Japanese Fairy Tales

Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki

Published in 1903 titled Japanese Fairy Book, the title was changed in the 1908 edition to Japanese Fairy Tales. Theodora Ozaki was the daughter of a wealthy Japanese aristocrat, Baron Ozaki, the first Japanese to study in the West, and his wife, the daughter of an American school teacher. The couple separated after a brief marriage and Theodora lived with her father in Japan. She worked as a secretary and spent much of her free time compiling traditional Japanese stories. Scottish writer Andrew Lang, who was an accomplished writer of children's literature, encouraged her to publish the collection.

The twenty-two stories in this volume include one of the best-known Japanese tales, The Tongue-Cut Sparrow, which tells of a vengeful old woman who cruelly cuts out her husband's talking sparrow's tongue. The lovely details in this story are actually very interesting, as it provides many of the architectural and cultural features of Japanese houses and traditions. Rashomon's Ogre is another macabre tale, while the enchanting adventures of Kintaro the Golden Boy are sure to captivate young and old alike. An interesting feature is that the author often gives the meaning of Japanese words and terms and explains many of the customs for the benefit of non-Japanese readers. In the preface, he states that his goal is to bring these beautiful stories to those outside of his country so that they too will love and enjoy them.