Japanese Folk Tales
Momotaro, grateful animals, quarrelling monkeys and crabs, foxes and mountain spirits appear in these Japanese tales and legends. English-language sources include collections by Yei Theodora Ozaki and William Elliot Griffis.
A familiar title may have a very different ending in an older telling. Source notes and reading guidance help distinguish comic adventures from stories involving loss, revenge or violence.
26 stories are in this collection right now.
Browse by region: Japan.
The Story of Princess Hase
A gifted young princess survives her jealous stepmother’s poisoned wine and secret order to kill her, until her father finds her hidden in the mountains.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Issun-boshi, the One-Inch Boy
A boy no bigger than a finger paddles to Kyoto in a soup bowl, fights off two oni with his needle sword, and uses their lucky mallet to grow tall.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Snow Woman (Yuki-Onna)
Spared by a ghostly woman of the snow on the night his master freezes, a young woodcutter keeps her secret for years, until he tells his own wife.
Japanese Folk Tales
All Ages
The Star Lovers
The Weaving Lady and the ox-herd love so much they neglect their work, so her father sets the Celestial River between them, letting them meet one night a year.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Grateful Crane
A young farmer frees a wounded crane, marries a gentle stranger whose secret weaving saves his family, and loses her when he peeks through the wall.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
How an Old Man Lost His Wen
An old man's dance wins favor at a demons' feast and removes his facial lump; a neighbor's attempt to repeat the success has a different result.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Momotaro, or the Story of the Son of a Peach
A boy born from a giant peach sets out with a dog, a monkey and a pheasant to conquer the devils who have been raiding Japan from their island castle.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Ogre of Rashomon
A knight rides out on a stormy night to prove an ogre story false, cuts off the monster’s arm, and must guard it when a strange old visitor comes calling.
Japanese Folk Tales
The Story of Prince Yamato Take
A prince survives disguises, outlaws and a burning plain, but his sea voyage brings the loss of his wife.
Japanese Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The White Hare and the Crocodiles
A little hare tricks a line of crocodiles into bridging the sea, pays dearly for his mockery, and is healed by a kind stranger who wins a princess.
Japanese Folk Tales
The Quarrel of the Monkey and the Crab
A greedy monkey cheats a crab out of his persimmons, and the crab’s son, helped by a mortar, a bee and a chestnut, sets a trap at a memorial feast.
Japanese Folk Tales
The Jelly Fish and the Monkey
Sent to fetch a monkey’s liver to cure the Dragon Queen, a chatty jellyfish gives away the secret mid-sea, and the clever monkey tricks his way home.