Reading Notes: Myths & Legends of Japan and Japanese Folk Stories

CHAPTER II: HEROES AND WARRIORS
Yoshitsune and Benkei - can compare Yoshitsune to Henry V or the Black Prince, Benkei to a combination of Little John, Will Scarlet, and Friar Tuck. Yoshitsune was a remarkable hero, but was overshadowed by his faithful henchman Benkei, who was a greater man.

Yoshitsune and the Taira - His father, Yoshitomo was killed in a battle with the Taira clan. Their leader tried to destroy his children, but their mother took them into hiding. Yoshitsune was sent to a monastery at age 7, wanted to become a great warrior. Met a giant who turned out to be the King of the Tengu (King of the elves of the mountains), took a liking to Yoshitsune and taught him swordsmanship. Met brave priest Benkei at age 15. They fought and Yoshitsune won (because Bentei wasn't a warrior). "From this time we find the names of Yoshitsune and Benkei linked together, and in all the stories of warriors, whether in Japan or elsewhere, never was there a more valiant and harmonious union of strength and friendship. We hear of them winning numerous victories over the Taira, finally driving them to the sea, where they perished at Dan-no-ura."

Kushi-nada-hime ("Wondrous-Inada-Princess") - Susa-no-o meets her parents and they tell him they had 8 daughters and all were devoured by the eight-forked serpent, Orochi, and it is time for it to happen to this daughter as well. Susa-no-o agreed to slay the serpent for her hand in marriage, got the snake drunk on sake, and killed it. 

Myths & Legends of Japan, by F. Hadland (Frederick Hadland) Davis. Web Source.

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

The Choice of The Princess - the princess of Inaba was lovely and kind, but had not found a man she wanted to marry. Her court decided to have all men of the correct age and rank present themselves to her. In the meantime, there were 81 brothers, 80 of them mean and the youngest was kind. The 80 met a hare who had lost its fur, and advised it to bathe in salt water and stand in the wind, which ended up hurting it. It then meets the 81st brother, who figures out it must have been his mean brothers that the hare met. He tells it to bathe in the river;s fresh water, then rub pollen on his skin to heal it and his fur would grow back. The hare was grateful. His brother was owned by the princess, and he asked its help in making sure the 81st brother and the princess ended up together. When all 81 present themselves to the princess, she tells the 80 that their hearts are cruel and she will have none of them, and tells the 81st and she will have him alone as her husband.

The Phantom Cats - a samurai spends the night in a ruined temple in an empty forrest. In the night he hears strange sounds, wakes to see monsterous cats that looked like phantoms dancing wildly in front of the temple, making horrid sounds. When the noises stopped he fell asleep until morning. He leaves the forrest and asks for breakfast from a family in a small village. They tell him that a demon comes each year and demands the fairest maiden, and this year their daughter is the one. The samurai had heard whispers of a name, Shippeitaro, and the people tell him it's the name of the prince's dog. He asks the prince to borrow his dog and places it in the cage the girl was supposed to be delivered in. When the phantom cats arrive, the dog and the samurai defeat them together. The girl is saved because the dog Shippeitaro destroyed the phantom cats.

The Painter of Cats - a clever, polite, fine boy only has one fault, that he drew pictures of cats. Kihachi would not do anything else. He drew them in class, instead of playing with other kids, while his siblings slept. He drew them on his clothes. He drew small cats, big cats, mother cats and kittens. His mom finds a family of kittens drawn on her obi, the sash of her kimono, and she has had enough of the cats. They decide he might make a good priest since he is so kind, so they take him to a temple to see if they can get him to forget about the cats. He goes to live with the priest, and he does the things he should there and enjoys it all, but he still likes to draw cats. He drew them in the books and all over the temple, which made the priest angry. The priest tells him he will make a great artist and nothing else, and sends him away with a bag of rice. He is afraid to face his parents, so he heads to a different temple to ask them to take him in. When he gets there it is abandoned, and decides to wait in case the priests come back, and cleans, then begins to draw cats. When it gets dark he finds a small space to sleep in. He hears horrid screams and fighting in the night. In the morning, he hears the priests coming and goes out to see them. He finds a dead rat in a pool of blood by the cat drawings. He notices that the cats drawings are covered in blood, and tells the priests that his cats killed the rat goblin. They were shocked that he spent the night there, because they knew the temple was haunted by a rat goblin. One of them says he will be a great artist and tells him to go to the city where his brother will help him, and gives him 20 yen as thanks for saving the temple. Kihachi becomes a great artist, and tells his students that his first great picture was of cats and that he was paid 20 yen for it, and they nickname him the Painter of Cats.

Japanese folk stories and fairy tales, by Mary F. Nixon-Roulet. Web Source.