The Project Gutenberg EBook of Japanese Fairy Tales, by Yei Theodora Ozaki

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Title: Japanese Fairy Tales

Author: Yei Theodora Ozaki

Posting Date: June 4, 2009 [EBook #4018]
Release Date: May, 2003
First Posted: October 11, 2001

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JAPANESE FAIRY TALES ***

Produced by Charles Franks, Greg Weeks and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team. HTML version by Al Haines.

JAPANESE FAIRY TALES

COMPILED BY

YEI THEODORA OZAKI

Profusely Illustrated by Japanese Artists

TO

ELEANOR MARION-CRAWFORD.

I DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO YOU AND TO THE SWEET CHILD-FRIENDSHIP THAT YOU
GAVE ME IN THE DAYS SPENT WITH YOU BY THE SOUTHERN SEA, WHEN YOU USED
TO LISTEN WITH UNFEIGNED PLEASURE TO THESE FAIRY STORIES FROM FAR
JAPAN. MAY THEY NOW REMIND YOU OF MY CHANGELESS LOVE AND REMEMBRANCE.

Y. T. O.

Tokio, 1908.

PREFACE.

This collection of Japanese fairy tales is the outcome of a suggestion
made to me indirectly through a friend by Mr. Andrew Lang. They have
been translated from the modern version written by Sadanami Sanjin.
These stories are not literal translations, and though the Japanese
story and all quaint Japanese expressions have been faithfully
preserved, they have been told more with the view to interest young
readers of the West than the technical student of folk-lore.

Grateful acknowledgment is due to Mr. Y. Yasuoka, Miss Fusa Okamoto, my
brother Nobumori Ozaki, Dr. Yoshihiro Takaki, and Miss Kameko Yamao,
who have helped me with translations.

The story which I have named "The Story of the Man who did not Wish to
Die" is taken from a little book written a hundred years ago by one
Shinsui Tamenaga. It is named Chosei Furo, or "Longevity." "The
Bamboo-cutter and the Moon-child" is taken from the classic "Taketari
Monogatari," and is NOT classed by the Japanese among their fairy
tales, though it really belongs to this class of literature.

The pictures were drawn by Mr. Kakuzo Fujiyama, a Tokio artist.

In telling these stories in English I have followed my fancy in adding
such touches of local color or description as th