151 Tales From Japan

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

Once upon a time, there was a man named Saburobe at Mangyo in Noto province. One night, the man went out. When he came back, he saw two wives in his room. He was sure that one of them was a goblin. Amazingly, there was no difference between their appearance or manners or the way

Once upon a time, there was a choja named Sukeemon at Nameshida village in Oshu. There was a tradition in their family that was carried down from generation to generation. It was that no matter how poor they became and even if the times were so bad that they had to sell their estate, they

Long ago, Sanya a poor merchant of Hyuga went on a journey with another merchant. It was a hot day and they were going along a lonely mountain road. They walked and walked and then decided to rest for a while under a tree. They lay in the shade of a tree by the side

Long ago, there lived an old couple with their only daughter who was extremely beautiful. The father felt sick and passed away. The widow had to work hard to earn their daily needs. She was also worried about her daughter’s future. One day, she called her child and said, “Dear, your father lies faraway in

Once in Yashu, there was a strange man who always boasted that he could swallow a manju (Japanese dough buns) in one gulp. His neighbour, a bad man, knew of this man’s weirdo. So, one day, he put a needle in his manju. As usual, the man ate it in one gulp. He felt a

Once upon a time, in a certain village, there lived an old couple. The old man earned his living by selling sedge hats in the town. As usual, on New Year’s Eve he went to the town to sell his hats. But he could not sell even a single hat. Tired, he loaded the hats

Once upon a time, there was a poor pack-horse leader who lived in the country. It was New Year’s Eve but there was no work. So, he decided to return home without a load on his horse. Suddenly, his eyes fell on a beggar who lay in the shade of the pine trees that grew