Do you know what kind of folk tales there are in Japan? Many of these folk tales contain lessons that have been passed down to the present day. This time, we will introduce four Japanese folk tales. Please use this as a reference to see what kind of folk tales there are in Japan and what lessons they teach.

1. Princess Kaguya

"Kaguya Hime" is the story of a beautiful woman returning to the moon.

• Story summary

Once upon a time, while an old man was cutting bamboo in the mountains, he found a stalk that was glowing. Curious, the old man cut it down and found a little girl inside. Surprised, the old man took the girl home and named her "Kaguya Hime," raising her with his grandmother.

Ever since bringing Princess Kaguya back home, the grandfather would find glowing bamboo whenever he went to the mountains, and when he cut the bamboo, a large sum of money would come out. The grandfather and grandmother quickly became very wealthy. And miraculously, in just three months, the young Princess Kaguya had grown into a beautiful young woman. Many men who had heard the rumors proposed to her. However, Princess Kaguya refused each of the men, giving them conditions that were difficult to fulfill. Princess Kaguya deliberately gave impossible conditions, such as "bring the five colored jewels hanging from the dragon's neck," to make the men give up on their desire to marry her. Some men tried to deceive Princess Kaguya with fake treasures, but Princess Kaguya saw through them all and refused them all.

Princess Kaguya, who had turned down a man's marriage proposal and was living with her grandparents, began to feel sad whenever the full moon approached. The grandfather and grandmother were puzzled and asked her why, to which she replied, "I am a human who lives on the moon, and on the next full moon, the moon will come to pick me up and I have to return to the land of the moon."

Wanting to protect Princess Kaguya, whom they had raised with great care, the old man and woman hired Japanese warriors, samurai, to protect her on a full moon day. However, when a messenger from the moon arrived, all the samurai were unable to move and were unable to protect Princess Kaguya. Princess Kaguya tearfully said goodbye to her old man and woman, and as a token of gratitude for all they had done for her, gave them an elixir of immortality.

The old man and woman lamented, "There's no point in living a long life if Princess Kaguya is not here," and threw the medicine on the summit of a certain mountain. That mountain is now called "Mount Fuji (Fujisan)." In Japanese, "immortality (fushi)" means never dying, so one theory is that the name "Mount Fuji (Fujisan)" comes from the mountain where the medicine of immortality (fushi) was burned.

Mount Fuji is famous as the highest mountain in Japan, but many people may not know that the story of the princess from the moon may be related to the formation of Mount Fuji.

2.Momotaro​

"Momotarō" is a story about a boy born from a peach who defeats demons.

• Story summary

Once upon a time, there lived an old man and woman. One day, while the old woman was washing clothes in the river, a huge peach floated down the river. Surprised, the old woman brought the peach home and tried to eat it with the old man. However, when she cut open the peach, she found a lively boy inside. The old man and woman named the boy "Momotarō".

When Momotaro grew up and became a fine young man, many villages were attacked by demons, who stole food and treasure, causing great suffering. Momotaro then said he would defeat the demons that were tormenting the villagers. His grandfather and grandmother supported him and prepared for his journey. The grandmother gave Momotaro some "kibi dango," dumplings made from grains.

As Momotaro was heading towards the island where ogres lived, a dog appeared. Momotaro said, "I'll give you some millet dumplings if you want to join me," and the dog accepted. In the same way, a monkey and a pheasant appeared, and Momotaro also made them his friends.

Momotaro and his friends arrived at Oni ga shima, the island where the ogres lived, and worked together to defeat them. The villagers then recovered the food and treasures that had been stolen from them. Momotaro was thanked by the villagers and returned to his home. He then lived happily with his grandparents.

• Moral of the story

The dog, monkey, and pheasant that Momotaro befriended each had their own strengths. Momotaro used the strengths of his companions to defeat the ogre. Perhaps the moral of this story is that "when people who are good at what they do come together, they can form a strong team."

3.UrashimaTaro

"Urashima Taro" is a story about a man who saves a turtle and is repaid for his kindness.

• Story summary

Once upon a time, there was a young fisherman named Urashima Taro. One day, Urashima Taro saw some children on the beach bullying a turtle, so he saved the turtle. As a token of his gratitude, the turtle took Urashima Taro to a luxurious castle in the sea called Ryugu-jo. Urashima Taro was thanked by Otohime, the princess who lived in the castle, and was treated to a magnificent feast. Urashima Taro was so happy that he forgot about his family on land and his life as a fisherman, and became engrossed in the luxurious life in the castle.

However, after a few days at the castle, Urashima Taro began to worry about his mother, whom he had left behind on earth, and decided to return to his original world. With a heavy heart, Otohime gave Urashima Taro a mysterious box called the "Tamatebako," with the message, "Open it if you ever need anything."

Urashima Taro returned to his village on land with the treasure box. However, the village had changed dramatically from before Urashima Taro went to the castle, and his family had already died. During the few days Urashima Taro spent at sea, decades had passed on land. Confused, Urashima Taro decided to open the mysterious box. White smoke came out of the box, and the young Urashima Taro instantly transformed into an old man with a white beard. By opening the box, Urashima Taro's time returned to the real world, and he became an old man.

• Moral of the story

Urashima Taro is a good man who saved the turtle, but he forgets about his precious family and spends all his time playing around in the castle. One could say that the lesson in this story is to "not forget the things that you should cherish."

Have you ever experienced a situation like this, where suddenly you find yourself unable to keep up with the world around you? In Japan, some people use the fairy tale as an analogy to describe the situation where you are the only one who is unable to grasp the situation, like Urashima Taro, as the "Urashima Tarō jōtai state."

4. Kachikachiyama

"Kachikachi-yama" is a story about a rabbit who takes revenge on a raccoon dog that has tormented an old man and woman.

• Story summary

Once upon a time, an old man and woman lived happily together and had a cute rabbit as a pet. One day, while the grandfather was working in the fields, a raccoon dog came along and ate all the beans the grandfather was about to scatter in the field. The grandfather became angry and punished the raccoon dog by hanging it from the ceiling, then went off to work in the fields. However, the raccoon dog pretended to be remorseful and apologized to the grandmother, who helped him out. As an apology, the raccoon dog offered to help the grandmother make rice cakes, and then beat her to death with the pestle she had given him.

The old man was in deep sorrow and cried for days. Seeing this, the rabbit took pity on the old man and offered to avenge his grandmother. The rabbit asked the raccoon dog to help him gather firewood, and had him carry a lot of firewood on his back. He then secretly set fire to the firewood the raccoon dog was carrying, causing severe burns. The rabbit gave the badly injured raccoon dog a mixture of miso and chili peppers as a "burn medicine," which made the pain worse, and made the raccoon dog suffer even more.

Then the rabbit invited the raccoon, who was suffering from burns, to go fishing, saying, "I'll cheer you up and heal your burns." The rabbit got into a boat made of wood, and the raccoon got into a boat made of mud. The mud boat sank deeper and deeper, and the raccoon, who was about to drown, asked the rabbit for help, but instead of helping him, the rabbit hit the raccoon with an oar, and the raccoon drowned to his death.

• Moral of the story

Some people say that the rabbit is scary because he takes so much revenge on the raccoon dog that tormented the old man and woman, but perhaps the rabbit could not forgive the raccoon dog that had made the old man and woman sad enough to take such cruel revenge. In Japan, there is a saying, "ingaohō," which means "what you do will come back to you." "Kachikachi-yama" may be a lesson that "if you do bad things, the same fate will come to you someday."

We've introduced some famous Japanese folk tales, but did you find any that you like? There are many other folk tales in Japan. Perhaps some of them are similar to folk tales from your own country. If you're interested, be sure to read other Japanese folk tales.

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