (1603-1868). If you’re curious, you can check out the games here! If you want to explore local areas, we have created scavenger hunt adventures personalised to your interests, filled with fun facts, clues and puzzles.

One of the best ways to explore Tokyo is to visit the local areas and immerse yourself in the local culture. The three recurring characters in the commercials are Momotarō, Kintarō and Tarō Urashima, and we’ll talk about their folktales, and some other classic Japanese ones too, in this blog article.

#Most folktale examples series#

These Japanese folktales are also much beloved, evident from when au, a Japanese mobile carrier, rolled out a series of commercials featuring characters from different folktales interacting with one another, that became an instant hit with many Japanese people. If you’re interested, you can find out more about the Japanese horror legends here. Even with the rise of technology and Japanese anime and manga, there are still a number of classic and beloved folktales that all Japanese people know and discover through books. Like other countries, Japan has its own Japanese folktales ( mukashi-banashi, “Japanese stories from long ago”) that were initially spread via word of mouth, Japanese legends and traditional stories that they created and told to young children to teach them certain morals and values.