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Japan

Folk tales and legends from Japanese tradition.

36 stories found
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A Story Of Old Japan Japanese Folk Tales All Ages

A Story Of Old Japan

A Story Of Old Japan: Long years ago in old Japan there lived in the Province of Echigo, a very remote part of Japan even in these days, a man and his wife.

The Bamboo-Cutter And The Moon-Child Japanese Folk Tales All Ages

The Bamboo-Cutter And The Moon-Child

The Bamboo-Cutter And The Moon-Child: Long, long ago, there lived an old bamboo wood-cutter. He was very poor and sad also, for no child had Heaven sent to

The Story Of The Man Who Did Not Wish To Die Japanese Folk Tales All Ages

The Story Of The Man Who Did Not Wish To Die

The Story Of The Man Who Did Not Wish To Die: Long, long ago there lived a man called Sentaro. His surname meant “Millionaire,” but although he was not so rich

Samurai!” Japanese Folk Tales Ages 6-8

Samurai!”

Samurai!”: The samurai represent one of history's most fascinating warrior traditions. For nearly a thousand years, from roughly the 11th century until the

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The Adventures Of Kintaro, The Golden Boy Japanese Folk Tales All Ages

The Adventures Of Kintaro, The Golden Boy

The Adventures Of Kintaro, The Golden Boy: Long, long ago there lived in Kyoto a brave soldier named Kintoki. Now he fell in love with a beautiful lady and

The “Shinansha,” Or The South Pointing Carriage Japanese Folk Tales Ages 9-12

The “Shinansha,” Or The South Pointing Carriage

The “Shinansha,” Or The South Pointing Carriage: The compass, with its needle always pointing to the North, is quite a common thing, and no one thinks that it

The Farmer And The Badger Japanese Folk Tales All Ages

The Farmer And The Badger

The Farmer And The Badger: Long, long ago, there lived an old farmer and his wife who had made their home in the mountains, far from any town. Their only

The Story Of Urashima Taro, The Fisher Lad Japanese Folk Tales All Ages

The Story Of Urashima Taro, The Fisher Lad

The Story Of Urashima Taro, The Fisher Lad: Long, long ago in the province of Tango there lived on the shore of Japan in the little fishing village of

The Tongue-Cut Sparrow Japanese Folk Tales All Ages

The Tongue-Cut Sparrow

The Tongue-Cut Sparrow: Long, long ago in Japan there lived an old man and his wife. The old man was a good, kind-hearted, hard-working old fellow, but his

My Lord Bag Of Rice Japanese Folk Tales All Ages

My Lord Bag Of Rice

My Lord Bag Of Rice: Long, long ago there lived, in Japan a brave warrior known to all as Tawara Toda, or “My Lord Bag of Rice.” His true name was Fujiwara

The Tale of Two Frogs Aesop's Fables Ages 3-5

The Tale of Two Frogs

Two Japanese frogs climb a mountain to see the world — and discover that a pair of eyes set the wrong way can change everything.

The Moon Rabbit – A Japanese Folktale For Children Jataka Tales Ages 3-5

The Moon Rabbit – A Japanese Folktale For Children

The Moon Rabbit – A Japanese Folktale For Children: A monkey, an otter, a jackal and a rabbit resolved to practice charity on the day of the full moon.

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