Reading Notes, Japanese Fairy Tales: Part B

The first story in Part B of Japanese Fairy Tales was called "The Goblin of Adachigahara".  In this story a cannibal goblin takes the form of an old woman and tricks travelers into her home where she then eats them.  This happened to a priest and when the old woman went to collect firewood she warned the priest not to look in the back room.  The priest was unable to kill his curiosity and looked in the back room finding a horrible sight.  Skulls, dead bodies, and blood was everywhere.  He knew he was in the cannibal goblins house and that she would surely eat him when she returned.  He gathered his things and ran from the house.  The cannibal goblin chased him all through the night until day broke and she disappeared.  The priest was safe and thanked Buddha.

The priest running from the Cannibal Goblin.  Web Source.  

The next story was called "The Ogre of Rashomon".  This story was about a cannibal ogre that terrorized a Japanese town.  A band of warriors did not believe in such ogre because they had previously killed all the ogres remaining.  However one night the head warrior came face to face with the ogre and cut off his arm.  Knowing how revengeful ogres can be, he secured the arm in a strong box never to show to anyone.  One night, the warrior's childhood nurse came to him and begged to see the arm.  When he finally obliged the nurse grabbed the arm and transformed into the ogre.  However the ogre ran away, in fear of the warrior's strength and never bothered the Japanese town again. 

The last story was called "The Story of Princess Hase".  This story is about a Minister and his wife who are unable to have a child.  They worshiped at Princess Hase's altar in hopes that she would bring them a child.  Finally a child was born and they named her Hase-Hime.  The mother died when Hase-Hime was 5 and told her to grow up and be a good girl so that's what she did.  Hase-Hime's stepmother was an evil woman and Hase-Hime was a very good musician and was called to perform for the emperor.  The Stepmother tried to posion Hase-Hime but instead poisoned her own son and killed him.  More events trasnpired until eventually the wicked stepmother fled and Hase-Hime never had to deal with her again. 

Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki. Web Source.