Japanese Myths Illustrated

Melanie Clegg holds a BA (Hons) in Japanese Studies from the University of Oxford. After almost a decade spent in Japan, she now resides in the UK where she works as a freelance Japanese to English translator of video games and other entertainment media. She lives with her husband and their two one-eyed cats.

• Introduction• The Two Frogs • The Mirror of Matsuyama • Visu the Woodsman and the Old Priest • The Adventures of Little Peachling • The Tongue-Cut Sparrow • A Woman and the Bell of Miidera • The Stonecutter • Danzayémon, Chief of the Etas • Chikarataro • Issun-bōshi the One- inch Boy • Kintarō the superhuman Golden Boy, based on folk hero Sakata no Kintoki • Momotarō the oni-slaying Peach Boy • The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter about a mysterious girl called Kaguya-hime who is said to be from the capital of the moon • Shippeitaro a warrior and a dog who defeated evil spirits • Uriko-hime a girl born out of a melon and adopted by an elderly human couple • Hachikazuki a girl that wears a bowl on her head • Hagoromo a tennin has her feather mantle stolen by a fisherman • grateful creature motif • Bunbuku Chagama the story of a teakettle which is actually a shape- changing tanuki • Hanasaka Jiisan the story of the old man that made the flowers bloom • Kasa Jizō a Jizō statue given a straw hat and is grateful • Omusubi Kororin the story of an old man who drops rice into a mouse hole • Shita-kiri Suzume the story of the tongue- cut sparrow • Urashima Tarō who rescued a turtle and visited the bottom of the sea • My Lord Bag of Rice • Tsuru no Ongaeshi the story of a crane returning a favor for saving its life • good fortune motif • Kobutori Jīsan a man with a large wen (tumor, kobu) on his cheek, and how he loses it • Straw Millionaire Straw Millionaire (わらしべ長者, Warashibe Chōja) • punishment motif • The Crab and the Monkey Monkey-Crab Battle (さるかに合戦, saru kani gassen) • Kachi-kachi Yama