Mukashi Banashi – A Selection of Japanese Folktales

Japan has a long held tradition of folk stories, some of which have a literary tradition, and others that have been orally passed down for centuries. This week, our collection was explored and we introduced two very popular tales.

さるかに合戦
The Quarrel of Monkey and Crab

battle2.jpgThe story of Monkey and Crab (Jp.”Saru Kani Gassen”) follows the story of a mother crab who finds a rice ball (onigiri) and is persuaded by a monkey to trade it for a persimmon seed. After an act of betrayal by the monkey, the crab’s friends; which are often introduced as a chestnut, a mortar, a bee, and a cow pie; come to exact revenge.

Appropriate for a folktale, the story has many variations throughout Japan, such as crab dying or simply being harmed, or the list of friends that come to her aid.

浦島太郎
Urashima Tarō

Kuniyoshi_Station_38.jpgThe story of Urashima Tarō is an extraordinarily old legend of a fisherman with the same name. In most versions of the story, Tarō saves a sea turtle from being tortured by a group of children. To express his gratitude, the turtle takes him to an undersea palace, which is home to the Dragon god, Ryūjin, and Otohime, a goddess who is said to be an ancestor of the first Japanese emperor. After expressing desire to see his old home again, Tarō is given a box which he is warned never to open. Upon returning to the land, he eventually discovers that 300 years had passed since his departure. Absentmindedly, he opens the box, releasing his essence and causing him to rapidly age 300 years.

The legend is mentioned as early as the Nara period (8th century CE) and is even referenced in some of the oldest accounts of Japanese mythological history such as the Nihon Shoki. It also bears striking similarity to the Celtic legend of Oisín.

English translations of these stories may be read below.

The Quarrel of Monkey and Crab (さるかに合戦)

Urashima Tarō (浦島太郎)