Japanese Fairy World - Stories From The Wonder-Lore Of Japan

By William Elliot Griffis

This vintage book contains a collection of 34 fantastic stories from Japanese folklore. These magical stories full of wit, pun, myth, and riddle will appeal to lovers of Japanese literature and culture, and they would make for fantastic additions to collections of allied literature. Contents include: "The Travels of Two Frogs", "The Child of the Thunder", "The Tongue-cut Sparrow", "The Fire-fly's Lovers", "The Battle of the Ape and the Crab", "The Wonderful Tea-Kettle", "Peach-Prince and the Treasure Island", "The Fox and the Badger", "The Seven Patrons of Happiness", "Daikoku and the Oni", "Benkei and the Bell", "Little Silver's Dream of the Shoji", et cetera. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction. This book was first published in 1887.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Mar 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473360815

Book preview

JAPANESE FAIRY WORLD.

STORIES FROM THE WONDER-LORE OF JAPAN.

BY

WILLIAM ELLIOT GRIFFIS

ILLUSTRATED BY OZAWA, OF TOKIO

Copyright © 2013 Read Books Ltd.

This book is copyright and may not be

reproduced or copied in any way without

the express permission of the publisher in writing

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Contents

A Short History of Fairy Tales

PREFACE.

THE MEETING OF THE STAR-LOVERS.

THE TRAVELS OF TWO FROGS.

THE CHILD OF THE THUNDER.

THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW.

THE FIRE-FLY’S LOVERS.

THE BATTLE OF THE APE AND THE CRAB.

THE WONDERFUL TEA-KETTLE.

PEACH-PRINCE, AND THE TREASURE ISLAND.

THE FOX AND THE BADGER.

THE SEVEN PATRONS OF HAPPINESS.

DAIKOKU AND THE ONI.

BENKEI AND THE BELL.

LITTLE SILVER’S DREAM OF THE SHOJI.

THE TENGUS, OR THE ELVES WITH LONG NOSES.

KINTARO, OR THE WILD BABY.

JIRAIYA, OR THE MAGIC FROG.

HOW THE JELLY-FISH LOST ITS SHELL.

LORD CUTTLE-FISH GIVES A CONCERT.

YORIMASA, THE BRAVE ARCHER.

WATANABE CUTS OFF THE ONI’S ARM.

WATANABE KILLS THE GREAT SPIDER.

RAIKO AND THE SHI-TEN DOJI.

THE SAZAYE AND THE TAI.

SMELLS AND JINGLES.

THE LAKE OF THE LUTE AND THE MATCHLESS MOUNTAIN.

THE WATERFALL OF YORO, OR THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH.

THE EARTHQUAKE FISH.

THE DREAM STORY OF GOJIRO.

THE PROCESSION OF LORD LONG-LEGS.

KIYOHIME, OR THE POWER OF LOVE.

THE FISHERMAN AND THE MOON-MAIDEN.

THE JEWELS OF THE EBBING AND THE FLOWING TIDE.

KAI RIU O, THE DRAGON KING OF THE WORLD UNDER THE SEA.

THE CREATION OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.

HOW THE SUN GODDESS WAS ENTICED OUT OF HER CAVE.

Illustrations

HOW THE SUN-GODDESS WAS ENTICED OUT OF HER CAVE.

THE STAR-LOVERS MEETING ON THE BRIDGE OF BIRDS.

THE EGG, WASP AND MORTAR ATTACK THE MONKEY.

THE ONI SUBMITTING TO PEACH PRINCE.

THE MONKEYS IN GRIEF.

YORIMASA AND THE NIGHT-BEAST.

THE FISH STALL IN TOKIO.

A JINGLE FOR A SNIFF.

THE ASCENT OF THE DRAGON’S GATE.

THE SORCERESS MELTING THE BELL.

THE DRAGON KING’S GIFT OF THE TIDE JEWELS.

A Short History of Fairy Tales

A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features European folkloric fantasy characters, such as dwarves, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, mermaids, trolls or witches, and usually magic or enchantments to boot! Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described) and explicitly moral tales, including fables or those of a religious nature. In cultures where demons and witches are perceived as real, fairy tales may merge into legends, where the narrative is perceived both by teller and hearers as being grounded in historical truth. However unlike legends and epics, they usually do not contain more than superficial references to religion and actual places, people, and events; they take place ‘once upon a time’ rather than in actual times.

The history of the fairy tale is particularly difficult to trace because only the literary forms survive. Still, the evidence of literary works at least indicates that fairy tales have existed for thousands of years, although not perhaps recognized as a genre. The name ‘fairy tale’ was first ascribed to them by Madame d’Aulnoy in the late seventeenth century. Many of today’s fairy tales have evolved from centuries-old stories that have appeared, with variations, in multiple cultures around the world. Two theories of origins have attempted to explain the common elements in fairy tales across continents. One is that a single point of origin generated any given tale, which then spread over the centuries; the other is that such fairy tales stem from common human experience and therefore can appear separately in many different origins.

Some folklorists prefer to use the German term Märchen or ‘wonder tale’ to refer to the genre over fairy tale, a practice given weight by the definition of Thompson in his 1977 edition of The Folktale. He described it as ‘a tale of some length involving a succession of motifs or episodes. It moves in an unreal world without definite locality or definite creatures and is filled with the marvellous. In this never-never land, humble heroes kill adversaries, succeed to kingdoms and marry princesses.’ The genre was first marked out by writers of the Renaissance, such as Giovanni Francesco Straparola and Giambattista Basile, and stabilized through the works of later collectors such as Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm. The oral tradition of the fairy tale came long before the written page however.

Tales were told or enacted dramatically, rather than written down, and handed from generation to generation. Because of this, the history of their development is necessarily obscure. Many fairy tales appear in written literature throughout different cultures, as in The Golden Ass, which includes Cupid and Psyche (Roman, 100–200 AD), or the Panchatantra (India 3rd century BCE). However it is still unknown to what extent these reflect the actual folk tales even of their own time. The fairy tale itself became popular among the French nobility and among the tales told in that time were the ones of La Fontaine and the Contes of Charles Perrault (1697), who fixed the forms of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and ‘Cinderella.’ Perrault largely laid the foundations for this new literary genre, with some of the best of his works being ‘Puss in Boots’ and ‘Little Red Riding Hood.’

The first collectors to attempt to preserve not only the plot and characters of the tale, but also the style in which they were told were the Brothers Grimm, who collected German fairy tales. The Brothers Grimm rejected several tales for their collection, though told by Germans, because the tales derived from Perrault and they concluded they were thereby French and not German tales. An oral version of ‘Bluebeard’ was thus rejected, and the tale of ‘Little Briar Rose’, clearly related to Perrault’s ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ was included only because Jacob Grimm convinced his brother that the figure of Brynhildr, from much earlier Norse mythology, proved that the sleeping princess was authentically German folklore. The Grimm Brothers remain some of the best-known story-tellers of folk tales though, popularising ‘Hansel and Gretel’, ‘Rapunzel’, ‘Rumplestiltskin’ and ‘Snow White’.

The work of the Brothers Grimm influenced other collectors, both inspiring them to collect tales and leading them to similarly believe, in a spirit of romantic nationalism, that the fairy tales of a country were particularly representative of it (ignoring cross-cultural references). Among those influenced were the Russian Alexander Afanasyev (first published in 1866), the Norwegian Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and the Englishman, Joseph Jacobs (first published in 1890). Simultaneously to such developments, writers such as Hans Christian Andersen and George MacDonald continued the tradition of literary fairy tales. Andersen’s work sometimes drew on old folktales, but more often deployed fairytale motifs and plots in new tales; for instance in ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘The Ugly Duckling’ and ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes.’ Fairy tales are still written in the present day, attesting to their enormous popularity and cultural longevity. We hope the current reader, whether old or young – enjoys this book.

HOW THE SUN-GODDESS WAS ENTICED OUT OF HER CAVE.

PREFACE.

The thirty-four stories included within this volume do not illustrate the bloody, revengeful or licentious elements, with which Japanese popular, and juvenile literature is saturated. These have been carefully avoided.

It is also rather with a view to the artistic, than to the literary, products of the imagination of Japan, that the selection has been made. From my first acquaintance, twelve years ago, with Japanese youth, I became an eager listener to their folk lore and fireside stories. When later, during a residence of nearly four years among the people, my eyes were opened to behold the wondrous fertility of invention, the wealth of literary, historic and classic allusion, of pun, myth and riddle, of heroic, wonder, and legendary lore in Japanese art, I at once set myself to find the source of the ideas expressed in bronze and porcelain, on lacquered cabinets, fans, and even crape paper napkins and tidies. Sometimes I discovered the originals of the artist’s fancy in books, sometimes only in the mouths of the people and professional story-tellers. Some of these stories I first read on the tattooed limbs and bodies of the native foot-runners, others I first saw in flower-tableaux at the street floral shows of Tokio. Within this book the reader will find translations, condensations of whole books, of interminable romances, and a few sketches by the author embodying Japanese ideas, beliefs and superstitions. I have taken no more liberty, I think, with the native originals, than a modern story-teller of Tokio would himself take, were he talking in an American parlor, instead of at his bamboo-curtained stand in Yanagi Cho, (Willow Street,) in the mikado’s capital.

Some of the stories have appeared in English before, but most of them are printed for the first time. A few reappear from The Independent and other periodicals.

The illustrations and cover-stamp, though engraved in New York by Mr. Henry W. Troy, were, with one exception, drawn especially for this work, by my artist-friend, Ozawa Nankoku, of Tokio. The picture of Yorimasa, the Archer, was made for me by one of my students in Tokio.

Hoping that these harmless stories that have tickled the imagination of Japanese children during untold generations, may amuse the big and little folks of America, the writer invites his readers, in the language of the native host as he points to the chopsticks and spread table, O agari nasai

W.E.G.

Schenectady, N.Y., Sept. 28th, 1880.

THE MEETING OF THE STAR-LOVERS.

ONE of the greatest days in the calendar of old Japan was the seventh of July; or, as the Japanese people put it, the seventh day of the seventh month. It was a vermilion day in the almanacs, to which every child looked forward with eyes sparkling, hands clapping, and fingers counting, as each night rolled the time nearer. All manner of fruits and other eatable vegetables were prepared, and cakes baked, in the household. The boys plucked bamboo stalks, and strung on their branches bright-colored ribbons, tinkling bells, and long streamers of paper, on which poetry was written. On this night, mothers hoped for wealth, happiness, good children, and wisdom. The girls made a wish that they might become skilled in needlework. Only one wish a year, however, could be made. So, if any one wanted several things—health, wealth, skill in needlework, wisdom, etc.—they must wait many years before all the favors could be granted. Above all things, rainy weather was not desired. It was a good sign when a spider spun his web over a melon, or, if put in a square box he should weave a circular web. Now, the cause of all this preparation was that on the seventh of July the Herd-boy star and the Spinning Maiden star cross the Milky Way to meet each other. These are the stars which we call Capricornus and Alpha Lyra. These stars that shine and glitter so far up in the zenith, are the boy with an ox and the girl with a shuttle, about whom the story runs as follows:

* * * * *

On the banks of the Silver River of Heaven (which we call the Milky Way) there lived a beautiful maiden, who was the daughter of the sun. Her name was Shokujo. She did not care for games or play, like her companions, and, thinking nothing of vain display, wore only the simplest of dress. Yet she was very diligent, and made many garments for others. Indeed, so busy was she that all called her the Weaving or Spinning Princess.

The sun-king noticed the serious disposition and close habits of his daughter, and tried in various ways to get her to be more lively. At last he thought to marry her. As marriages in the star-land are usually planned by the parents, and not by the foolish lover-boys and girls, he arranged the union without consulting his daughter. The young man on whom the sun-king thus bestowed his daughter’s hand was Kingin, who kept a herd of cows on the banks of the celestial stream. He had always been a good neighbor, and, living on the same side of the river, the father thought he would get a nice son-in-law, and at the same time improve his daughter’s habits and disposition.

No sooner did the maiden become wife than her habits and character utterly changed for the worse, and the father had a very vexatious case of tadashiku suguru (too much of a good thing) on his hands. The wife became not only very merry and lively, but utterly forsook loom and needle. She gave up her nights and days to play and idleness, and no silly lover could have been more foolish than she.

The sun-king became very much offended at all this, and thinking that the husband was the cause of it, he determined to separate the couple. So he ordered the husband to remove to the other side of the river of stars, and told him that hereafter they should