The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1883-05-11
JAPANESE FOLK-TALES.

Probably in no country in the world
can there be found such wealth of
folklore, fairy tales and legends as in
Japan, and the existence of these crea-
tons of the fancy is quite in keeping
with that gay, light-hearted character
which has won for the inhabitants the
title, among many others, of "The
French of the East The study of
Japanese fairy tales is especially inter
esting to us, because in them we are
struck with the very strong resemblance
to our own most popular nursery le-
gends. Cinderella, Jack the Giant
killer, Valentine and Orson may be
found exactly reproduced by any one
who will take the trouble to examine
the quaint paper-boundWolumes which
strew the mats of every Japanese house
where there are children, and as it has
been proved beyond doubt that the
origin of most of our tales is to be found
in the East whittier they came together
with our chemical nomenclature and our
system of enumeration, there seems no
cause to laugh at the idea that originally
they may have come from Japan, espe-
cially when we remember that s'west-
ward the course of empire takes its
way"
The stories which follow have been
chosen for their dissimilarity from any
thing in our language, and, although
capable of being appreciated by people
of mature years as well as by children, are
translated from q curious old volume
which the writer picked up in by
street of the city of Yeddo, entitled "a
Hundred Lessons in Virtue for Youthful
Minds" A literal translation has been
impossible, owing to the innumerable
puns, bubbles and eccentricities which
abound in the original text, but its sig
nifcance has been faithfully preserved.
One story is entitled:
INARI's JoURNEY.
The great fox-god, mari, once deter
mined that he would make Journey
through the city to find out where true
honesty and goodness existed. 1t was
a bad age of crime and corruption.
Civil wars tore the heart of the fair
island; the rich plundered the poor; the
poor could get neither justice nor repa-
ration; mems minds were aflame with
avarice, and the sun shene on as foul a
scene of depravity as it had ever seen
since the days of the fifth great Deluge.
The first place that mari visited was
the counting-house of one of the great
est merchants of the city of Yeddo. cat
any rate, he said, II shall find fair
dealing and honesty here, for this man S
junks float on hundred waters, his word
is as good as bond, and his name is a
by-word for uprightness and integrity. !"
He took up his figure in the shape of
cobweb in corner of the sample
room. The tide of customers and mer-
chants flowed in and out; the money
ratified into the Golfers; the clerks were
busy with pen and scroll; but no one
saw what mari saw. His he art Smote
him to see the tricks of trade and the
receptions practiced; the chests of tea
were filled with colored leaves and dust
sweepings; the bales of silk were weight
ed with false materials, and their con
tents dyed with false colors; lacquer and
bronze manufactured in the next street
were sold as the veritable production of
old times; the very scales used were
false; the entries in the scrolls were
false; and the stories told to the GUS
toners were false The next dSv the
whole city was thrown into state of
CONSERVATION at the news that the great
firm had failed, and that the head part
0er had gone away no one knew whittier.
The next journey OF the god was to