Japanese Fairy Tales, Folk Tales and Fables
The Tea Kettle by Warwick Gobble. Published in Green Willow and Other Japanese Folk Tales by Grace James, (1910).
Read Japanese fairy tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki, and from the collections of Grace James and Matilda Chaplin Ayrton. Jump to full list of Japanese tales.
About: Japanese folklore has remained a topic of interest for people across the world. Many stories that originated from Japan have inspired horror movies, graphic novels, anime, manga, and books, often because the stories’ characters make a lasting impression. An interest in Japanese culture and enthusiasm for sharing their traditions with other countries led to the publication of several books in the earlier 20th century, including Green Willow and Other Japanese Fairy Tales by Grace James and Child-Life in Japan by Matilda Chaplin Ayrton. Both were authored by women who weren’t native citizens of Japan, but had come to the country and fell in love with the culture. Author William Elliot Griffis wrote Japanese Fairy World, a collection of fairy tales and folk tales arriving in Japan in 1870 to reach English; the book was also published as The Fire-fly’s Lovers and Other Fairy Tales of Old Japan. The culture wasn’t without its own authors, however, as author Yei Theodora Ozaki, was of Japanese heritage. She translated Japanese texts, and added elements of the local area to bring the stories alive for readers.
Much of the folklore and fairy tales of Japan are influenced and inspired by their religious beliefs, Shinto and Buddhism; however, the Japanese folklore canon also takes some of its influences from other countries’ literature, such as the stories of ancient India. The characteristics of the folk tales are varied, but like The Grimm Brothers and stories of other famous storytellers, the folk tales from Japan feature themes like kindness, magic, and greed. Japanese folklore also include supernatural stories featuring creatures, spirits and monsters, many of which have characteristics of nature.
Similar to the folklore of Germany and France, Japanese folk tales began in the oral tradition and were eventually penned down for posterity. The oldest known chronicle from Japan is the Kojiki. Many tales originate from this collection of myths, which was published around 711 A.D. One popular form of storytelling of myth and folklore in Japan was known as Kamishibai, or “paper drama.” Kamishibai became particular popular in the 1920’s through the 1950’s, though it existed much earlier. The storytelling format would use picture scrolls or illustrated boards to tell a moral lesson in front of the townspeople of a local village; often the storyteller would return for a new installment of the story.
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- Broken Images
- The Beautiful Dancer of Yedo
- The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moon-Child
- The Black Bowl
- The Bell of Dojoji
- The Crab and the Monkey
- The Child of Thunder
- The Cat's Elopement
- The Creation of Heaven and the Earth
- The Chrysanthemum Show
- The Cold Lady
- The Farmer and the Badger
- The Fire-Fly's Lovers
- The Fox and the Badger
- First Month
- Fishsave
- The Filial Girl
- The Flute
- Flower of the Peony
- The Fire Quest
- Hana-Saka-Jiji
- How the Sun Goddess Was Enticed Out of Her Cave
- The Happy Hunter and the Skillful Fisher
- How an Old Man Lost His Wen
- Horaizan
- Karma
- Momotaro
- The Matsuyama Mirror
- The Moon Maiden
- The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet
- My Lord Bag of Rice
- The Mirror of Matsuyama
- The Magic Kettle
- Momotaro, or the Story of the Son of a Peach
- The Mallet
- The Maiden of Unai
- The Sad Story of the Yaoya's Daughter
- Schippeitaro
- The Stone-Cutter
- The Story of Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad
- The Shinansha, or the South Pointing Carriage
- The Story of Princess Hase
- The Story of the Man Who Did Not Wish to Die
- The Sagacious Monkey and the Boar
- The Story of the Old Man Who Made the Withered Trees to Flower
- The Slaying of the Tanuki
- The Seven Patrons of Happiness
- The Story of Prince Yamato Take
- The Stones of Five Colors and the Empress Jokwa
- Second Sight
- The Sea King and the Magic Jewels
- The Star Lovers
- The Story of Susa, the Impetuous
- The Singing Bird of Heaven
- The Spring Lover and the Autumn Lover
- The Strange Story of the Golden Comb
- Tamamo, the Fox Maiden
- The Tongue-Cut Sparrow
- Two Frogs
- The Tongue-Cut Sparrow
- The Tengus or the Elves with Long Noses
- The Two Daughters
- The Tea-Kettle
- The Water of Yoro or the Fountain of Youth
- Watanabe Cuts Off the Oni's Arm
- The White Hare and the Crocodiles
- The Wind in the Pine Tree
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