folktales from the japanese countryside

[...]... eating beef! The Japanese leaned how to build a modern army from the Prussians, a navy from the English, a new postal system from the French, and railroads from the Americans Japan won two wars, first against the Chinese in 1895, then against the Russians in 1905 The Taisho emperor (1912–1926) ruled from Tokyo while “jazz age” popular culture swept the world after World War I It was the age of the modern... beings but they think their tails are of no use I’ll go to the humans and get the tails for you.” So God went to the humans and said, “Can I have those tails back?” The humans said, “Yes, these tails are just a bother to us.” And they gave the tails back to God God adapted the tails from human style to lizard style, and put them onto the lizards The lizards were so thankful to God that they handed the story... the oldest stories in Japan as well as in other cultures Some animal tales were probably told about 10,000 years ago Scholars think they were carried from Siberia to Japan The Ordinary Tales” had been told here and there in the Japanese countryside since the Middle Ages Typical tales were “Peach Boy,” “Inch Boy,” and The Monkey and the Crab.” Others were “Obtains the Treasure,” “Animal Wives,” The. .. late as the Tokugawa Period (1600–1868), when Japan was almost totally closed to the Western world The word “Japan” is close in pronunciation to what the Chinese called their neighbor, and it is this term that was brought back to Europe by the earliest travelers from the West The Japanese people themselves call it Nihon (sun origin) The language they speak is officially known as nihongo, a rather unique... narratives There are world creation myths, tales of the birth of gods and goddesses, the pantheon’s love and marriage stories, accounts of the power struggles among the clans and in imperial families, and adventures of heroes Many motifs in Japanese folktales can be found in Kojiki, and we recognize original versions of Japanese folktales as told before the seventh century In the medieval period, from the. .. also called Nihongi), appeared in 720 Both these books tell the story of Izanagi and Izanami, the father and mother of the land Both books also tell the story of Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess, and her brother Susanoo Omikami, the sea or storm god, and their adventures and descendants The stories of the sun goddess closing herself up in a cave and casting the world into darkness, and of Susanoo slaying... Japanese words have become familiar: samurai, futon, tofu The first time they appear, less familiar words are printed in italics with a definition in parentheses Thereafter they are in regular print without the definition, but you can find them in the glossary in appendix B Please try using them, and enjoy the special feeling they give to the tale The Japanese version of “Once upon a time,” Mukashi mukashi,... Japan, the Shogun (Generalissimo) ruled from Kamakura However, the imperial capital of Japan, with the emperor and family, remained in Kyoto Heike Monogatari (The Tale of the Heike) is the best known of the “war tales,” which describe the civil wars at the end of the Heian period Moving tales of heroism are told within the framework of a Buddhist message about the futility of worldly matters The Tale... nihongo, a rather unique language in the human family of tongues, not related to the Chinese language at all We believe that in prehistoric times, when the Japanese Sea was merely a lake, people crossed over from the Asian mainland in search of game Later, other people sailed in boats from China and Korea, or by following the warm currents of the sea from Southeast Asia They brought myths, legends, pottery... places in or near Kyoto where the samurai held seats of power At one point there were two emperors and two courts One remained in Kyoto, while the other was in the Yoshino mountains south of the city This is also the period when Noh theater and comic Kyogen plays developed There was much contact with China during these times The Zen form of Buddhism came to Japan from the mainland, and with it all . and Izanami, the fa ther and mother of the land. Both books also tell the story of Amaterasu Omikami, the sun god dess, and her brother Susanoo Omikami, the sea or storm god, and their ad ven. Eu rope by the ear li est trav el ers from the West. The Jap a nese peo ple them selves call it Nihon (sun or i gin). The lan guage they speak is of fi - cially known as nihongo, a rather unique. brought about the de cline of the ar is toc racy in Kyoto and the rise of the sam u rai war riors as the rul ers of Ja pan, the Sho gun (Gen er a lis simo) ruled from Kamakura. How ever, the im pe