Japan · Folktales and oral traditions
Dashed lines show parallels. Direction is shown where a source documents the transfer.
The map stays centred on the selected country. You can zoom or open a tale’s records. Pins show written records, editions and places associated with the tales. Locations are approximate. Natural Earth
Japan
- Tales
- 6
- Dated records
- 6
- Tales linked to multiple countries
- 4
Counts reflect the Atlas catalogue. A link may represent a recording, a publication or an association with a local tradition.
The Japan page shows how tales moved between publishing formats. The 1885 Tokyo edition of The Tongue-Cut Sparrow is an illustrated woodblock book on crepe paper. The Crab and the Monkey appears in a similar booklet from 1885. Ozaki’s 1903 collection brings both stories together in one volume.
Tales in the Atlas
Momotarō (Peach Boy)
1885 · David Thompson · Momotaro, or Little Peachling
The Old Man Who Made the Dead Trees Blossom
1885 · Japanese Fairy Tale Series · Hanasaki Jiji
The Crab and the Monkey
1885 · Edo-Tokyo Museum · Japanese Fairy Tale Series no. 3 · crepe-paper booklet
The Tongue-Cut Sparrow
1885 · Kobunsha · Japanese Fairy Tale Series · The Tongue-Cut Sparrow
The Bamboo Cutter and Princess Kaguya
1903 · Yei Theodora Ozaki · The Bamboo-cutter and the Moon-child
Urashima Tarō the Fisherman
1903 · Yei Theodora Ozaki · The Story of Urashima Taro