The Two Frogs :I think it is so awesome, that you have two small frogs on a journey to discover their native land. Could you imagine the size of these towns in comparison to the size of the frogs?, and how long it must have taken them to get from one side to another. I too don’t blame them for wanting to become bigger. It is a funny little story. As due to the positioning of their eyes they failed to see the difference in the two lands.
The Stonecutter: I think this story is
the reality of being a human being. As humans, nothing is ever enough for us.
We always tend to want more than what we have. Instead of being grateful for
the things we do have and actually seeing them as a blessing. And in this case
it led the man to be a stone.
The Maiden with
the Wooden Helmet: Hatschihime was a very
wise girl. In the sense that she clung on to her mothers words tightly in order
to look after herself. When the young
boy fell for her and wanted to marry her. She could have made the easy decision
into accepting him, thus ending her worldly worries. Allowing her to be cared for
by him. But instead of causing problems in the young boys household she refused
to marry him as his parent didn't want her for him. To my understanding this was a very
selfless act on her behalf.
The Envious Neighbor The neighbor in this story is a cunning person, and was not genuine in his request. Out of kindness of the owners of the dog (whom they cared for dearly) lent the neighbor a part of their family (the dog), in hopes that he too may find riches. Instead the opposite happened and his anger led him into killing the dog. This goes to show who you can trust and that not everyone has a pure heart as you may do.
The Sparrow with
the Slit Tongue: So far in all the
stories that I have read. No matter what the cultural mythology women in most
cases a portrayed as being evil.As the wife in this story is found to be. I wonder where
that idea originated from. As the wife here is jealous of the sparrow due to
the fact that her husband showed affection to something other than her. I think
in general women do not like sharing the attention of their loved one.
The Cat's
Elopement: I enjoy how these Japanese
tales use animals to portray the feelings of human beings. Whilst reading this, I almost forgot that it was two cats I was reading about. This is an example of
a pair of two star crossed lovers that cannot be together due to their
different owners. Sort of like the Montague's and the Capulet's in Romeo and Juliet.
Schippeitaro: I think it is so scary
and medieval that people would dress up a woman for a cause/sacrifice, and in turn feed
her the mountains or rivers. This Is your typical story of the warrior saving
the damsel in distress.
The Crab and the
Monkey: Here the monkey took
the crabs kindness for weakness. She allowed him to eat her kakis but instead the monkey became greedy. She was smart in making him do summersaults but in her attempts
in preserving herself something to eat, led to her death - So he thought. In
the end the crab had the last laugh.
The Magic Kettle: Imagine a kettle
turned into a tanuki. It reminds me of Aladdin and the genie in the lamp. At
least the man was kind enough to share some of his wealth with the original
finder of the kettle.
How the Wicked
Tanuki was Punished: The first thought that comes to mind when reading this
is the German holocaust when the Jews were hunted. In this case the animals of
the forest are being hunted. In order to survive the fate of being killed these
animals were given the power of magic and intellect to ensure their survival
as did the fox and the Tanuki. I don’t really know what a tanuki looks like.
But they are quite the interesting family. I think their strategy in finding
food here was quite smart. If I were in their position, why not both become
humans and steel some food instead of trading and putting the other at risk.
Luckily the tunika was very clever and escaped. I think it is very sad that the fox was actually loyal in aiding their survival whilst the tunika just
wanted to lessen the burden by getting rid of his wife. This story is a good
example of karma – what goes around comes around.
The Slaying of
the Tanuki: Maybe the tanuki hates
the peasant as his father disguised himself into a peasant upon selling out his
mother to the buyer. Actually the tanuki here is actually a very evil creature. Here when the
Tanuki assume the peasants wifes form it reminds me of the little red riding
hood and the wolf when he dressed up like her grandmother in hopes that he may
trick her, as are the tanukis intentions here. I don’t get why the tanuki would
even consider trusting the hare after hurting him in the first place.
Uraschimataro
and the Turtle: Here I could
understand Uraschimataros parents being so anxious in letting him set sail as
he was their one and only. Luckily, his good deed in
setting the turtle free repaid him as when his boat was swallowed by the sea. That same turtle came to rescue him. Imagine finding a whole new world under
the sea. Although he was rewarded with good, it is almost as if he sold his
soul to the devil. As he was gone for so long that when he finally got to
return home his parents were dead. Imagine the state his parents were in after all
that time thinking their son was taken by the sea.
Link: Japanese Tale (Lang)
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