Momotaro

Adapted by Nick Takenobu Ogawa

Artwork by Iris Scott
Once upon a time, there was an old man and an old woman who lived in a small cottage in the country side of Japan.

Every day the old man would go to the mountains to gather firewood, and the old woman would go to the river to
wash clothing.

“Hurry home, dear!” The old woman would say to him, and the old man would reply, “Take good care of yourself!”

One day at the river when the old woman was washing clothes, “Tsunpuka! Tsunpuka!” bobbing up and down, beautiful
peaches came floating by.

She was delighted, and picked one of them out of the water and took a big bite. It was delicious! “Come this way deli-
cious peaches,” she said, “Float away you bitter ones!”

Then all of a sudden, a huge peach came floating toward her. The delighted old woman picked it out of the water to
take home.

That evening, the old man came back from gathering firewood in the mountains.

The old woman said to him, “Look! I brought home a delicious peach for us to eat!” The old woman took out a knife to
cut the peach, but as she was about to cut it, “Jaku!” the peach split open and a boy baby jumped out with a cry.

“Oh my!” Said the old woman

“A baby boy!” Said the old man

The old man and woman made a bath for the boy and found him blankets and a bed. They were very happy to have him,
and they named him Momotaro.

The old couple raised Momotaro with great care.

“Look at his cute face!” The old woman would say.
“He’s truly a blessing!” The old man would say.

Momotaro grew up very quickly and became very strong.

He grew stronger and bigger with every bowl of rice he ate, and soon he was helping with household chores and
outside work.

At night he would massage the old man’s shoulders saying, “You must be tired!”

“You must be tired!” he would say, and massage the old woman’s feet.

“It’s not often you see a boy like this!” The old man and woman would say and loved him all the more.

Not only was Momotaro kind and caring for the old man and old woman, he was unusually strong for his age. He could
easily carry a sack of rice on his shoulder, and could make a mountain of fire wood in no time at all. He was quick to
learn, and a very clever boy.

In those days, demons would storm the village often and without warning. They were very bad, and would take anything
they could get their hands on. To make matters worse, they would destroy the houses in the village and trample on the
fields. There were many of them, and there was nothing that the villagers could do.

“One day our village will be completely destroyed if we don’t do anything!”

“But what can we do?”
The villagers would just look at each other and sigh.
“I can’t stand it anymore. I will conquer the demons!” said Momotaro.

Momotaro had made his mind up. He went to the old man and the old woman and told them; “I’m off to Oni Island
where the demons dwell, so please make me the best millet dumplings in Japan.”

“What are you saying? You won’t be able to defeat them!” The worried old man and old woman tried to convince him
not to go, but Momotaro wouldn’t listen.

They could see that Momotaro’s mind was made up. “Well then if you must go, use all your strength and cleverness!”

The old woman made him special millet dumplings for his journey. Each one could give the power of a hundred fighting
men.

“Momotaro, you are the strongest boy in all of Japan. Conquer the demons.”

The old man dressed Momotaro in a new Jippa warrior coat, and outfitted him with a fine sword.

With a hachimaki headband tightly around his head and a sword on his side, he was a very mighty youth.

“Well then, I’m off now.”

Momotaro stuck out his chest, and clenched his jaw in determination.

When Momotaro reached the boundary of the village, a dog jumped out and barked at him.

“Momotaro, Momotaro, where are you going?” the dog asked.

“To Oni Island, to conquer the devils!”Momotaro replied
“What are you carrying at your waist?”
“The best millet dumplings in Japan!”
“If I can have one then I will join you.”
“Well then, I’ll give you one.”
Momotaro gave one millet dumpling to the dog and the dog gladly became his follower.

When they approached the mountains a monkey appeared, howling.

“Momotaro, Momotaro, where are you going?”
“To Oni Island, to conquer the devils!”
“What are you carrying at your waist?”
“The best millet dumplings in Japan!”
“If I can have one then I will join you.”
“Well then, I’ll give you one.”
Momotaro gave one millet dumpling to the monkey and the monkey gladly became his follower.

When they proceeded deep into the mountains, a pheasant flew overhead, clucking and cawing.
“Momotaro, Momotaro, where are you going?”
“To Oni Island, to conquer the devils!”
“What are you carrying at your waist?”
“The best millet dumplings in Japan!”
“If I can have one then I will join you.”
“Well then, I’ll give you one.”
Momotaro gave one millet dumpling to the pheasant and the pheasant gladly became his follower.

Momotaro, the dog, the monkey, and the pheasant went over the mountains, crossed the valleys and came to the ocean.
There, they found a boat that would take them across the sea.
“Off to Oni Island!”

They travelled across the sea, and soon a towering black island emerged from the mist.

“We are getting close to Oni Island!” The pheasant cried.

“Well now, are you ready?”Momotaro asked.
“Leave it to us!” The dog and the monkey stuck out their chests.

Momotaro sailed the boat directly toward Oni Island and soon enough they landed ashore.

They climbed over the craggy rocks and came upon a large iron gate.

“Is anybody home?”Momotaro said while knocking on the gate to the Oni’s fortress.
The pheasant flew into the air and scouted out the surroundings. The monkey climbed the gate and unlocked it from
inside. The dog quickly opened the creaking gate.

“Now!” Momotaro shouted, and ran inside with his sword drawn.

Inside the demons lair, the Oni were having a drinking bout with the boss demon at the center.
Every one of the devils was dead drunk. Momotaro approached them and shouted:
“I am Momotaro, the strongest in Japan! Prepare yourselves, devils!”
Momotaro and his companions rushed inside. The Oni were surprised and confused beyond imagination.

“You whipper-snapper!” Shouted the drunken boss of the devils, and attacked Momotaro holding his iron club high in
the air.

Although the devils were fierce, Momotaro and his companions had the upper hand because they’d eaten the special
hundred-man-power millet dumplings.

The pheasant pecked, the monkey scratched, and the dog bit the devils.

Momotaro swung his sword ceaselessly. In the end, all the devils were defeated.

“I won’t be bad anymore. I’ll give you the treasures, please forgive us!” The Oni boss apologized with tears in his eyes.

Momotaro and his companions took the villagers belongings back to their boat, and set out back towards home across
the sea.

Momotaro returned to his village with cart full of treasures.

“Let’s pull wasshoi!”

“You pull wasshoi!” Momotaro and his companions sang.

When they saw Momotaro and his companions returning, the old man and the old woman clapped their hands
with glee.

“Our Momotaro is the best in Japan after all!”

The End