Urashima Taro / Kaguya Hime / Momotarō… Famous Japanese folktales

Do you know Japanese folktales? There are many folktales that have lessons to be passed on to the present day. In this article, we would like to introduce four Japanese folktales. Please find out what kind of folktales there are in Japan and what lessons they hold.

1.　かぐや姫 (Kaguya Hime)

“かぐや姫” (Kaguya Hime) is a story of a beautiful woman who returns to the moon.

• Plot of the story

Once upon a time, when an old man was cutting bamboo in a mountain, he found a shining bamboo. When the old man cut the bamboo wondering, he saw a little girl in it. Surprised, the old man took the girl home and named her “かぐや姫” (Kaguya Hime) and raised her with care.

After bringing Kaguya Hime home, the old man found shining bamboo every time he went to the mountain, and when he cut the shining bamboo, a large amount of money came out from inside. The old man and his wife quickly became very rich. And strangely, in only three months she grew up to be a very beautiful woman. Then many men heard the rumor and proposed marriage to Kaguya Hime. However, she refused the proposal by offering difficult conditions to any men. she deliberately conveyed impossible conditions, such as “bringing five colored jewels hanging from the dragon's neck,” and induced the men to give up their marriage. Some men tried to deceive her with fake treasures, but Kaguya Hime found them out and turned her down.

Kaguya Hime, who refused the men's proposals and lived with the old man and his wife, became sad when the full moon was approaching. The old man and his wife wondered why, and Kaguya Hime answered, “I am a person who lives on the moon. On the next full moon day, envoys will come from the moon to pick me up and I’ll have to go back to the country of the moon.”

The old man and his wife wanted to protect Kaguya Hime, whom they had brought up with great care, and on the day of the full moon they hired Japanese warriors, “侍” (samurai), to protect her. However, when the envoys from the moon came, all the samurais could not move and could not protect Kaguya Hime. She said goodbye to the old man and his wife in tears and gave them a medicine that would make them immortal if they took it as a token of her gratitude.

The old man and his wife lamented, “It is no use living long without Kaguya Hime,” and threw away the medicine on the top of a mountain. The mountain is now called “富士山” (Fujisan). In Japanese, to never die is called “不死” (fushi), so there is a theory that the name “富士山” (Fujisan) comes from “the mountain where the medicine for “不死” (fushi) was burned.”

Mt. Fuji is famous as the highest mountain in Japan, but many people don't know that the story of a princess who came from the moon may have something to do with the origin of Mt. Fuji.

2.　桃太郎 (Momotarō)

“桃太郎” (Momotarō) is a story that a boy born from a peach kills ogres.

• Plot of the story

Once upon a time there lived an old man and his wife. One day, when she was washing clothes in the river, a big peach came floating from the upper stream of the river. Surprised, the old woman took the peach home and tried to eat it with him. But when he cut the peach, he saw a lively boy inside. They named him “桃太郎” (Momotarō).

When Momotarō grew up and became a fine young man, many villages suffered from 鬼 (oni) who robbed them of their food and treasures. Then Momotarō said he would exterminate the ogres that tormented the villagers. The old man and his wife supported Momotarō and prepared for his trip. The old woman gave Momotarō “きびだんご” (kibi dango), dumplings made from grain.

When Momotarō was heading to the island where the ogres lived, a dog appeared. Momotarō said, “I'll give you a kibi dango, so I want you to join me,” and the dog accepted. In the same way, a monkey and a pheasant appeared, so Momotarō made them his friends.

Momotarō and his friends arrived at “鬼ヶ島” (Oni ga shima), where the ogres live, and they cooperated in exterminating the ogres. And the villagers recovered the food and treasure they had been robbed of. Momotarō was thanked by the villagers and returned home. And he lived happily with the old man and his wife.

• Lesson of the story

The dog, monkey, and pheasant that “桃太郎” (Momotarō) made his friends each had different strengths. Momotarō used the strengths of his friends to defeat the ogres. Perhaps there is a lesson in this story: When people who are good at what they do get together, they make a strong team.

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3.　浦島太郎 (Urashima Taro)

“浦島太郎” (Urashima Taro) is a story of a man who saved a turtle and repaid his kindness.

• Plot of the story

Once upon a time there lived a young fisherman named “浦島太郎” (Urashima Taro). One day, Urashima Taro saw children bullying a turtle at the beach, so he helped it. Then, as a token of gratitude, the turtle took Urashima Taro to a gorgeous castle called “竜宮城” (Ryūgūjō) in the sea. Urashima Taro was appreciated by “乙姫” (Otohime), a princess who lived in the castle, and was treated to a splendid dinner. Urashima Taro was so much fun that he forgot about his family and life as a fisherman on the ground and was absorbed in the luxurious life in the castle.

However, a few days had passed since he came to the castle, and Urashima Taro began to worry about his mother he had left behind on the ground, so he decided to return to his old world. Otohime saddly gave Urashima Taro a mysterious box called a “玉手箱” (tamatebako) saying, “Open it if you have any trouble.”

Urashima Taro returned to the village above ground with the box. However, the situation in the village had changed drastically since before Urashima Taro went to the castle, and his family had already passed away. 10 years had passed on the ground during the few days Urashima Taro spent in the sea. Urashima Taro was in trouble and opened that mysterious box. Then white smoke came out of the box, and the young Urashima Taro immediately became an old man with white beards. Opening the box brought Urashima Taro's time back to the real world, and he became an old man.

• Lesson of the story

Urashima Taro, who saved the turtle, was a good person, but he forgot about his precious family and spend all of his time on amusement at the castle. There's a lesson to be learned: Don't forget what you care about.

Have you ever experienced a situation like this, where you are the only one who can't keep up with the environment around you? In Japan, some people use this fairy tale as a metaphor, saying “浦島太郎状態” (Urashima Tarō jōtai), to describe a situation in which you are the only one who can't keep up with what's going on like Urashima Taro.

4.　かちかち山 (Kachikachi-yama)

“かちかち山” (Kachikachi-yama) is a story of a rabbit getting revenge on a raccoon dog who tormented the old man and his wife.

• Plot of the story

Once upon a time, an old man and his wife had a cute rabbit and lived together. One day, when the old man was working in the field, a raccoon dog came to him and ate up all the beans that the old man was trying to spread in the field. The old man got angry, and hung the raccoon dog from the ceiling to punish him, and then went out to work in the field. However, the raccoon dog pretended to be sorry and apologized to his wife, and she helped him. As an apology, the raccoon dog said he would help pounding rice cake, but he beat the old woman to death with the mallet he was given.

The old man mourned and lived in tears for days. When the rabbit saw this, it sympathized with him and said to him, “I'll avenge your wife’s death.” The rabbit asked the raccoon dog to help him pick up firewood, and the rabbit put a lot of firewood on the raccoon dog’s back. Then the rabbit secretly set fire to the firewood the raccoon dog carried on his back, and burned him badly. To the raccoon dog, who had been seriously injured, the rabbit gave a medicine that mixed miso and red peppers to make it more painful as a “burn medicine,” and furthermore tormented him.

Then the rabbit said, “Cheer up and cure the burn,” and invited the raccoon dog, who was suffering from a burn, to go fishing. The rabbit went on a boat made of wood, and the raccoon dog went on a boat made of mud. The boat made of mud sank steadily, and the raccoon dog, who was about to drown, asked the rabbit for help, but instead of helping him, the rabbit hit the raccoon dog with an oar and the raccoon dog drowned.

• Lesson of the story

Some people say that they are afraid of the rabbit that completely avenges the raccoon dog who tormented the old man and his wife, but perhaps the rabbit could not forgive the raccoon for making the old man and his wife so sad that he took a cruel revenge. In Japan, there is a saying called “因果応報” (ingaōhō), which means that what you do will eventually come back to you. “かちかち山” (Kachikachi-yama) may be a lesson that if you do something wrong, you will eventually suffer the same fate.

We introduced some famous old stories in Japan. Do you have any favorite stories? There are many other folktales in Japan. Maybe some of them are similar to old stories in your country. If you are interested, please read other old Japanese stories.

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