Calista Lynn

Kaguya Hime (The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter) is the story of a baby from the moon who is discovered on Earth inside some bamboo. She quickly becomes an adult and is loved by many. In the original folktale, Kaguya chooses to return to her home on the moon despite her many suitors. In this retelling, Kaguya realizes she is asexual.

Little One Inch, or Issun Boushi, is the story of a small boy who uses a rice bowl and chopsticks to get where he needs to go.

This illustration is based on the story of Tanabata, two star-crossed lovers separated by the Milky Way. Each summer during the Tanabata festival, people write wishes on tanzaku (small pieces of paper) and hang them on bamboo.

Omusubi Kororin is based on a folktale where an old man accidentally drops a riceball down a hole and is rewarded by the rats who find it. Seeing this, another man tries to copy him by rolling another riceball down the hole but is instead met with misfortune.

This illustration is based on the folktale, Momotaro and the idea of a found family. Momotaro is a boy born from a peach who befriends a talking dog, pheasant, and monkey on his way to defeat oni (demons).

Uriko Hime is the story of a girl born from a watermelon who is adopted by an elderly couple. Uriko opens her door to an amanojaku (a supernatural entity) who takes over her body. Uriko’s spirit then possesses a bird and tries to get back home.

This illustration is based on the story Two Frogs where a frog from Osaka and a frog from Kyoto, leave their respective cities to visit the other. When they bump into each other on a mountain between the two cities, they stand on their hind legs, holding hands to keep balance in order to get a better view of the city they are heading towards. When this happens, they decide that it is too similar to the city they are from, and each frog heads back home. However, when they stood on their hind legs facing the direction of their unfamiliar cities, their eyes were actually facing back to their own city. This version features Vancouver and Toronto.

This illustration is based on the story Matsuyama Kagami, the story of the first mirror brought to the rural area of Matsuyama. The mirror is gifted from this girl’s late mother and was told that whenever she misses her to see her in the mirror.

Kachi-Kachi Yama is based on the story of a rabbit who takes revenge on a mischievous tanuki (raccoon dog) by setting the kindling on his back on fire. When the tanuki hears the crackle of the fire and asks the rabbit where the sound is coming from, the rabbit says it’s just Kachi-Kachi (the sound of fire crackling) Mountain.

This illustration is based on the story of Shippeitaro, a dog who helps a warrior defeat sarugami (monkey demons).

Other Japanese Children’s Favourite Stories