Glen Downey

Art by Vladimir Aleksic

Vocabulary

anticipating features
constant instructed
convinced

Theme: Reflections
Word count: 3,084

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ISBN 978-1-4869-0899-8
1 18
 A traditional story retold by
Glen Downey
Art by Vladimir Aleksic

Literacy Consultants
David Booth • Kathleen Corrigan
Contents
Chapter 1
A Gift From the Capital..................... 4

Chapter 2
The Face in the Mirror..................... 15

Chapter 3
Stepmother........................................ 21

Chapter 4
Reflections......................................... 26

3
 Chapter 1

A Gift From the Capital

A long time ago in Japan, there lived in the remote

village of Matsuyama a man named Taka, his wife
Yuriko, and their beautiful baby daughter, Chiyo.
The family enjoyed a happy, contented life together
for many years. Then there came a time when Taka
had to travel to the capital on business and leave his
wife and daughter behind. He had never traveled such
a great distance before. In fact, he was the first person
from Matsuyama to visit the capital. The capital was
very far away, and the man was to bring several carts

4
of goods with him to trade. It promised to be a journey
of many weeks.
As Taka took leave of Yuriko and little Chiyo,
he promised to return with a gift for each of them.
The markets in the capital offered wares that were
impossible to find in the remote village of Matsuyama.
He might never get a chance like this again.
While Taka was away, Yuriko missed him dearly.
Twice each day, once in the morning and again
before bed, she would look longingly down the road,
anticipating his return.

5
 “He is such a good husband and father,” she would
say to herself wistfully while rocking her little girl in
her arms. “I miss him terribly. I hope that his journey
is safe and his visit to the capital brings him great
success. It would be nice to have him home again,
wouldn’t it, Chiyo?” The baby would look back at her
mother and gurgle happily.

Two months passed, and it was finally time for

Taka’s return. Yuriko put on her best blue dress and
waited for him at the door. She strained her neck
to look far off down the road for a glimpse of him.
She soon saw someone in the distance leading a
lone mule. She easily recognized the traveler as her
husband by his gait. With Chiyo in her arms, Yuriko
ran out to greet Taka, so grateful was she to have her
family whole again.

6
 The journey had been a memorable one for Taka,
but he was glad to be home once again. He couldn’t
wait to tell his wife of all the wondrous things he had
seen and done in the last two months.
“I would not trade my life in the country for
anything,” he said when they were sitting together in
their little house for the first time in many weeks, “but
the capital was such an incredible place! There were
more people at the morning market than all the people
in our entire village!”
“It would be wonderful if we could go as a family
one day,” said Yuriko dreamily.

7
 Taking a small item from his pouch, Taka replied,
“If we start saving up money now, perhaps we can
all go when Chiyo is older. In the meantime, I found
something in the city that gave me great comfort: a
doll that is the very image of Chiyo, my precious little
one.” He placed the doll in the baby’s hands and was
delighted to see her squeal with joy. She hugged the
doll and would not let it go.
“And for you, my kind and generous wife,”
he said, reaching carefully into the pouch he had
at his side, “I have found something that is really
quite remarkable.”

8
 He took out a shiny black lacquer box decorated
with images of red plum flowers. He handed it to
Yuriko and, seeing the curiosity in her eyes, instructed
her to open it carefully. Inside the box was a round
object that was scarlet on one side and adorned
with etchings of swallows and cherry blossoms.
When Yuriko turned it over, she discovered a shiny
surface that seemed impossibly clear, not unlike an
undisturbed pond in the morning.
“Look at the surface,” Taka said, “and tell me what
you see.”

9
 Yuriko gazed at the object and was startled to
see a woman staring back at her who looked just as
surprised as she did.
“Why, look!” she cried, nearly dropping the
object in her shock. “There is a woman, and she
is wearing a blue dress just as I am. She looks
familiar, dear husband, but where do I know her
from? Oh! She seems to be trying to say something,
but all I can hear is the sound of my own voice.”
“That, my dear,” replied her husband, a broad
smile coming over his face, “is because you are
gazing into a mirror! It is a polished surface that
can accurately reflect the world around us. You
are seeing a reflection of yourself in the mirror.
Though we have no such devices here in the
countryside, they can be found in every noble
home in the capital.”

10
11
 “Then, you mean, I am looking at my own face?
It’s as though I am looking into the running stream
where I wash my clothing, but this is so much
clearer!” she exclaimed as she put a hand to her
mouth and watched her reflection do the same thing.
“This is the most remarkable thing. Thank you for
such a wonderful gift.”
In the days that followed, Yuriko often gazed at
herself in her mirror for hours and hours. It was such
a novelty! She studied every line on her face and
every detail of her features. She smiled and frowned
and made silly faces, just to see what her various
expressions looked like. Her husband was glad to see
that she enjoyed her gift so much, but he was also
getting worried because she wasn’t spending any
time with him or little Chiyo anymore.

12
13
 One day Chiyo, who had recently learned to
walk, brought her mother a little purple flower she
and her father had picked. But her mother was once
again admiring herself in the mirror, and she paid no
attention to Chiyo. Ignored and hurt, Chiyo began
to cry.
At the sound of Chiyo’s cries, Yuriko finally pulled
herself away from the mirror. She gathered Chiyo into
her arms and apologized. “I am so sorry. I have been
gazing at my own face for so long that I have nearly
forgotten the sight of yours.”
Later that day, Yuriko told her husband, “I love my
gift, but it shows only a reflection of the real world.
And to think I was almost lost in it. I have decided
to put it away for a while for safekeeping.” Taka was
relieved to hear this, and he told her that he supported
her decision wholeheartedly.

14
 Chapter 2

The Face in the Mirror

Over the years, Chiyo grew into a brilliant

young woman and a skilled poet. She was happy
and adventurous and loved her parents more than
anything else in the world. Their life together was
a peaceful one, and it seemed that their joy would
continue for the rest of their days.
Rather suddenly, joy disappeared from their home.
Yuriko became ill with fever one day, and before long
the village physician determined that she would not
last much longer in this world.
Chiyo and her father cared for Yuriko day and
night and tried to keep her as comfortable as possible.
They exchanged stories of many happy memories they
had shared over the years.

15
 One evening Chiyo was sitting by her mother’s
bedside, telling her about a funny exchange she’d
heard at the morning market. Her mother suddenly
took her hands and said in a weak whisper, “After I’m
gone, Chiyo, if you ever wish to see my face, go into
my room, and bring out the pretty black box on top
of my closet. A remarkable device lies within. It will
allow you to see me whenever you need to, despite
the fact that I will no longer be by your side.”
Yuriko passed away soon after, and Chiyo and
her father grieved for a long time. But eventually,
life began to resume its course. The pain of loss was
no longer constant, although once in a while Chiyo
would miss her mother’s smile and become sad again.

16
17
 One day Chiyo found herself missing her mother
more than usual. She remembered the black box her
mother had described to her and went in search of
it. Just as Yuriko had said, the box was sitting at the
top of her closet. Chiyo brought the box into her own
room and opened it to discover a disk with ornate
flowers and birds etched on it. She turned it over and
saw, on a surface of perfect stillness, the image of her
own mother.
Chiyo gasped. “What a magical disk! Mother looks
so beautiful and young, just as I remember her when
I was a young child!” It was the first time Chiyo had
been this happy since her mother had fallen ill. Chiyo
didn’t understand how the device was able to perform
such a miracle, but she was glad to have it in her life.

18
19
 Chiyo didn’t tell her father about the magical disk,
believing it to be a secret between her mother and
her. For some reason she felt shy about sharing her
secret with her father, not knowing how he would feel
about the disk and not wanting him to object to her
having it.
And so it was that every day, when her father was
at work, the young woman would take the box out
from her closet. Then she would gaze with love and
affection at the image of her own mother. Sometimes
her mother would look at her without saying a word;
other times, Chiyo could see her lips move and was
convinced her mother was trying to talk to her and
give her advice.
“I wish I could hear you,” she would say to the
image in the disk, “but all I can hear are my own
words speaking to me.” Nevertheless, her mother’s
silence made little difference to Chiyo, who had found
solace in an object that she could not yet name.

20
 Chapter 3

Stepmother

As the seasons changed, Chiyo’s father was able

to move on with his life, and he soon began to court
a local woman with whom he had much in common.
They were married less than a year later, and the
woman came to live with Taka and Chiyo.
Peace fell over the house for a while. Although
Chiyo did not share many interests with her
stepmother, Naoko, the two women were kind and
polite to each other. Naoko did her best to connect
with her stepdaughter and even tried to take an
interest in Chiyo’s poetry, but for some reason, the
more she tried, the more Chiyo pulled away. After a
while, the stepmother grew disheartened by Chiyo’s
repeated rejection and became quite frustrated.

21
 One day Naoko was getting ready to go to the
morning market, and she decided to invite Chiyo
along. She called for Chiyo but received no answer, so
she went in search of the young woman.
Chiyo, of course, was in her room gazing at what
she thought was her mother’s face in her magic disk.
She was in the middle of telling her mother about her
recent troubles and didn’t hear her stepmother calling
her name.
“The words will not come, Mother, no matter
what I try. I have not been able to write a single

22
beautiful line of poetry since you left us,” Chiyo said
in frustration. She saw that the look of dismay on her
mother’s face matched her own feelings.
At that very moment, Naoko stopped outside
Chiyo’s room and could hear her murmurings
through the rice paper doors.
“Who is that girl talking to?” Naoko wondered.
She felt concerned and a little rejected, knowing that
Chiyo would rather shut herself away in her room
than spend time with her. Without knocking, Naoko
opened the door and stepped into the room.
Chiyo heard the door slide open a second too late.
She quickly attempted to put her magic disk away, but
in her rush, she clumsily dropped it on the floor. The
disk slid across the smooth straw matting and stopped
near Naoko’s feet.

23
 Naoko looked down, startled, and her eyes landed
upon the unfamiliar object. She didn’t know what it
was, only that the face of a confused and saddened
woman was staring back at her. However, she did
notice immediately that the woman was wearing the
same dress she was wearing. Naoko looked up at
Chiyo and saw that her stepdaughter looked guilty
and horrified. It was then that she became convinced
Chiyo had drawn a dreadful caricature of her in order
to mock her behind her back.
“This is what you get up to in your room?” Naoko
asked, her face becoming further twisted with hurt
and anger. “How could you be so cruel as to portray
me like this? I have been nothing but kind to you,
Chiyo. I will tell your father when he gets home, and
we shall see what he has to say about your behavior.”
She stormed out of the room before the young woman
could respond, leaving Chiyo confused and defensive.

24
25
 Chapter 4

Reflections

“How could she say such terrible things about

the image of my mother?” Chiyo wondered after
her stepmother had stormed away, not realizing that
the woman had seen her own twisted features in
the mirror.
Chiyo retrieved the mirror hurriedly and was
relieved to see that the image of her mother had not
left the device. But now her mother looked sad and
dispirited, and Chiyo thought perhaps her mother was
disappointed that she was not getting along with her
father’s new wife.

26
 “I’m sorry, Mother,” Chiyo confessed to the mirror.
“Stepmother is not unkind, but I feel as though I
cannot love her because it would be as if I’d forgotten
you. But I will try harder to get along with her and to
make you proud of me.”
Soon after, Chiyo’s father returned home. Still in
her room, Chiyo could overhear Naoko greeting him
and the sound of her stepmother’s voice overflowing
with sadness and anger as she explained the event
that had taken place. Chiyo could also hear her father
trying, in his own quiet way, to calm his wife, and it
wasn’t long before a silence came over the house.
Then Chiyo heard her father calling out to her, and
the door to her room slid open. Not wanting her father
to see her magic disk, Chiyo quickly hid it behind
her back.

27
 “My dear,” her father said as he entered, moving
past Chiyo’s stepmother, “what is all the fuss about?
Your stepmother says that you have drawn a terrible
picture of her to insult her.” No sooner had he said
this, however, than he realized his daughter was
concealing something.
“And what is it that you are hiding behind your
back?” he asked, looking at her worriedly.
“It must be that hurtful picture of me!” his
wife said.
“Is that true, my daughter?” Taka asked in
disbelief. “But I have never known you to be a spiteful
person and can’t ever imagine that you would behave
like this.”
Left with little choice, Chiyo reluctantly took the
magic disk out from behind her back and showed it
to them.
“It is not Stepmother, but the image of the mother
who bore me,” Chiyo said, tears welling up in her
eyes, “and it was her wish that I should look at it
when I am sad and see her there. And so each day
when you are at work, I take it out and look at her,
and she looks back at me and gives me comfort.

28
Sometimes it seems as though she is trying to speak to
me, but I have never been able to hear her voice.” As
Chiyo finished speaking, she began to weep bitterly.
“Oh, my dear,” her father sighed in sudden
comprehension. He rushed to Chiyo’s side and
explained, “What you are holding in your hands is a
mirror. I bought it in the capital when you were just
a baby and gave it to your mother as a keepsake. A
mirror is a polished surface that shows your own
reflection. When you pointed the reflective surface
at me just now, it showed me my own face, just as
it must have shown your stepmother a reflection
of hers.”

29
 Chiyo was now thoroughly confused and not
quite sure what to say. “But — but Father, why
do I see Mother in this if it works in the manner
you described?”
“My precious child,” he said, holding her in his
arms, “you are the very image of your mother. When
you look at the mirror and see your own reflection,
you think you see your mother as the woman you
knew her to be. She must have realized this and
wanted you to feel as though you could always find
her in the glass. But I wish you had told me of this,
because then I could have warned you against losing
yourself in the mirror as your mother once did. The
world is big and grand, Chiyo. We must not forget to
look out upon it once in a while, especially when we
feel alone.”

30
 Overcome with emotion, Chiyo wept. Seeing her
this way was too much for her stepmother to bear.
Naoko begged Chiyo for forgiveness.
“I have judged you unfairly,” she said, beating her
hand against her chest, “and have thought you to be
hateful and mischievous. I see now what a wonderful
and devoted child you are.”
“Stepmother,” Chiyo replied, looking up at her
with a newfound admiration, “you are good and kind
and want nothing more than to bring laughter back to
this family. I will never forget my mother, but I could
not have asked for a more loving stepmother. I’m
sorry for keeping you at arm’s length and for causing
you such pain.”
Chiyo held out the mirror once again. When her
stepmother — no longer sad or angry — looked into

31
 its reflective surface for the second time, she saw a
clear and serene image of herself.
The next day, Chiyo and her father hung the mirror
in the front hall, and they invited all the villagers
to come and see themselves in it. Word spread, and
people from nearby hamlets came to bear witness to
the marvelous mirror of Matsuyama.
As for Chiyo, as soon as she left the confines of her
room to enjoy the delightful outdoors, she became
inspired once more to write beautiful lines of poetry.
Chiyo never lost herself in the mirror again.

32
Think About It
Use a story sequence graphic organizer to retell The Mirror
of Matsuyama. Write the title of the story and the names
of the characters. Next describe the setting. Then outline
the main events that occur throughout the story. In your
outline, focus on showing the importance of the mirror.

Title

Characters Setting

Events
1. First

2. Next

3. Then

4. Last
 The Mirror of
Matsuyama
Glen Downey • Art by Vladimir Aleksic

ISBN-13: 978-1-4869-0899-8
ISBN-10: 1-4869-0899-3
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