Sarah Finney

Folklore Collective

English 2710

April 20th, 2017

A Japanese Folklore Collective

For this assignment, I chose to analyze Japanese oral folklore. I read through several legends and decided to go in depth on The Star Lovers, The Bamboo Cutter and the Moon-Child, and The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet. I have written summaries of each of the legends, which will go over before analyzing the common themes we see in Japanese oral folklore.

The Star Lovers:

“All you that are true lovers, I beseech you pray the gods for fair weather upon the seventh night of the seventh moon.

For patience’ sake and for dear love’s sake, pray, and be pitiful that upon that night there may be neither rain, nor hail, nor cloud, nor thunder, nor creeping mist.

Hear the sad tale of the Star Lovers and give them your prayers.” (James, 65)

The Star Lovers is a story about the daughter of the Deity of Light. The daughter was a young maiden who worked as a weaver for the gods. The young maiden never stopped weaving, she feared that if she stopped there would be terrible consequences. There was a phrase

“Sorrow, age-long sorrow, shall come upon the Weaving Maiden when she leaves her loom.” (James, 65)

This phrase kept the maiden working hard. She never knew pleasure or fun, she just weaved, never knowing sadness or love.

One day her father approached her angrily, he told her that she worked too much. But the maiden just replied “It is my duty.” Her father said she was too young to be talking about duty and to leave her loom at once. She repeated the phrase to her father,

Figure 1 Tanabata and her lover meet on a bridge of magpies across the Celestial River, each year on the 7th night of the 7th moon. Illustration by Anhellica on Deviant Art

“Sorrow, age-long sorrow, shall come upon the Weaving Maiden when she leaves her loom.” (James, 65)

“Nonsense!” her father said, reminding her that they are gods and gods do not know anything about sorrow. He covered up her loom with a cloth and gave her lavish clothes and jewels to wear. Her father found the Herd Boy of Heaven for the maiden to marry.

Although she was reluctant at first the maiden had changed, her eyes were stars, she would dance and sing all day long. She never thought of her loom, never even came near it. With her lover by her side she lived lightly.

Her father grew angry; his daughter was celebrating too hard and there was no one to weave the garments. He warned her three times and each time she replied, “Your hand opened the door, my father,” she said, “but of a surety no hand either of god or of mortal can shut it.” (James, 68)

So, her father banished her lover forever, magpies flew together to create a bridge to the other side of the bright river, where the Herd Boy was to live out his banishment. Broken hearted the weaving maiden could not do anything but cry, she arose and went to her loom.

“Age-long sorrow,” she said, “age-long sorrow!” Presently she dropped the shuttle. “Ah,” she moaned, “the pain of it,” and she leaned her head against the loom. But in a little while she said, “Yet I would not be as once I was. I did not love or weep, I was neither glad nor sorry. Now I love and I weep—I am glad, and I am sorry.” (James, 68)

Her father exclaimed at how quiet and happy his daughter was, she said, “I am the saddest thing in heaven” her father asked what he could do to make her happy again. All she wanted was her lover, but her father could not bring him back, as he was already banished.

“Yet something I can do. Listen. On the seventh day of the seventh moon, I will summon the magpies together from the ends of the earth, and they shall be a bridge over the Bright River of Heaven, so that the Weaving Maiden shall lightly cross to the waiting Herd Boy on the farther shore.” (James, 69)

So, on the seventh day, of the seventh moon, all the magpies would fly together and form a bridge for the lovers to meet.

“And so it is still, oh, true lovers—upon the seventh day of the seventh moon these two keep their tryst. Only if the rain falls with thunder and cloud and hail, and the Bright River of Heaven is swollen and swift, the magpies cannot make a bridge for the Weaving Maiden. Alack, the dreary time!” (James, 70)

The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moon-Child:

Once there was an old bamboo cutter. The old man was very sad, and poor. Every morning he went to chop down bamboo from the woods. He would use the bamboo to make furniture that he would sell for little money.

One morning he went to chop down some more bamboo, when he noticed a chunk of bamboo glowing softly. When he looked at the bamboo there was a very tiny human, only about 3 inches high and incredibly beautiful.

“You must be sent to be my child, for I find you here among the bamboos where lies my daily work,” (Ozaki)

The old man said. He took the little creature home to his wife, where she put it in her basket to protect it. The old couple were very happy, as they had always wanted children but could never have one. So, they gave all their love to the little child.

Whenever the old man went to cut bamboo he would find marvelous jewels and gold inside of them. The couple had grown very wealthy. After three months, the child had grown into a beautiful woman, her parents dressed her up in beautiful outfits and made her hair up beautiful. She was so beautiful they let no one see her, they waited on her night and day. In the dark her beauty would light up the house with a soft shinning. Anytime the old man felt sad he only needed to look at his daughter’s face and the sadness drained away.

The day came for them to name their daughter, because of her soft glow they named her princess moonlight, for she seemed to be other earthly, as if she was from them moon. Her beauty spread throughout far and wide, and many young men sought her hand in marriage. Many men sat outside their house just hoping to catch a glimpse of her beauty.

A lot of men lost hope of ever meeting the beautiful princess, and returned home. Everyone had left except five knights, with great determination these men waited in all Figure 2 Princess Moonlight, Illustration by Nicole Graham art

kinds of weather, missing meals and sleep. They would write letters to the princess, but never received a response.

After months of hardship the knights called out to the old man, asking for his mercy, but the old man said he could not force his daughter to obey his wishes as she was not his real daughter. The knights returned home but it was not long before they couldn’t resist the urge to go back.

The old man came out to see them, he told them that his daughter wished to never see any man. They begged him to let them see her so they could confess their love and hardships then maybe she would change her mind. The old man felt so bad for the knights that he went to the princess and said,

“Although you have always seemed to me to be a heavenly being, yet I have had the trouble of bringing you up as my own child and you have been glad of the protection of my roof. Will you refuse to do as I wish?” (Ozaki)

Princess Moonlight replied that she would do anything for him because she loved and honored them as if her were her own father. The old man told her that he was getting old and he worried about who would take care of her after he died. He talked about the knights eagerly waiting to see her. She didn’t want to get married but the old mind said,

“I found you, (sic) many years ago, when you were a little creature three inches high, in the midst of a great white light. The light streamed from the bamboo in which you were hid and led me to you. So I have always thought that you were more than mortal woman. While I am alive it is right for you to remain as you are if you wish to do so, but some day I shall cease to be and who will take care of you then? Therefore, I pray you to meet these five brave men one at a time and make up your mind to marry one of them!” (Ozaki)

The princess was worried that she was not as beautiful as the old man describe to the men, and that after she consented to marry one, he would change his mind. The old man thought Princess Moonlight’s worries were rational, he asked what kind of man would she trust as these men have waited on her for months.

Princess Moonlight said they must pass a trial to prove their love before they would be able to meet her. She thought of five objects from very distant lands that each knight would have to bring to her. The old man delivered the message to the knights, all five of the accepted the trial happily but when they heard what the trials actually were they were disgusted and went home defeated.

The first knight was asked to bring a bowl which belonged to Buddha. The second knight was asked to got to the Mountain of Horai, to bring a branch made of sliver and jewels. The third knight was asked to search for the fire rat, and bring it’s fire proof skin back. The fourth knight was asked to search for a dragon with a beautiful stone on it’s head and bring the stone that shined five different colors back. Finally, the fifth knight was asked to find a swallow which carried a shell in its stomach, and bring the shell back.

As time passed the knights thought of their love for the princess and decided to attempt the trials.

The first knight was too lazy to go all the way to India, so instead he took a stone bowl and wrapped it in gold cloth, he then waited three years and returned to the princess. The princess knew he had returned to quickly, she unwrapped the bowl but it did not light up the room as foretold. The princess returned it and refused to marry him.

The second knight hired several jewelers in secret to build a branch made of silver, gold and covered in gems. For he did not believe that Mount Horai existed. When the branch was finished, he made himself look tired and worn out, then returned to the princess. The old man believed the second knight and asked where he had managed to find the branch. The second knight was quick to make up a long extravagant story. However, just as he had finished the six jewelers ran up and demanded to be paid for their work. They said they worked thousands of days making the branch for the princess but had yet to be paid. He was sent off, the bamboo cutter paid the jewelers for their hard work and returned the branch.

The third knight had a friend in china, he wrote to the friend that he would give him any amount for the fire rat’s skin. When he had received the skin, he placed it in the box for the princess. The princess through the skin into a fire, for if it was real it would have not burned, but it shrived up at once.

The fourth knight sent all his servants to seek for the dragon stone, however since the servants knew no such thing existed they took this as a holiday. After a year of waiting he could not depend on his servants any longer. Instead, he hired two sailors to take him out to sea, both sailors insisted that it was pointless but went with him. After encountering a great storm the fourth knight gave up, he was worn out and caught a very heavy cold. The love for the princess turned into great anger and resentment.

Like the rest of the knights the fifth knight failed and gave up. By this time the word of the princess’ great beauty had spread far and wide. The emperor had heard of her beauty and wished to have her as one of his ladies-in-waiting. He sent his demands with a court lady, but Princess Moonlight still refused to see her.

So, the emperor himself decided to pay her a visit. He wrote to the old man telling him he would like to sneak into to see the princess, the old man approved of the plan. He entered the bamboo cutter house and went straight to where the princess was sitting. He had never seen anyone so beautiful in his entire life, when the princess saw him she tried to escape, but the emperor begged her to stay and listen to what he had to stay. She stayed but hid her face behind her sleeves.

The Emperor had fallen so deeply in love with her and begged her to come to his court where he could give her a great position and anything she could wish for. She said if she was

forced to go to the court she would disappear from existence, and as she told him this her body started to fade away. The Emperor promised to leave her alone if she didn’t fade away.

Princess Moonlight was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and life was pale in comparison to her. He spent a lot of his time writing poems telling her how much he loved her and all about his loyalty to her.

Not long after her encounter with the emperor her parents noticed her gazing at the moon, night after night. She would often burst into tears at the sight of the moon. One night the old man approached her and asked what upset her. Crying she told him how he was right, she was from the moon and soon she would need to go home. On the 15th day of August, the moon people would come to get her. Thinking of leaving her home and foster parents made her

miserable. When the servants heard this, they could not eat or drink as sadness consumed them at the thought of the princess leaving.

As soon as the Emperor heard he and the bamboo cutter conspired to find a way to keep her there. The old man told all his servants not to sleep, everyone must be ready to protect the princess and the Emperor sent his men to guard her. The princess warned them that nothing could keep them from taking her.

Clouds fogged the sky and a flying chariot came down from the sky, full of glowing beings. They called for the old man to come outside.

“The time has come (sic) for Princess Moonlight to return to the moon from whence she came. She committed a grave fault, and as a punishment was sent to live down here for a time. We know what good care you have taken of the Princess, and we have rewarded you for this and have sent you wealth and prosperity. We put the gold in the bamboos for you to find.” (Ozaki)

The old man replied to him,

“I have brought up this Princess for twenty years and never once has she done a wrong thing, therefore the lady you are seeking cannot be this one,” said the old man. “I pray you to look elsewhere.” (Ozaki)

Figure 3 Princess Moonlight and the Bamboo Cutter, Illustration by Nicole Graham art

The moon messenger called out to Princess Moonlight telling her to come out of the house immediately. The princess slid her door open and walked out, the messenger helped her in the chariot. One of the moon beings gave the princess a phial full of the Elixir of Life, she took a tiny sip and tried to give the rest to the old man. However, one of the beings stopped her. As the got ready to part from this world the princess said,

“Wait a little. I must not forget my good friend the Emperor. I must write him once more to say good-by while still in this human form.” (Ozaki)

Reluctantly the moon people waited for her. She placed the elixir with the letter asking the emperor to give it to the old man. The chariot began to rise towards the moon and all the people watched and cried.

The Emperor was afraid to touch the Elixir of Life so he sent it with the letter to the top of the most sacred land, Mount Fuji. There the Emperor’s people burned it as sunrise and to this day people say there is still smoke rising from Mount Fuji towards the heavens.

The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet:

In a little village, there lived a man, his wife, and their beautiful daughter. For a long time, they were very happy but bad times came and soon there was nothing left for them but their daughter. The couple felt that it would be best to move and start new so they set off to the country with their daughter.

The mother and daughter spent their time cleaning and looking after their garden but the father would sit for hours, staring in front of him sadly thinking of what he once had. Each day he grew worse and worse until one day he went to bed and never got up again.

His wife and daughter were so upset that they didn’t take pleasure in anything for months. One day the mother looked at her daughter and realized she had grown into a beautiful woman more lovely than anything she had ever seen. She would have been glad but since they were now alone in the world she feared what would happen to her daughter. She tried to teach her daughter all she knew, and always kept her busy so she had no time to be selfish. The daughter was so good that she listened to her mother as the years passed.

One wet spring her mother caught a severe cold, and gradually grew more and more ill. She knew she would not have long to live. She called her in and told her that soon she would be alone, and she would need to take care of herself. Because beautiful had a difficult time passing unheeded she told her daughter to fetch the wooden helmet out of the next room, and put it on her head, low so that nearly her whole face would be

Figure 4 Hatschihime working, while men try to lift her helmet. Illustration from Ayrton, Matilda Chaplin.

covered. With all her beauty hidden she would pass through a crowd unnoticed. When her mother saw her complete this task, she passed away peacefully.

The girl cried for many days, but decided she must get to work because she had to depend on herself now. Since there was nothing in the country she packed up and walked until she reached the house of a man who owned lots of fields and started working for him. She worked early in the morning until late at night. She kept her promise to her mother and kept her helmet on always, even in the scorching heat. Because of this people gave her the nickname, “Hatschihime” However, the stories of her beauty spread far abroad, many men tried to sneak up on her while she worked to get a peek of her beauty. They would even try to lift her helmet from behind but she would always tell them to go away.

One day her master walked by where she was working, he was so impressed by her hard work that he stopped and watched her for a while. After some time, he led her to his house and told her that her new job was to tend to his sick wife.

Not long after she started her new job, her master’s youngest son at returned home from the city where he was doing his studies. He caught site of the girl with the odd wooden helmet on her head. He asked his mother who she was, where she came from and why she worn the helmet. His mother said she didn’t know why but no one could persuade her to take it off and the young man laughed.

On a very hot day, he happened to be going towards his house when he saw Hatschihime kneeling over a little stream that flowed through the garden, splashing water on her face. The helmet was pushed to the side but he got a glimpse of her beauty, and decided no one else could be his wife.

When he told his family they were very angry, so angry that they started making up wicked stories about Hatschihime but the boy knew it was not true. He asked Hatschihime over and over, but she would refuse him because she didn’t want to cause problems but secretly she wept over it.

One night her mother appeared to her in a dream, and told her to marry the young man. So the next time he asked, which she did every day, to his surprise she said yes. His parents decided to make the best of the situation, making grand preparations for the wedding. Everyone said bad things about the helmet but the young man didn’t care he only laughed at them.

The bride was dressed in the most beautiful dress in Japan, but when the maids tried to take off her helmet to

Figure 5 Hatschihime washing her face in the stream. Illustration from Ayrton, Matilda Chaplin.

do her hair, it would not come off. The harder they pulled, the tighter it got and it started to cause the girl pain. Her groom ran in at the sound of her cries and said if she could be married with it off, then they will marry with it on.

When the couple exchanged wine to seal their marriage, the helmet burst and jewels flew everywhere. People were astonished at the jewels but even more astonished by the great beauty of Hatschihime. The couple lived happily with many children who were all very beautiful. (Ayrton)

Analysis:

In these three legends there are several things in common I immediately noticed throughout reading them. In these tales you could see a very heavy presence of parental figures and their influences in the children’s lives. You can see that in all of these tales the character always honors and respects their parents. The characters always try and honor their parent’s wishes even if it goes against their hearts.

Another theme we see is beauty, in these legends we see that the main characters are all incredibly beautiful, several of them deal with men falling for them constantly but the women are always responsible when it comes to love and marriage.

Finally the last major theme we see is love, romantic love as well as family love. All three of these stories end with an expression of love for another being.

First I will discuss “The Star Lovers” this story is actually the tale behind a large festival held in Japan “Tanabata” or the Star Festival. This festival is to celebrate the meeting of the stars Vega and Altair, the weaver and the herder. As the story told these two are only able to meet once a year, as long as the sky is clear. It is celebrated around July 7th according to the modern calendar, but in some places it is celebrated on August 7th according to the old Chinese calendar.

During this festival people write their wishes on a piece of colored paper and hang it on trees, the next day the tress are cut down, put on the river and burned as an offering. These parades often have parades, fireworks, food stands and loads of decorations.

It is said that if it rains on Tanabata, the two lovers will not be able to cross the bridge and will have to wait another year before seeing each other. So people often wish for good weather.

Figure 6 Young Japanese girl at the Hatamono Shrine on Tanabata, hanging their wishes on the tree. Photo taken by Steven C. Fedorowicz

In this story, we see our character trying to do her duty by constantly working on garments. We also see her honoring her father’s wishes although she was nervous and felt like she should work. In japan family ties are very strong, often parent share a bed with their children up until they are 10 years old, families bathe together, and family dinners are held with all family members sitting around the table. When it comes to honoring relatives, we see shrines and festivals dedicated to honoring the dead, but we also see as the younger generation gets older they take care of their parents and grandparents often letting them live in the same household.

On the other hand after honoring her father’s wishes he changes his mind later, she is reluctant and tells him she will not go back to work because she has found happiness. Because she disrespects her father, her love was banished. Being disrespectful towards your elders is very frowned upon in many cultures including Japan. There is an old Japanese proverb “Oya wo tatku to te ga magaru” which means “If you beat your parents, your arm will grow crooked. (Buchanan) This basically warns against disrespecting your parents, because they are the reason for your being.

Although some parts of Japan still have arranged marriages, or even use match makers to find suitable mates, these stories have a heavy tone of true love and the strong bond of love. In addition to the love we see for the character’s father. You can also see how love has completely changed the weaving maiden’s outlook on life. Without him, her heart is broken and she is in extreme sorrow.

Next I will discuss the story of “The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moon-Child” this is one of the oldest surviving written fiction in the Japanese language. In this story we see great family love, both from the father and the daughter. The daughter strongly wishes to honor her father even though she does not want to wed and even though she cannot stay on Earth. Her father wishes the best for his foster daughter, he wants to protect her from the outside world, wants her to be taken care of after he dies, and finally he exhausts all his resources to try and keep her on Earth. Perhaps the biggest sacrifice for love is the Elixir Of Life, Princess Moonlight only drinks part of it so she could give it to the old man so he would never have to worry about death. Even in her last minutes on earth she tries to save him from death. Unfortunately, this story ends in tragedy as even though the emperor supposedly loved her, he like the five knights, did not honor her wish.

In some translation of the story, the foster parents die from heart break after the Princess returns home, I think this is the greatest proof of the family bond they had formed.

In both “The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moon-Child” and “The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet” we see that beauty is often a hindrance for young women in Japan. In Japan there is a huge problem with sexual harassment, and groping. Young women are often leered at on subways and in public places. You can see in these stories that the parents are concerned for their children’s safety because of their great beauty. The both face the issue of men constantly trying to view their beauty without their consent and many men trying to marry them.

In Japan parents try to raise their children to be responsible and self sufficient, in " The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet” it was the mother’s only wish to fill her child with knowledge and make sure she could take care of herself.

In conclusion, I think these myth show the importance of family, love, and duty and how they are viewed in Japan.

Works Cited:

Ayrton, Matilda Chaplin. Child-life in Japan, and Japanese child stories. Boston: Heath, 1909. Print.

James, Grace. Green willow and other Japanese fairy tales. London: Macmillan, 1912. Print.

Ozaki, Yei Theodora. Japanese fairy tales. Tokyo: Tuttle Pub., 2007. Fairytalez. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.

Buchanan, Daniel Crump. Japanese proverbs and sayings. Norman: U of Oklahoma Press, 1988. Print.

Dolan, Ronald E., and Robert L. Worden. "Japan - VALUES AND BELIEFS." Country Studies  . N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

 M. White, The Japanese Educational Challenge: A Commitment to Children (New York: Free Press, 1987).

H. Stevenson, "Japanese Elementary School Education," The Elementary School Journal 92, No. 1 (1991): 109-120.

T. Doi, The Anatomy of Dependence (Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd., 1973).

I. Shigaki, "Child Care Practices in Japan and the United States: How Do They Reflect Cultural Values in Young Children?", Young Children 38, No. 4 (1983): 13-24.

Ministry of Education, Course of Study for Elementary Schools in Japan (Tokyo: Author, 1983).

P. Thomas, "Social Studies in the Japanese Elementary School," Horizon 23, No. 2 (1985): 21-27.

National Council for the Social Studies, Expectations for Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (Washington, DC: Author, 1994).

Bennett, Linda. "Expectations for Japanese Children." Social Studies  . N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.