Japanese Children's Favorite Stories Book 1

JAPANESE CHILDREN'S
FAVORITE STORIES

JAPANESE CHILDREN'S
FAVORITE STORIES

Compiled by Florence Sakade
Illustrated by Yosbisuke Kurosaki

TUTTLE PUBLISHING
Tokyo • Rutland, Vermont • Singapore

Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions, with editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436 and 61 Tai Seng Avenue, #02-12 Singapore 534167.

First printing of CD edition, 2005

Copyright © 1959 Charles E. Tuttle Co.

CD Recording © 2005 Charles E. Tuttle Co.

All rights reserved

LCC Card No. 58-11620

ISBN: 978-1-4629-0810-3 (ebook)

Printed in Malaysia

Distributed by:

Japan

Tuttle Publishing

Yaekari Building, 3F
5-4-12 Osaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0032
Tel: (81) 3 5437 0171 Fax: (81) 3 5437 0755
Email: [email protected]

North America, Latin America & Europe

Tuttle Publishing
364 Innovation Drive
North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436
Tel: 1 (802) 773 8930 Fax: 1 (802) 773 6993
Email: [email protected]
Website:
www.tuttlepublishing.com

Asia Pacific

Berkeley Books Pte Ltd
61 Tai Seng Avenue #02-12
Singapore 368357
Tel: (65) 6280 1330 Fax: (65) 6280 6290
Email: [email protected]
Website:
www.periplus.com

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TUTTLE PUBLISHING® is a registered trademark of Tuttle Publishing, a division of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

Contents

Preface to the Third Edition

Of the many Asian children's books Tuttle has been proud to publish over the years,
Japanese Children's Favorite Stories
is especially dear to our hearts and those of our readers.

And it's no wonder why. In these magical stories, good is rewarded and evil punished, statues come to life to repay a kindness, and, with a little self-confidence, even a boy who's only one inch tall can become a great hero.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of this beloved children's classic, we've added sparkling new color illustrations to the book, and it's as if an old friend has suddenly come alive and shown to us even more wonderful surprises. Each story glows with a new joy and spirit. The persimmons in 'The Crab and the Monkey' are now the most mouth-watering shade of orange, and the old couple in 'Monkey-Dance and Sparrow-Dance' has a rosier bloom on their cheeks and a livelier step to their dance.

This new edition of
Japanese Children's Favorite Stories
will undoubtedly enchant many new generations of children, in the same way it has for the past 50 years—perhaps more so now!

Foreword to the Second Edition

In the autumn of 1953, we published the first edition of this book, choosing the stories from the pages of
Silver Bells,
the English-language edition of one of Japan's leading children's magazines. Since then, although the magazine is no longer published, the book has been so popular that successive reprintings have worn the plates past further use, and still orders continue to pour in for it. To meet this continuing demand, we are pleased to offer the present revision, which contains ten of the best-loved stories from the first edition, ten new stories, and entirely new illustrations by one of Japan's foremost illustrators. We are confident the book will meet the same enthusiastic response—from children, parents, and teachers alike—as did the first edition, and should like to quote the following remarks from the Foreword to that edition:

Parents and teachers all over the world have become increasingly aware of the need to raise their children to be citizens of the world, to become thinking adults who, while proud of their own traditions and heritage, are free of the national prejudices, rivalries, and suspicions that have caused such havoc in the past. To this end they have wanted material that would give their children a sympathetic understanding of the life and culture of other lands. This book will fill part of this need.

We have chosen those traditional stories that may in a very true sense be called "favorites." They have been loved by the children of Japan for hundreds of years, and have proven no less delightful to Western children, thus showing again that the stories that please the children of one land are likely to please children everywhere.

Each of these stories is to be found in Japan—and often in other countries too—in many forms and versions. We have tried to select the most interesting version in each case and, in our translations, to remain true to the spirit of the Japanese originals. At the same time we have inserted sufficient words of explanation into the text of the stories to make customs and situations that are peculiar to Japan intelligible to Western readers without the need for distracting notes.

Editorial responsibility for this book has been borne by Florence Sakade; both as a mother and as an editor of numerous children's publications she has had wide experience in the entertainment and education of children. The English versions are the work of Meredith Weatherby, well-known translator of Japanese literature.