7 h 57 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 57 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a peach holds a brave boy, and a kindness to a turtle opens a palace beneath the sea?
In Japanese Fairy Tales, Yei Theodora Ozaki brings together old stories from Japan in clear, warm English. Little Peachling emerges from a giant peach and sets out to face ogres with three animal friends. Kintaro grows up on a mountain, where his enormous strength goes hand in hand with friendship among animals.
Other tales lead into stranger, quieter wonders. Urashima Taro helps a turtle and travels to the Dragon King's palace, where Princess Otohime welcomes him. In The Tongue-Cut Sparrow, a gentle old man's care for a small bird stands against cruelty and greed. Throughout the collection, ordinary acts of kindness meet a world alive with spirits, speaking animals, and magic.
What you’ll discover
- Kindness put to the test Meet kind old couples and cruel neighbors in tales where generosity and greed bring different rewards.
- Animals with their own plans Follow badgers, monkeys, and foxes as they speak, scheme, and change shape.
- Heroes with strange beginnings Discover Little Peachling and Kintaro, boys whose unusual beginnings lead into courage and wonder.
- Wonders beneath the sea Visit the Dragon King's palace with Urashima Taro and share the wonders Princess Otohime reveals.
- A child in bamboo Meet the humble bamboo cutter who finds a tiny glowing child and raises her as his daughter.
Who will love it
For readers who love folk tales, parents looking for stories to share aloud, and anyone curious about Japanese tradition, clever animals, spirits and magical adventures.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Old tales told for children
- Kindness is rewarded and greed is not
- Animals, tricksters and shape-changers
- Heroes born of wonder and strength
- Sea palaces, moon children and lost time
- Simple language, deep roots in culture
Who’s who
- The old man of the sparrow taleA gentle old man who cares for a small sparrow and treats it like family.
- Little PeachlingA brave boy found inside a giant peach, who sets out to face the ogres with three animal friends.
- KintaroA golden boy of enormous strength who grows up on a mountain and befriends the animals there.
- Urashima TaroA young fisherman who shows kindness to a turtle and is carried to the Dragon King's palace under the sea.
- Princess OtohimeThe princess of the sea palace who welcomes Urashima Taro and shows him its wonders.
- The bamboo cutterA humble man who finds a tiny glowing child in a bamboo stalk and raises her as his daughter.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 7 h 57 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Japanese Fairy Tales
by Yei Theodora Ozaki · 1908
A fisherman shows kindness to a turtle and enters a palace under the sea, where wonder has a price.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Japanese Fairy Tales is a collection of old stories from Japan, retold in English by Yei Theodora Ozaki and published in 1908. Ozaki was born in Tokyo to a Japanese father and an English mother, so she knew both worlds.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Old tales told for children
The tales in this book belong to an oral tradition. Ozaki bases most of her retellings on a modern Japanese version by Sadanami Sanjin. Ozaki drew on this body of stories and gave them an English voice, keeping their simple shape and their gentle humor.
The tales share a clear structure. A person of good heart meets a trial or a magical helper and is rewarded. A person of greed or spite meets a hard lesson. The tone is rarely harsh for its own sake, though some stories include sharp punishments, and animals and spirits take part in the action as freely as people do.
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What is Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki about?
It is a collection of traditional Japanese folk tales retold in English. The stories feature kind elders, clever animals, spirits, ogres and brave heroes, and they teach lessons about kindness, greed, courage and humility.
When was Japanese Fairy Tales written?
Ozaki published the collection in 1908.
Which stories are in Japanese Fairy Tales?
The tales include the Tongue-Cut Sparrow, the Farmer and the Badger, Little Peachling, Kintaro the Golden Boy, Urashima Taro and the Bamboo-Cutter and the Moon-Child, among others.
The author
Yei Theodora Ozaki
1870–1932 · Japanese translator and folklorist
Yei Theodora Ozaki (1870–1932) was a Japanese translator and writer. She was born in London and lived in England and Japan. She wrote in English and translated Japanese stories for English-speaking readers. Her collection Japanese Fairy Tales was published in 1903. She died in 1932.
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