Once upon a time, a bride and her mother-in-law were getting ready for the May Festival. They took the May doll out of the box and got into an argument. “This doll is called Tawara Toda,” the bride said. “No, it’s Hachiman Taro,” the mother-in-law said. Neither of them was ready to give up and […]
Kidaiyu was a wrestler at Hida in Bungo. Slowly and steadily, his fame as a wrestler rose and he was invited for the wrestling match in Kyoto to meet the foremost wrestler named Kokanja of Izumo. Now, Kidaiyu wanted to beat Kokanja and be a successful wrestler. So, he stopped at the Myojin at Oimatsu
Once upon a time, there lived a strong woman named Oiko in the village of Ishibashi in Omi. This year, the village faced the drought. The people turned the water away and prevented it from flowing into Oiko’s rice paddy. At night, when everyone was asleep, she took a big rock and put it in
Once upon a time, there lived a man named Senoo Gorobe. One night, when he was passing Tanosaki Bridge, a young woman approached him. “Please hold this baby for a while,” she said, and after leaving the baby with Gorobe, she went away. Gorobe stood there holding the baby. Suddenly, it began to grow heavier.
Long ago and far away across the sea, there lived a kind-hearted old man and an old woman. One day, the old man went up into the mountains to gather firewood. He sat down to eat his lunch and opened the wrapper of rice balls. One of his rice balls fell and rolled over. It
Long ago in Aoyama, there lived a rich samurai named Monnasukezaemon. An honest servant had been working with him for years. It was the last day of the last month of the year. The year was about to end. The master sent his servant to Asakusa to collect fifty ryo. He had deposited his money
Once upon a time, a traveller was on his way back to Kyoto. He had many followers along with him. They came to a lonely village along the Hokkoku-kaido. It was evening. Tired, they looked for a place to spend the night. At last, they came to a house where a woman lived all alone
Once upon a time, two couriers from a feudal lord in Kyushu were going to Edo. They were carrying a letter of importance. They had left the stop-over at Okitsu before it was daylight. Thereafter, they had to take the road from the sea over the long Satta Pass. Suddenly, they looked back at the
It was the month of May. Hachiman Taro Yoshiie (a famous warrior), Abe-no Seimei (a noted augur), Tada Akira (the distinguished physician) and Kanju-Sojo (a well-known priest) all met at the home of Mido Kampaku Michinaga. They decided to spend a great time together. Nara had sent a basket of early melons as a gift
Long, long ago, there lived a highly skilled carver. He spent his days in poverty unknown to the world. One morning when he went out into his yard, he saw a lizard playing around among the stones. He found the lizard to be so attractive that he stood there looking at it with an open
Once upon a time, in Edo (the present Tokyo), there lived a poor man named Zengoro in Fukui-cho in Asakusa. All his life, he had believed piously in Daikokuten (one of the seven Japanese gods), but he could not make any money. When the year was nearing its close, Zengoro became very worried. He decided
Once, there lived an old man. One morning, he went out into his yard to sweep. He found a bean in the corner of the garden. He picked it up and planted it behind his house. In a few days, it sprouted and then grew into a big tree and yielded almost a bushel of
Once, in the province of Echigo, a farmer lived with his two sons. The farmer’s first wife and the mother of elder son was dead and the younger son’s mother was the mother then. The stepmother hated the elder brother. Her only concern was to somehow make her own son’s life comfortable and pleasant. So,
A very long time ago in Japan, two girls lived next door to each other in Mikawa province. Their only source of earning their living was by raising silk worms. One of the girls did really well with her silk worms. The second girl tried very hard to raise the silk worms but she could
Once upon a time, in a certain village of Japan, there lived a good old man and a bad old man. One day, the good old man went into the mountains to work. Suddenly, he heard some voices calling from somewhere. The voices repeatedly asked him, “Shall we hold fast to you or stick fast