Once upon a time in Japan

Once upon a time in Japan 

Compiled by Sayumi Kawauchi

Translated by Ralph F McCarthy

 

Scanning through the books at the library a compact, colorful book caught my eye immediately. The front cover had pictures of a man on a turtle, a little boy riding a bear, a flying man, sparrows dressed up in kimonos, a sleeping ogre…intriguing mixture of things.

Holding it in my hands it was smooth and the texture of the covers made me want to open it and when I flicked through the pages I was attracted to the bright illustrations and that tantalizing smell of children's books which I have missed for such a long time. “That’s it! I’m going to read this book!” I thought.

So I borrowed it from the Japan Foundation Library and on the bus ride home, I began to read. 

Let's go through a brief tour of the book together.

First I met Gonbei the duck hunter whom was an unskilled yet ambitious young man who’s high (almost ridiculous) hopes got him literally  flying across the whole country, meeting new people and learning new things. I sort of hoped that my fate would be similar to Gonbei! 

Ever wondered why the sea is salty? Probably not the most scientifically proven theory but maybe just maybe it all had to do with two brothers, and how greed got between them and resulted in the saltiness of the sea! 

Or how about Kintaro the miracle child, stronger than a grown man and he’s just an infant…befriended all the forest animals and even managed to make some negotiations with a big scary bear. Strength combined with kindness are the building blocks of heroes. Imagine you found this tiny little girl in a shining bamboo plant, you adopted her and got very fond of her, then realizing, after all these years, she had to be taken away from you…quite a melodramatic story that emphasized that life and eternity itself is nothing without true happiness and those that we love. 

What if you spent all your days sleeping and waking up once a month just to empty your bladder? I can imagine you’d not be with the best reputation. Taro the sleepyhead in this day and age would probably be diagnosed with hypothyroidism and treated, but fortunately in this tale his ailment saved an entire town, in the most humorous way.

A common theme that links these stories is that people/events are not always as they may seem to the superficial eye, in other words “don't judge a book by its cover” which is precisely why I am reviewing this book! 

An alcoholic  little goblin that bullied passersby to give him their drinks crosses paths with Jinbei, a selfless young man gladly offered the goblin to drink and he was repaid  in a way you’d never imagine.

 That seems to be another strong theme in this book and perhaps Japanese folk stories and that is; giving without expecting return is the key to good fortune. Following the same theme but with a magical twist, saving a sparrow or a victimized turtle…who would have predicted that they lead their characters into beautifully enchanting lands where sparrows are dressed in kimonos (now I know what the front cover picture was all about) and have parties or to an underwater palace where your perception of a few days actually turned out to be hundreds of years. With my interest in the multiverse theory I think perhaps, just perhaps this story is suggesting that our character here (Urashima Taro) was actually transported to a parallel universe.

Can you conceive of a  law that when anyone turned 60 years old you'd have to be taken to the ‘old folks mountain’ where you're left to die?

This story touched upon many themes; love, loyalty, rebellion and defying the law for what you believe is correct. Those ingredients sound ideal for societal reform and they were so simply illustrated in 11 small pages in a so-called children’s book. It was actually this story that made me realize that I must review this book. It is more than meets the eye and teaches children (and adults alike) the very essence of living…elements like despair, curiosity, kindness, evil, hesitation, gratitude, rebellion, submission are touched upon not to mention parallel universes!

I really enjoyed this book by Sayumi Kawauchi and I hope you will be intrigued enough to pick it up and read it if you get the opportunity. 

Thank you

Wegdan Rashad