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Reading Notes: Ozaki, Part B

Japenese Fairytales, Ozaki by Yei Theodora Ozaki
My notes from the second half of the unit:

The Goblin of Adachigahara
The people were scared to go to a certain place after dark and avoided it when they could even during the day because there were stories of a cannibal goblin who lived there and ate men. A priest was walking all day and it had grown cold so he began searching for a place to sleep. He saw a tumbledown cottage and went to it. He met an old woman there who allowed him to stay the night. However, when she went to get firewood, he peeked into the back room and found if filled with human blood and bones. He ran away and though the goblin chased, it did not catch him.

The Ogre of Rashomon
In this story, again a village had tales of an ogre who ate men after dark. A band of knights spoke together about whether or not it was true. One of the knights went to find out. He found the ogre and fought it but it ran away. He had cut off his arm, however, and kept it in a box so the ogre couldn't get it back. One night, his old nurse came, wanting to see the arm. Reluctantly, the knight showed her. She seized the arm and transformed into the ogre. The knight attacked but it escaped through the roof. The knight never caught it but it was too scared to return so the people were safe.

The Story of Princess Hase
In this story, a prince and princess could not have a baby. They prayed to a goddess and were able to conceive so they named their daughter Hase-Hime after the place where the goddess' temple was. The mother died when she was young and the father remarried to a woman who did not like Hase-Hime. She, however, grew up to be very good child. She learned to play the Japenese harp and was praised by the emperor for her skill while her step-mother was unable to play and was embarrassed. The step-mother had a son and tried to poison Hase-Hime but accidentally killed her own child and blamed the girl. Later, Hase-Hime wrote a poem and prayed and was able to stop a flood. Finally, the step-mother told a servant to take the girl into the wilderness and kill her while her father was away. The servant took the girl and together they lived in the wilderness until the father came and found her. The step-mother ran back to her parents and wasn't heard from. Hase-Hime grew up to be an excellent woman.

The last story, particularly, reminded me of the story of Snow White.


Photo Credit: favim

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