 Mukashibanashi,
昔話, むかしばなし - An old time story in Japan.
Momotarō (桃太郎, Momotarō) is a popular hero from Japanese
folklore. His name literally means Peach Tarō; as Tarō is a
common Japanese boy's name, it is often translated as Peach
Boy. Momotarō is also the title of various books, films, and
other works that portray the tale of this hero.
According to the present form of the tale (dating to the Edo
Period), Momotarō came to Earth inside a giant peach, which
was found floating down a river by an old, childless woman
who was washing clothes there. The woman and her husband
discovered the child when they tried to open the peach to
eat it. The child explained that he had been sent by Heaven
to be their son. The couple named him Momotarō, from momo
(peach) and tarō (eldest son in the family).
An older form of the story has the old, childless woman
discover the giant, floating peach and take it home with
her, as she finds it to be of good color and tasty-looking.
After eating a piece of the peach, the old woman is suddenly
rejuvenated and regains the beauty of her youth. When her
old husband comes home from the hills, he is astounded to
find a dazzling young lady in his house. At first he does
not even recognize his own wife in her rejuvenated form, but
she explains to him how she has picked up an unusual peach
floating in the river and brought it home to eat it and was
magically transformed. She then gives her husband a piece of
the peach to eat, and he also regains his youthful vigor.
That night, the newly invigorated couple make love, and the
woman becomes pregnant as a result. She eventually gives
birth to their first child, a son, whom they name Tarō, as
that is a common Japanese name for a first son. This version
of the story is the oldest one that is historically
documented, but it appears to have been replaced with the
sexless version in school textbooks of the Meiji period,
perhaps owing to a newfound sensitivity to sexual subjects
that was introduced to Japan through contacts with
contemporaneous European and Euro-American cultures, and the
censored textbook version rapidly supplanted the traditional
tale in the general Japanese social consciousness. It is
notable that the peach is often seen as a symbol of sex or
fertility in Japan, as its fruit is believed to resemble a
woman's buttocks.
Years later, Momotarō left his parents for an island called
Onigashima to destroy the marauding oni (demons or ogres)
that dwelt there. En route, Momotarō met and befriended a
talking dog, monkey, and pheasant, who agreed to help him in
his quest. At the island, Momotarō and his animal friends
penetrated the demons' fort and beat the demons' leader, Ura,
as well as his army, into surrendering. Momotarō returned
home with his new friends, and his family lived comfortably
from then on.
Momotarō is strongly associated with Okayama, and his tale
may have its origins there. The demon island of the story is
sometimes associated with Megi-jima Island (an island in the
Inland Sea near Takamatsu) due to the vast manmade caverns
found on that island.
Information source: “Momotarō.” wikipedia.org. Article date:
30 Jan. 2008. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 4 Feb. 2008 <Momotarō>.
Video - The following is Manga Nippon
Mukashibanashi Momotarou.
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