Japenese Fairytales, Ozaki by Yei Theodora Ozaki
In this unit, there have been three stories so far:
My Lord Bag of Rice
In this story the name of Tawara Toda, which means "My Lord Bag of Rice" is explained. He was a brave warrior who came across a large dragon on a bridge. Instead of running away, he just climbed over the dragon and continued going, however, someone called out to him and when he looked back he discovered a person where the dragon had been.
It was the Dragon King whose family was being killed by a giant centipede every night and he begged for the warrior's help. The warrior agreed and went to wait for the centipede. As it came down a mountain, he shot it with an arrow tipped in saliva which killed the centipede. The Dragon King was so grateful, he gave the warrior, among other things, a sack of rice which never ran out.
The Adventures of Kintaro
A warrior married a woman, however, he died and his wife ran away to the wilderness in fear of his enemies. She gave birth to a son, Kintaro, who was immensely strong and could communicate with animals. One day, he and his friends, the deer, the bear, the hare, and the monkey had a playful wrestling competition. On the way home, Kintaro uprooted a giant tree to use as a bridge across a river. The man of a great ruler saw him and invited him to become a legendary warrior. Kintaro quickly became a hero.
The Story of the Man Who Did Not Wish to Die
A rich man, Sentaro, who lived idly did not want to die. He had heard of a story of an emperor who sent one of his men out to find hermits who had an Elixer of Life. However, the man did not come back and became a god, worshipped by the hermits. Sentaro searched for the hermits but could not find them so he prayed to the god. After seven days the god appeared and gave Sentaro a paper crane which flew him to an island where people lived an eternal life. They were miserable and tried desperately to kill themselves but could not. Eventually, Sentaro tired of living eternally as well and flew back toward home, however, he changed his mind and tried to turn back. He was caught in a storm and fell in the sea where a shark tried to eat him. At that point, Sentaro woke up, from where he had fallen asleep praying to the god. A messager appeared and pointed out that Sentaro wanted to live forever, then tried to leave so he could die, but then didn't want to be killed by the shark. He was not worthy of finding the hermits but the messenger gave Sentaro a book that helped him lead a better life.
Here is a picture of Tawara Toda walking across the serpent dragon in a hilariously unconcerned manner:
In this unit, there have been three stories so far:
My Lord Bag of Rice
In this story the name of Tawara Toda, which means "My Lord Bag of Rice" is explained. He was a brave warrior who came across a large dragon on a bridge. Instead of running away, he just climbed over the dragon and continued going, however, someone called out to him and when he looked back he discovered a person where the dragon had been.
It was the Dragon King whose family was being killed by a giant centipede every night and he begged for the warrior's help. The warrior agreed and went to wait for the centipede. As it came down a mountain, he shot it with an arrow tipped in saliva which killed the centipede. The Dragon King was so grateful, he gave the warrior, among other things, a sack of rice which never ran out.
The Adventures of Kintaro
A warrior married a woman, however, he died and his wife ran away to the wilderness in fear of his enemies. She gave birth to a son, Kintaro, who was immensely strong and could communicate with animals. One day, he and his friends, the deer, the bear, the hare, and the monkey had a playful wrestling competition. On the way home, Kintaro uprooted a giant tree to use as a bridge across a river. The man of a great ruler saw him and invited him to become a legendary warrior. Kintaro quickly became a hero.
The Story of the Man Who Did Not Wish to Die
A rich man, Sentaro, who lived idly did not want to die. He had heard of a story of an emperor who sent one of his men out to find hermits who had an Elixer of Life. However, the man did not come back and became a god, worshipped by the hermits. Sentaro searched for the hermits but could not find them so he prayed to the god. After seven days the god appeared and gave Sentaro a paper crane which flew him to an island where people lived an eternal life. They were miserable and tried desperately to kill themselves but could not. Eventually, Sentaro tired of living eternally as well and flew back toward home, however, he changed his mind and tried to turn back. He was caught in a storm and fell in the sea where a shark tried to eat him. At that point, Sentaro woke up, from where he had fallen asleep praying to the god. A messager appeared and pointed out that Sentaro wanted to live forever, then tried to leave so he could die, but then didn't want to be killed by the shark. He was not worthy of finding the hermits but the messenger gave Sentaro a book that helped him lead a better life.
Here is a picture of Tawara Toda walking across the serpent dragon in a hilariously unconcerned manner:
Photo Credits: flickr
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