Read Folk Legends of Japan Online

Authors: Richard Dorson (Editor)

Tags: #Literary Collections, #Asian, #Japanese

Folk Legends of Japan (36 page)

_____: "The Snake in Japanese Superstition,"
Mitteilungen des Seminars fur Orientalische Sprachen an der Königlichen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat zu Berlin,
XIV, part 1 (Berlin, 1911), 267-322.

_____: "The Tengu,"
Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan,
XXXVI, part 2 (1908), 25-99.

Elisséev, Serge: "Une collection de folklore japonais,"
Japan et Extreme-Orient,
no. 10 (October, 1924), 279-92. A review article of Japanese field-collected folklore books.

Erskine, William H.:
Japanese Customs: Their Origin and Value
(Tokyo, 5th ed., n.d., originally published 1925). Ch. 6 on "Old Burial Customs" discusses human-sacrifice legends.

Griffis, William E.: "Japanese Fox-Myths,"
Lippincott's Magazine,
XIII (1874). 57-64.

Hearn =
The Writings of Lafcadio Hearn
(large-paper ed., Boston and New York, 1922), 16 vols. The important volumes for Japanese folklore are V-VI,
Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan;
VII,
Out of the East
and
Kokoro;
VIII,
Gleanings in Buddha-fields
and
The Romance of the Milky Way;
IX,
Exotics and Retrospectives
and
In Ghostly Japan;
X,
Shadowings
and
A Japanese Miscellany;
XI,
Kotto
and
Kwaidan.

Hibbard, Esther L.: "The Ulysses Motif in Japanese Literature,"
Journal of American Folklore,
LIX (1946), 222-46.

Ikeda = Hiroko Ikeda:
A Type and Motif Index of Japanese Folk-Literature.
Doctoral dissertation, Indiana University, 1955.

Ishida, Eiichiro: "The Kappa Legend,"
Folklore Studies,
IX (Tokyo, 1950), 1152.

Ishiwara, Yasuyo: "Celestial Wife in Japanese Folk Tales,"
University of Manila-Journal of East Asiatic Studies,
V (1956), 35-41.

Joly = Henri L. Joly:
Legend in Japanese Art: A Description of Historical Episodes, Legendary Characters, Folk-Lore, Myths, Religious Symbolism. Illustrated in the Arts of Old Japan
(London and New York, 1908). A valuable-reference work for the folklorist.

Krappe, Alexander H.: "Far Eastern Fox Lore,"
California Folklore Quarterly, III
(1944). 124-47.

Kurata, Ichiro, "Yama-No-Kami (Mountain Deities),"
Contemporary Japan,
X (September, 1941), 1304-12. Contains the legend of the archer Manzaburo assisting the god of Mt. Nikko.

Minzokugaku Jiten
(Japanese Folklore Dictionary), compiled by the Folklore Institute of Japan under the supervision of Kunio Yanagita (Tokyo, 1951). I had access to a manuscript translation by Masanori Takatsuka at the Institute's Tokyo library. This has since been edited for publication by George K. Brady, and is now available in the University of Kentucky Press micro-cards, Series A,
Modern Language Series 18,
1958 (17 cards).

Mitford = Lord Redesdale (A.B. Mitford):
Tales of Old Japan
(London, 1915). A standard older work, first published in 1871, containing some legendary traditions, particularly in the section "Concerning Certain Superstitions," pp. 199-226.

Mock Joya = Mock Joya:
Quaint Customs and Manners of Japan,
Vols. I-IV (Tokyo, 1951-55). Brief popularized description of Japanese cultural traditions by a journalist. Vol. IV has a section, "Legends and Folk Tales," pp. 1-48. Mock Joya continues to write on folk customs in the
Japan Times.

Motif(s) = Stith Thompson:
Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, 6
vols. (Bloomington, Indiana, and Copenhagen, Denmark, 1955-58).

Murai = Masaharu Murai:
Legends and Folktales of Shinshu
(Shinano Mainichi Press, [1949]. 98 pp. Twenty-one legends translated from
Shinshu no Densetsu
(Legends of Nagano), 1929. I met Mr. Murai, an English teacher in a Nagano high school, in June, 1957 in Nagano, and. he kindly gave me a copy of this locally printed booklet.

Murai typescript = Masaharu Murai: "Legends and Folk Tales of Shinshu," a twenty-page typed copy of thirty legends, "Prepared for English Study Association of Nagano North Upper Secondary School, Nagano City." These are additional translations from
Shinshu no Densetsu.

Nippon Mukashi-banashi Meii
(A Classification of Japanese Folk Tales), compiled by Nippon Hoso Kyokai under the supervision of Kunio Yanagita (Tokyo, 1948). A 4-volume manuscript translation by Fanny Hagin Mayer, "A Study of the Japanese Folk Tale" (Tokyo University, Graduate School, Department of Japanese Literature, March, 1955) was at the Japanese Folklore Institute.

Opler, Marvin K.: "Japanese Folk Beliefs and Practices, Tule Lake, California,"
Journal of American Folklore,
LXIII (1950), 385-97. Section II deals with "Fox, Cat, and Badger Legends" and III with "Perceptive Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Apprentices" (pp. 389-92).

Rumpf, Fritz:
Japanische Volksmärchen
(Jena, 1938). 340 pp. Some legendary traditions are included, e.g., no. 52, "Obasute Yama"; no. 59, "Asahi chōja"; no. 114, "Die Steinkartoffeln": all variants of texts in the present volume. Sources and notes are given.

Shiojiri, Seiichi: "The Kappa in the Japanese Folklore," in Ryunosuke Akutagawa,
Kappa,
translated by Seiichi Shiojiri, new ed. rev. (Tokyo, 1949), pp. 12-23.

Suzuki = Yoshimatsu Suzuki:
Japanese Legends and Folk-Tales
(Tokyo, 1949). 144 pp. Forty-three legends, with no sources or notes.

Type(s) = Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson:
The Types of the Folk-Tale
(Helsinki, 1928).

Yanagita, Kunio:
Japanese Folk Tales,
translated by Fanny Hagin Mayer (Tokyo, 1954), from
Nippon no Mukashi-banashi,
rev. ed., 1942 (Ist ed., 1930). 299 pp. One hundred and eight tales rewritten for children; a number of legends are included.

_____: "The Japanese Atlantis,"
Contemporary Japan,
III (June, 1934), 3439. Discusses the legend of the image whose face turns red to warn of disaster.

_____:
Studies in Fishing Village Life,
translated from the Japanese publication of 1948, by Masanori Takatsuka, edited by George K. Brady. I had access to the manuscript translation at the Japanese Folklore Institute. It is now available in the University of Kentucky Press microcards, Series A,
Modem Language Series 1,
1954 (7 cards). Because of the interruption caused by the war, the research on this cooperative investigation by the Japanese Folklore Institute is less complete than the companion study on mountain-village folklore.

_____:
Studies in Mountain Village Life,
translated from the Japanese publication of 1937, by Masanori Takatsuka, edited by George K. Brady. I had access to the manuscript translation at the Japanese Folklore Institute. It is now available in the University of Kentucky Press microcards, Series A,
Modem Language Series 2,
1954 (11 cards).

INDEX

SUBJECTS

Akiba, 72, 73, 139, 140

ame,
97

Amida Buddha, 40, 227, 238

ankoro,
77

Asama-sama, 227

Ashio Shrine, 137

badgers, legends of, 134-38

bakemono, 104

Banji, 167-69

Banta,
140

Banzaburo,
see
Banji Benkei, 75, 150, 163, 164

Benkei's Smithy, 164

Benkichi's Shrine, 163

Bizan's Collapse, 124

boasts, 206, 207

Bonari Myojin, 212

bonze, 35, 55, 190

bridges: 111; Bald Bridge of Limerick, 162; Gensuke, 216; Gojo, 163, 222; Ku-mejibashi, 219; London, 222; Motoma-chi 216, 217; Nari-nobu, 133; Shiraki-bashi, 53, 54; Tachi-bana, 216; Temma, 219; Yometori-bashi, 221; legends of, 216, 220-22.

Buddha, legends of, 36-41,
50, 51

Buddha Yakushi, 55, 56

cannibalism, 45, 46

caves: Anamori-sama, 118; demon's caves, 77, 78; Komoridan Cave, 48

charcoal makers, 179-82

Chofuku-ji, 236

choja
: discussed, 178; legends of, 178-96

cures: man cures eyes by washing in St. Kobo's Well, 33

curses: blood appears in food, 105, 235, 236; fires caused by curse, 73; loss of luck in hunting, 169; on crops, 158; on families, 48, 49, 105-9, 233; storms on lake, 46, 47

Dainichi-sama, 127

Daio Shrine, 82

demons: Hachimen Daio, 81; legends of, 76-93

densetsu,
defined, 24-26

dogs: Tametomo's Dog, 166, 167; Todarado Dog of Tsukidami, 137

Emperor Antoku, 41, 42, 54

Enoo-ji, 53, 54

Entsu-ji, 140

fools, legends of, 199, 200, 202, 203

foxes, legends of, 128-33

Fudo, 38, 126

Fuko-ji, 53

funa-yurei,
112, 113

Genji, 42, 43, 150, 160, 161, 167, 199

Genkaku-ji, 37

Gessho-ji, 41

ghosts: as servant, 109, 110; as wife, 113, 114; haunting place of death, 104, 105, 110, 111; returning for revenge, 99-104; returning for a special task, 97, 98

ghost ship, 112, 113

giants, 77, 78

Gongen-do, 53

Gongen-sama, 227

goryo,
48, 52, 96, 101

Goryo Jinja, 49

goryo shinko,
96

Hachiman Shrine, 87, 145, 150

hara-kiri,
162

Heike, 42, 150, 160, 199

Heike Monogatari,
42, 43, 150

heroes: discussed, 150; legends of, 151-76

hito-dama,
52

Hida-no-takumi, 49

hills: Benkei-mori, 163; Mimi-zuka, 82; San-do-no-saka, 106

horse: bodyless, 89; Ike-zuki, 164-66

hyosubo, 65

images, legends of, 37-45

Inari, 128, 179

Inu-jama Shrine, 138

Ise Shrine, 207

Jizo, 37, 60, 238

Jizo, Earless, 41-44

Jote-ji, 161

kami,
96, 111, 150, 168, 210, 237, 238

kami-kakushi,
70

Kamekawa Shrine, 78

Kanda Myojin, 107, 108

Kannon, 37-40, 51, 82

kappa,
165, 210; discussed, 58, 59; legends of, 59-68

kasha,
45, 46

Kashima Shrine, 34

Kazo-ji, 54

Kibitsu Shrine, 50

Kichigo, 198, 200, 201

Kichiemon, 198

Kitchomu, 198, 202

Kihachi, 156-58

Kine-hara Meadow, 191

Kiyomizu Kannon, 82

knaves: discussed, 198; legends of, 199-208

Kobo Daishi, 32-36, 80

kodama
rats, 140-42

Koga Saburo, 157-160

Komine Shrine, 73-75

Komoridan Cave, 48

Ko-zenji Temple, 137

Kumano Shrine, 69

Kumo-buchi, 88

lakes, 46-47; Shinju, 70; Suwa, 159-60

legends, defined, 17-18; discussed in connection with animals, 24;
choja,
25; collecting, 26-28; demons, 23-24; foxes, 24; Gen-ji, 22; geography, 22; Hearn, Lafcadio, 23, 28-29; Heike, 22; history, 21; Japanese culture, 17, 22;
kappa,
23, 28; Kazuo, Higo, 24; the
Kojiki,
21; literary classics, 20-21;
minkan shinko,
see religion; the
Nihongi,
20, 21; Okesa, 28; present time, 25-26; religion, 22-25; serpents, 24; spirits of the dead, 22-23; Ta-kagi, Toshio, 26;
tengu,
23-24; topography, 22; village life, 19, 21;
yama-uba,
24; Yanagita, Kunio, 17, 26, 27, 29

Lu Tung-pin, 36

maeri-baka,
96

magic: magic treasure ball, 171;
ninjitsu,
76

mamono,
109

Manji, 167-69

Manju-ji, 156

marshes: Tatsuko-numa, 127

Mii Temple, 47

Minamoto, 42, 160, 163, 166

miracles: cane brings forth water, 34; fish disappear from river, 35; footprints remain in snow, 35; heavy statue becomes light, 41; image of deity substitutes for person, 37, 38; potatoes grow hard as stones, 35; river divides to let men pass, 41; river turns dry, 35, 36; small chestnut trees bear fruit, 34, 35; spring of
sake,
234, 235; staff brings forth water, 34; stick flies three miles and takes root upside down, 33; straw dolls assist carpenter, 49, 50

monks, 46, 47, 68

monsters: discussed, 58

mounds: Ashi-zuka, 110; Hara-zuka, no; Kubi-zuka, no; Yuriwaka, 156; Onizuka, 157; Sakai-zuka, 230; Utano-suke-zuka, 230

Other books

Olivia's Curtain Call by Lyn Gardner
The Savage King by Michelle M. Pillow
Red Devon by Menos, Hilary
Devourer by Liu Cixin
The Hike by Drew Magary
War Nurse by Sue Reid