Reading Diary Week 8: Review

For many of my Reading Diary posts I have taken small notes on each story so that I can remember each one. I think this strategy it has been beneficial when I am starting to think about the storytelling post because it provides me with a quick recap of the stories to choose from.  I have been writing the notes after I read each story to make sure I remember the details and what stood out to me for each plot, symbolism, or motif included. Most of the time the posts have been about the same length, obviously depending on how many stories were included in the reading unit. Recently, however, I have begun to just focus on specific stories in the unit. Usually this includes one for each half of the reading. So far I have done both halves of the reading for each unit so I have an A and B post for each unit. By just focusing on the one story per half reading unit, it has allowed me to really dive in deeper to the tales/stories of the unit. I will read all the stories included in the unit and then think about which one or two really stood out to me and focus on the details and depth of those. It is a different approach than when I started the reading diaries and I think it is beneficial. Both strategies are important and useful however. In the first unit I read, I read the tales of Ovid Greek mythology and it was useful to have a small summary of each story to see it all fit together. This last unit of Japanese fairy tales, included longer tales so it was more beneficial to focus on one story since it had so much more detail in its length. The dairy has helped me with my storybook posts because I read about Greek mythology in the first two units of the semester and am now having to write my storybook posts about goddesses. It is helpful to have the quick notes about the stories in order for me to use as a guide to find the specific tale I need to reference in my storybook post. I am glad that I choose to include quotes in my posts because many of them have significant meaning and is the reason they stood out to me. I enjoy the moral lessons included in many of the stories and the diary posts allow me to take a look back and be reminded of these important messages.

Week 7 Essay: Analyzing a Recurring Motif

For this week’s essay I am focusing on the reoccurring theme I have seen in two of the past units I have read. The theme is the idea of “wanting what you don’t have.”

A want button where you can press what you want, Image source: LaBLog

Last week one of my favorite stories from the Japanese FairyTale (Lang) unit was The Stonecutter. This story follows a poor stonecutter who happens upon the magical spirit of the mountain one day when he is cutting stone. He wishes he is rich and the spirit grants his wish by giving him a palace to live in. But this is not enough. When he sees a prince who has servants to shade him from the sun, he wishes to be a prince. He wants what he does not have. But this was not enough power for the prince. He wanted to have power over all the earth, so he wished to be the sun, but when the clouds covered the sun and cast the earth in shadows, he wished to be a cloud. And when the cloud stormed and destroyed the village but did not damage the mountain, he wished to be the mountain. Until, one day a stonecutter came by and began to chip at him for the stone. He then wished to be a man and he was content for the rest of his days. Through the journey, he constantly wanted what he did not have. He was never satisfied with what he had to start with until he saw that, in the end, it was what he wanted most.

This week one of my favorite stories in the unit Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki) was the tale entitled The Man Who Did Not Wish to Die. The man named Sentaro does not want to die and part with all of the splendors he owns in this life. He had heard tales of there being an elixir of life that would make him last forever and he decided he must have it, so he sets out to Mt. Fuji to find the hermits who possess it. In order to obtain the elixir and live forever Sentaro must become a hermit. Sentaro has been spoiled his whole life, and the reason he seeks the Elixir is in order to live this grand life forever, not a life of being cold and hungry and barefoot. So his next option to live forever is to venture to the land known as Perpetual Life where the people live forever. But, the people there have heard of Paradise, a magical place you go to only when you die. So Sentaro, who came from a land where you do die wanted to find eternal life and the people who had eternal life only wanted to die. This shows a perfect example of people wanting what they do not have. Luckily, for Sentaro it was just a dream and he soon realized that he did not want to live forever, and returned from Mt. Fuji to his land where he would eventually die.

Week 7 Storybook: The Old Woman of Adachigahara

LONG, long ago there was a large plain called Adachigahara in the province of Mutsu in Japan. This place was said to be haunted by a cannibal goblin who took the form of an old woman…

It was said that after dark the land was not safe. The goblin only took her captives at night. Stories were told of how she would eat and destroy innocent men and boys for bothering her in her secluded cottage near the edge of town. The windows were tattered, the wood was withering, and weeds surrounded the entire cottage. The stories mentioned that in one of the rooms lay bones and bloodstains of the Goblin’s victims who had been there before. Everyone of Adachigahara stayed clear of the area. Anyone they had ever known to venture near the cottage, had never returned.

One evening, an orphan was traveling through Adachigahara with no food, no shelter, or no clothes but the rags on his back. He had been walking all day and just needed a place to rest his feet for the night. They were blistered and had gone num. He had already passed through the town, and was making his way through the fields when he saw an old run-down cottage with a lantern burning inside.

The orphan walked to the gate and up towards the door. Instead of knocking, for he was afraid the tattered door would fall down with his touch, he yelled to see if anyone was home.

“What do you want?” responded a voice that sounded like it came from a frail old woman.

“Oh thank you, someone is home. It seems my prayers have been answered, for you see I am wandering through the land and have walked all day. I only wish for a place to rest my head tonight,” replied the orphan boy.

“Well I can not help you,” said the old woman sharply.

“No, please ma’am. You must help me or I will have to sleep outside with the beasts. I can’t take another step; my feet are bloody and tired from my long journey. Please allow me to at least sleep on the floor. I promise I will not be a bother,” begged the orphan.

“Fine, you may come in for the night and rest,” replied the old woman. “I will give you some food and some rags for you feet.”

Traveler approaches the Old Woman's cabin, Image source:Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki)

The orphan walked inside and sat down in a rocking chair. “Thank you ma’am. You do not know how much I appreciate your sympathy and kind heart.” 

The old woman went to the sink and fixed some warm rags for the poor orphan’s feet and brought him some warm broth to sip on. The orphan could not believe how blessed he was to have found the old cottage on the edge of town, even if it did look like something out of a haunted story. As the fire was burning down, the old woman began to put on her coat and head towards the door.

“I am going out to get more wood before the fire burns out,” explained the old woman. “"You must sit where you are and not move, and, whatever happens, don't go near or look into the inner room. Now mind what I tell you!"

“I understand,” replied the orphan. After she shut the door and left the front gate, he began to ponder. He did not understand why the old woman was so adamant about not opening the door to that room. She seemed like such a kind old lady. What could she have to hide? His curiosity started to get the best of him, as he got up out of the chair and walked towards the door of the back room. He must know what was behind it. Could it be gold? He could rob the old woman and be rich and an orphan no more. His hand hovered over the handle as he went to turn it.

He immediately dropped his hand and thought to himself. “This woman has been so nice to me and offered me shelter, warm rags for my feet, and food. I must not disobey her wishes.”

The orphan returned to sit in his chair and waited for the old woman to return. As she opened the door to see the orphan still sitting there, she almost had a surprised look on her face.

As she went to put the new wood on the fire, and the flames burst up the old woman thought to herself, “He must not have opened the door like all the others have before. He would not still be here if he saw the bones and blood that lay in that room. All the others ran away and tried to escape- even though they failed. No, this one is different. He obeyed my orders, and for that his life shall be spared.”

The orphan boy fell asleep in the rocking chair with the warm rags on his feet as the old woman laid a blanket over him so he would not get cold during the night.

Author’s Note: The original story, The Goblin of Adachigahara,  included an old priest who came wandering through the town and landed upon the old woman’s house who was rumored to be a cannibal goblin. The woman warned him not to look in the back room while she was gone, but the priest let his curiosity get the best of him and he opened the door to find bones on the floor and blood splashed on the walls. He immediately ran out of the house, and the old woman saw him fleeing and knew he must have looked into the room despite her warnings. She chases after him in her goblin form through the night, until daylight breaks and she is forced to retreat. I kept the story the same in the beginning but switched the priest to an orphan boy. I wanted to drastically change the ending to make a moral of the story that the old woman spares the boy’s life because he obeys her wishes not to look into the room.

Bibliography: The Goblin of Adachigahara. Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki, with illustrations by Japanese artists (1905)

Week 7 Reading Diary: Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki)

This week I decided for my Diaries to just focus on one story that I really enjoyed: for part A I focus on the story The Man Who DidNot Wish to Die from the Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki) unit. 

The introduction where Sentaro reflects on the life of the Chinese King Shin-no-Shiko, who had everything but was still miserable, made me really ponder. The king had everything he could ever want: “the luxury and the splendor of his Court, the wisdom of his councilors and the glory of his reign” but yet he was so unhappy because he knew one day he must die. He would leave all of his treasures and glory behind. It was for this reason the thought of death plagued his thoughts every second of every day. It seems ironic to me that he did not want to part with the most wonderful things he had in life, yet he was not truly enjoying them because his misery surrounding the thought of death made him depressed in all matters.

            The story then transitions back to Sentaro, who is in the same dilemma as Shin-no-Shiko was in having wealth and wanting to live forever. He then sets out to Mt. Fuji to find the hermits for the Elixir of Life. I also thought it was interesting how hermits were the keepers of the elixir, when in most tales it is an old wise man or someone looked more highly upon than a hermit.

Upon switching to the next part of the story, I can see that my intuition was correct about the hermits. Jofuku criticizes Sentaro for being selfish and saying he would never be able to live the life of a hermit because he would “never be able to go barefoot or to wear only one thin dress in the winter time.” Jafuko questions him. “Do you think that you would ever have the patience or the endurance to live a hermit's life?” Sentaro has been spoiled his whole life, and the reason he seeks the Elixir is in order to live this grand life forever, not a life of being cold and hungry and barefoot. It shows his true selfishness

I loved the mention of the paper crane he flew on to the magic city- oragami- and reflects the Japanese culture.

One of my favorite parts of the story is when Heaven is mentioned as Paradise. “Priests had come over from India and China and told them of a beautiful country called Paradise, where happiness and bliss and contentment fill all men's hearts, but its gates could only be reached by dying.” It is a strong allusion to Heaven. The people of the land of Perpetual Life, who could live forever, only wanted to die to reach Paradise. Sentaro was the only happy one on the island, because he was the only one not wishing for death.

AH but it was all just a dream! I did not see this coming at all and thought it added so much to the story. The dream allowed him to see his life if he were to live forever, and then he even saw that then he did not wish for death. “Your desire for death was not real, for even at that moment you cried out loudly and shouted for help." I think we can all relate to the idea of fearing death, yet knowing death brings eternal life in Heaven and yearning for that. 

Part B Reading I decided to focus on the story The Goblin of Adachigahara.  

When starting the story, I did not expect the Goblin to be a poor old woman who, legend had it, devoured men at night and tossed their bones into an empty room. The title did not give hint to this. But from the beginning, instead of starting with "Once upon a time" it starts with "Long, long ago" and I think this introduction sets the stage for a kind of "ghost story." I got the sense from the opening that it would be more of a wicked kind of tale. This story was far more gruesome and disturbing than those of the first half of the unit. This story had no twists and turns as the story of The Man Who Did Not Wish to Die. It alluded to the Goblin who ate humans, and then the man who stayed with her ended up being her prey. He did escape and thanked his life to his prayers to Buddha. This ending does set it apart from other grim fairy tales, such as the Persian fairy tales, where most of the characters die an awful death. The man was warned by the Goblin not to look into the room and it seems that, like all the men before him, his punishment for giving into his curiosity was to be eaten by the Goblin.

Week 6 Essay: Analyzing The Stonecutter

For my essay this week I decided to analyze and discuss one specific story in the Japanese Tales Unit (Lang). It was one that as I read it, I appreciated the story for the lesson it was teaching and how the story swings back full-circle to end where it started. The story is The Stonecutter.

            The story begins with a poor stonecutter whose art is being able to carve stone and pick out which types of stone are best for different purposes. He goes everyday to the mountain to cut the stone and has never seen Spirit of the Mountain who supposedly helped the men become rich and prosperous. The story introduces how the stonecutter did not believe in the spirit and then actually provides foreshadowing in the end of the second paragraph “But a time was coming when he learned to change his opinion.” This sets the stage for how the reader can see that the spirit of the mountain will probably come back into the story at some point.

            In the next paragraph, we see that the stonecutter’s luck begins to change as the spirit hears his request to be a rich man, and upon returning home, the stonecutter’s wooden hut has become a palace. His first wish had been granted. Later, the stonecutter sees a prince with a golden umbrella being used to hide the prince from the piercing sun coming down. The stonecutter, sweating from the intense heat, was jealous and wished he too could be a prince. He was envious.  He wished for what he didn’t have. The spirit heard his plea and turned him into a prince.

And here is where the big central message comes. He was rich and now a prince “But yet it was not enough.” It is a typical of the human nature. Many times when we want what we can’t have, as soon as we get it, we are not satisfied and want something else.

The stonecutter then goes one a power-craze. He wishes to be the sun, but then the clouds hide the sun. So he wishes to be a cloud, but then the stone withstands his rain. So he wishes to be a rock. “And the rock he was, and gloried in his power.” The stonecutter was finally content and proud that neither sun nor rain could overpower him. Until one day when a stonecutter came and begin chipping away at him. He cries out “'Is a mere child of earth mightier than a rock? Oh, if I were only a man!” And the last wish is granted as he is turned back into a man.

“His bed was hard and his food scanty, but he had learned to be satisfied with it and did not long to be something or somebody else. And as he never asked for things he had not got, or desired to be greater and mightier than other people, he was happy at last and heard the voice of the mountain spirit no longer.”

The last paragraph perfectly explains the story. The man learned that he could never be happy if he was always chasing something else. He could not find happiness in always yearning for more and never appreciating what he had and who he was at the moment. The spirit of the mountain represented his selfish hunger, and after he learned to be content and grateful, the voice went away. 

Man on Mountain, Image Source: Pixabay

Week 6 Storytelling: The Tale of Frank and George

The Tale of Frank and George 

Once upon a time there were two frogs who had lived in the same land their entire lives. They had never explored the neighboring land that lay just over the hill. It was not that they had no interest to go explore the great-unknown land, It was simply that neither had ever had the courage to leave.

            One of the frogs, named George, had lived in the same swamp since the day he was just a little tadpole. His mother had protected him and sheltered him in their swamp in the land of Panmith. His days were spent hopping around the grassy brush of their home, or swimming with his brothers and sisters. His brothers always teased George that he would not do anything adventurous. They would dare him to go touch the old rotting tree, which their mother had told them to never go to. When he refused to disobey his mother’s rules, his brothers and sisters called him cowardly and laughed at him. But George had had about all he could take. He wanted to show them he could be brave and adventurous. So he decided he would venture not just past the rotting tree, but all the way over the hill to the neighboring land of Swamith.

As George set out to climb the hill he was unsure if he had made the right decision. He was leaving behind his home; the only place he had ever known. His mother would be so angry with him. And what if Swamith was the exact same as Panmith? Would he regret his decision to leave? As he was contemplating these questions and planning to turn around and go home, George spotted an old grey owl in a big oak tree. The owl cooed:

If you never go

You will never see

What the other place could be

The owl’s words were exactly what George needed to hear to keep going on his adventure, and with the owl’s advice he decided to travel to Swamith and start a new adventure…

            In the land of Swamith lived another cowardly little frog named Frank. Frank was an only child frog. A human boy with a net had captured his siblings and mother. His father was so upset that since that day he had barely spoken a word to his son. Frank was lonely. He had always thought about leaving and going over the hill to see what the land of Panmith was like. Many of his friends had mentioned its beautiful swamps, and he always wanted to see it for himself. Frank hated to leave his father all alone, but he needed to be happy, and right now he was just sad. So he decided he would venture all the way over the hill to the neighboring land of Panmith.

As Frank started his adventure he began to question his choice to leave. He was leaving his father, who had already endured so much heartache, all-alone. And what if Swamith was the exact same as Panmith? Would he regret his decision to leave? As he was contemplating these questions and planning to turn around and go home, Frank spotted an old grey owl in a big oak tree. The owl cooed:

If you never go

You will never see

What th other place could be

             The owl’s words were exactly what Frank needed to hear to keep going on his adventure, and with the owl’s advice he decided to travel to Panmith and start a new adventure…

Green Swamp Frog, Source: Pixabay

Author's Note: This is a retelling of an original tale from the Japanese Tales (Lang) unit called The Two Frogs. In the original tale, two frogs go on top of a hill to see the other's land and decide if they want to go visit the other side. When the frogs climb on each others' backs, they have their noses facing the new land but their eyes (on the back of their head) face their land they just came from. They see, what they think is the unexplored land, looks the same as theirs and decide to turn around and go back home. In my story, I wanted them to go to the unexplored land because I think being adventurous and traveling is so important in life.

Bibliography: The Two Frogs. The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1901).

Week 6 Reading Diary: Japanese Fairy Tales

The Two Frogs: The introduction reminded me of The Parent Trap, where the two twins do not know about each other before meeting at camp and then they both wanted to explore the life of the other to see what their other parent was like. When the frogs forget their eyes are in the back of their heads, and think where they came from is the unexplored town, I gave a little giggle. This story was funny and you almost feel bad for the poor little frogs that they will never know that the other town actually is completely different and they will never explore it.

The Stonecutter: I think this story provides a good message, that even when the stonecutter got what he wanted, he always ended up discontent. It was never enough for him. Many people find this problem when they turn to fulfillment through material things. The ending explains this perfectly: “he had learned to be satisfied with it and did not long to be something or somebody else. And as he never asked for things he had not got, or desired to be greater and mightier than other people, he was happy at last and heard the voice of the mountain spirit no longer.” It is so important that we be happy with who we are and what we have. That is when we will find we are our happiest selves.

The Maiden and the Wooden Helmet: This story included an idea that beauty should be hidden. In many Japanese stories and movies I have read or seen, it seems like this is a common idea. The story ends as a typical Fairy Tale I think of would, with a woman and man living happily ever after with children and were famous for their beauty and goodness.

**** After reading these first three stories, I wanted to note how vastly different these Fairy Tales are than the fairy tales of the unit I read last week: Persian Tales. It is black and white with the two focusing on happiness and important life lessons vs tales of death and horrible incidents. ***

The Sparrow and the Slit Tongue: This story was very interesting and I actually enjoyed it a lot. The woman got what she had coming for her, after she treated the sparrow so horribly for no reason. The husband was rewarded for his faithfulness and his lack of greed in taking the small box, which happened to be filled with jewels. The woman let her eyes deceive her and her greed take over, as she expected the big box be filled with even greater jewels. She got what she deserved though, when serpents attacked her. I enjoyed the connection of the serpents with “forky tongues” to the sparrow whose tongue was slit.

The Cat's Elopement: Cupid made an appearance in this story, which I was intrigued by as Cupid is a Greek mythology character. It shows how universal Greek mythology is that it shows up in a Japanese fairy tale. I also drew the connection to Romeo and Juliette of “unrequited love.” This is another story that ends with a “happily ever after.”

Schippeitaro: This story mentions the Spirit of the Mountain again. I think it might be interesting to research the significance of the Spirit of the Mountain in Japanese culture. This was more of a whimsical story with the cats being evil and the black cat being the Spirit of the Mountain. But the ending still ends happily with the maidens living safely and a feast each year in the brave boy’s honor.

The Crab and the Monkey: Most of the stories so far have included animals taking on seemingly human characteristics. All the lessons that could be explained with humans, instead use animals in the Japanese Fairy tales. The crab was “a very good housewife” which is not something we would normally attribute with a crab. I especially enjoyed the image attached with the story.

How the Wicked Tanuuki was Punished: This story started out so happy and I thought the fox and tanuki were such clever little animals, but I was not expecting the tanuki to betray his wife like that. I actually had to read that paragraph twice to make sure I had read right that he told the buyer she was not dead. The little boy was actually the clever one, and of course, he ended up living happily after he avenged his mothers death.

The Slaying of the Tanuki: I felt bad for the poor woman in this story that the Tanuki tricked into letting her go. It plays on the idea that women always find the best in people and believe they will help them. The offer to help her pound the rice “melted the good woman” and I think this is a character statement about women as well because a man would not be so easily to melt at the offer of help. From this story I am able to see that the Tanuki is an evil little trickster and the people and forest animals do not like his cunning ways. I felt so bad for the poor man who ended up eating his wife due to the evil deed of the Tanuki. This story also mentions how greed is not a good quality, because the Tanuki chooses the large boat thinking he will get more fish, only to come to his death.