{"id":1394,"date":"2011-05-30T06:38:49","date_gmt":"2011-05-30T06:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/?p=1394"},"modified":"2014-07-29T19:59:10","modified_gmt":"2014-07-29T19:59:10","slug":"japanese-folktales-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/japanese-folktales-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese Folktales"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s post will be on Japanese folktales. Kiyohime (\u6e05\u59eb<\/strong>) is one of the folktales that we will be looking at today. Kiyohime is a story about a fatal attraction between a priest and a woman. The story begins when a traveling priest stops by an inn that is owned by Kiyohime\u2019s parents. Soon after the priest and Kiyohime engage in a torrid affair. One day the priest has a change of heart and decides not to meet Kiyohime anymore. Kiyohime becomes enraged by the priest\u2019s betrayal and follows him to the river. When Kiyohime realizes that the priest is avoiding her, she jumps into the water and turns into a snake. The priest reaches land by a small boat and runs to the temple. He hides inside a bell to avoid Kiyohime. However, Kiyohime\u2019s sense of smell is able to detect the priest inside the bell. She clangs the bell several times to push the priest out of the bell. When the priest doesn\u2019t come out, she lets out a great torrent of fire that burns the bell and kills the priest.<\/p>\n

One of the metaphors of this folktale is the serpent-like nature of Kiyohime. Originally Kiyohime is a beautiful human maiden, but when her anger consumes her, she becomes a serpent. The metaphor of the serpent is that when we allow our anger to cloud our minds we turn into vicious beasts.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s another folktale called the Jiraiya G\u014dketsu Monogatari (\u5150\u96f7\u4e5f\u8c6a\u5091\u7269\u8a9e<\/strong>) or \u201cThe Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya\u201d. Jiraiya is a hero who is able to use magic to morph into a toad. His archenemy is Orochimaru (\u5927\u86c7\u4e38<\/strong>). Orochimaru\u2019s magic allows him to morph into a snake. Orochimaru was once a disciple of Jiraiya. One day, Orochimaru left his master to pursue his own fame. One day, Orochimaru battled against his former master to test his own strength. He used venom from his snake-like form to paralyze Jiraiya. Jiraiya was eventually saved by another disciple, but from then on, Orochimaru and Jiraiya became arch rivals.<\/p>\n

In Japanese folklore, snakes have a bad reputation. For example, Kiyohime turns into a serpent and Orochimaru is the embodiment of a serpent through magic. The reason for why snakes are often the antagonists in Japanese folklore is because snakes pose as dangerous and sometimes deadly creatures. Like one of the stories in the Jiraiya Tale, some snakes possess a lethal venom that can harm humans.<\/p>\n

Issun B\u014dshi (\u4e00\u5bf8\u6cd5\u5e2b<\/strong>) is a story about a little boy who was only about three centimeters tall. The child\u2019s name was Issun B\u014dshi. Although Issun B\u014dshi loved his normal sized parents, he wanted to leave the sheltered life of his parents. To prepare for his journey, Issun B\u014dshi was given a sewing needle for a sword, a bowl for a boat and chopsticks for the oars. As Issun B\u014dshi sailed into the city, he saw a government posting for a job and signed up to get the job. He eventually got a job, but not the one that he wanted. Due to Issun B\u014dshi\u2019s small height, he was ridiculed wherever he went. Issun B\u014dshi was assigned a menial job as the princess\u2019s playmate. One day an ogre approached the princess and swallowed Issun B\u014dshi. Issun B\u014dshi pricked the ogre with his sewing needle and the orge spat Issun B\u014dshi and all the contents out of its stomach. One of the items in the Ogre\u2019s stomach was a magical mallet. The princess used the mallet to increase Issun B\u014dshi\u2019s height so that he was the height of a normal sized human. Issun B\u014dshi was married to the princess as a reward for his bravery. He lived happily ever after with the princess, and earned the respect of his peers.<\/p>\n

There are several morals to this story. One of the main morals is that a person may have a handicap, but that handicap may prove to be beneficial in certain situations. Issun B\u014dshi\u2019s handicap was his height, but it was his small height that allowed him to have the advantage over the ogre. The other moral is that if you perservere long enough, you will go on to succeed in life. In the beginning, Issun B\u014dshi was not taken seriously and laughed at by people who were taller than him. In the end, Issun B\u014dshi triumphed and even went on to marry the princess!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Today\u2019s post will be on Japanese folktales. Kiyohime (\u6e05\u59eb) is one of the folktales that we will be looking at today. Kiyohime is a story about a fatal attraction between a priest and a woman. The story begins when a traveling priest stops by an inn that is owned by Kiyohime\u2019s parents. Soon after the…<\/p>\n

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