Japanese Fairy Tales (Paperback)

by Yei Theodora Ozaki (Compiler, Translator) "Long, long ago there lived, in Japan a brave warrior known to all as Tawara Toda, or "My Lord Bag of Rice..." (more)
Key Phrases: skillful fisher, demon chief, young crab, Happy Hunter, Dragon King, Sea King (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Twenty-two charming Japanese Fairy Tales, translated by Yei Theodora Ozaki, including "My Lord Bag of Rice," "The Tongue-Cut Sparrow," "The Story of Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad," "The Farmer and the Badger," "The _Shinansha,_ or the South Pointing Carriage," "The Adventures of Kintaro, the Golden Boy," "The Story of Princess Hase," "The Story of the Man Who Did Not Wish to Die," "The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moonchild," "The Mirror of Matsuyama," "The Goblin of Adachigahara," "The Sagacious Monkey and the Boar," "The Happy Hunter and the Skillful Fisher," "The Story of the Old Man Who Made Withered Trees to Flower," "The Jellyfish and the Monkey," "The Quarrel of the Monkey and the Crab," "The White Hare and the Crocodiles," "The Story of Prince Yamato Take," "Momotaro, or the Story of the Son of a Peach," "The Ogre of Rashomon," "How an Old Man Lost His _Wen_," and "The Stones of Five Colors and the Empress Jokwa."

From the Publisher
COSIMO CLASSICS offers distinctive titles by the great authors and thinkers who have inspired, informed and engaged readers throughout the ages.

Covering a diverse range of subjects that include Health & Science, Eastern Philosophy, Mythology & Sacred Texts, Philosophy & Spirituality, and Business & Economics these newly revitalized treasures are now available to contemporary readers. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Borgo Press (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592249183
• ISBN-13: 978-1592249183
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,835,740 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Child's Treasury of Japanese Fairy Tales, December 17, 2007

By	Zack Davisson "All Good Things" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Japanese Fairy Tales (Paperback)

Originally published in 1903, Yei Theodora Ozaki's translation of Sadanami Sanjin's collection of Japanese fairy tales has been the introduction of many a young child into the legends and fables of old Japan across the years. Definitely not a scholarly reference or valuable research tool for folktale researchers, Ozaki unabashedly re-crafted some of the stories, translating loosely and adding in elements of unrelated tales, in order to make them more enjoyable and understandable for Western children. She even gave Urashimataro a happy ending!

There is something delightfully romantic about translations from this era, due to the unfamiliarity with Japanese culture at the time. Terms that would not be translated today, like "oni" and "samurai", are rendered as "ogre" and "knight" and other English equivalents. While unauthentic, this makes the stories more approachable by young children who have a mind for fantasy but haven't yet graduated to Japanese Studies.

While far from a picture book, artist Kakuzo Fujiyama contributed 66 beautiful drawings to illustrate the 22 tales. Unfortunately, all the illustrations are reproduced in black-and-white, instead of the original color plates included in the original pressings.

Many of the stories here are familiar with anyone even slightly interested in Japanese folklore. "Momotaro, or the Story of the Son of a Peach, "The Story of Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad", "Kintaro the Golden Boy" and "The Ogre of Rashomon". Along with these, there are rarer tales that I haven't seen in any other Japanese fairy tale collection. "The Stones of Five Colors and the Empress Jokwa", "The Sagacious Monkey and the Boar" and "How and Old Man Lost his Wren" were all new to me.

4.0 out of 5 stars Not well formatted for the Kindle, April 6, 2009

By	B. Tackitt (Granbury, Tx USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

the stories are wonderful. a few of them match some of the stoies we heard while living in Okinawa with the military.

HOWEVER, I cannot give the Kindle version a 5 star like I would like to, because the formatting is absolutely horrendous.