Issun-bōshi - WikiHQ

thumb|"Issun-bōshi" from [[Otogizōshi]]

is the subject of a fairy tale from Japan. This story can be found in the old Japanese illustrated book Otogizōshi. Similar central figures and themes are known elsewhere in the world, as in the tradition of Tom Thumb in English folklore.

Synopsis

thumb|Issun-bōshi going down the river in a bowl

The general story is:

A childless old couple prayed to the Sumiyoshi sanjin to be blessed with a child, and so they were able to have one. However, the child born was only one sun (around 3 cm or 1.2 in) in height and never grew taller. Thus, the child was named the "one-sun boy" or "Issun-bōshi".
One day, Issun-bōshi said he wanted to go the capital to become a warrior, so he embarked on his voyage with a bowl as a boat, a chopstick as a paddle, a needle as a sword, and a piece of straw as a scabbard. In the capital, he found a splendid big house and found employment there. When a girl of that family went on a journey to visit a palace, an oni kidnapped the girl. As Issun-bōshi attempted to save the girl, the oni swallowed him up. Issun-bōshi used the needle to stab at the oni in the stomach, making the oni surrender, saying "it hurts, stop." The oni spat Issun-bōshi back out before fleeing to the mountains.
Issun-bōshi picked up the magic hammer (Uchide no kozuchi) dropped by the oni and swung it to enlarge his body to a height of six shaku (about 182 cm or 6 ft) and married the girl. It is said that he was able to use that mallet to conjure food, treasures, and other things, and the family was able to prosper for generations.

However, the version of the story written in the Otogi-zōshi has a few differences:

The old couple was disturbed by how Issun-bōshi never grew larger and thought he was some kind of monster. As a result, Issun-bōshi left their house.
The place where Issun-bōshi lived in the capital was a chancellor's home.
Issun-bōshi fell in love with the chancellor's daughter at first sight and wanted to make her his wife. However, he felt that with such a small body, she would not marry him, so he thought out a plan. He brought some of the rice grains offered to the family altar and put them in the girl's mouth, and then took an empty teabag and pretended to cry. When the chancellor saw this, Issun-bōshi lied and said that the girl stole some rice that he had been storing, and the chancellor believed this and attempted to kill his daughter. Issun-bōshi mediated between them and left the house together with the daughter.
The boat that they rode on went with the wind and landed on an eerie island. There, they encountered an oni, and the oni swallowed Issun-bōshi whole. However, Issun-bōshi took advantage of his small body and went out of the onis body through its eye. This repeated several times until the oni was frustrated and withdrew, leaving the magic hammer behind.
The rumors of Issun-bōshi spread throughout society and he was summoned to the palace. The emperor took a liking to Issun-bōshi, and raised him to the rank of Chūnagon.

A version where Issun-bōshi strategized to marry a rich person's daughter is recorded in the Shinkoku Gudo Zuihitsu of the Edo period. Other documents record similar tales:

As a result of framing the daughter, Issun-bōshi was left in charge of her. Another theory is that by putting a suitor's food into's one's mouth, a person accepts that man's proposal.

As the Issun Bōshi of the otogi-zōshi became famous, people of various different lands started calling their folktales and legends about little people "Issun Bōshi" as well.

In the Edo period, "Issun Bōshi" was used as a pejorative term against short people, and in kyōka books about yōkai such as the Kyōka Hyakki Yakyō (狂歌百鬼夜狂) and the Kyōka Hyaku Monogatari, Issun Bōshi were written about to be a type of yōkai.

Also, Issun Bōshi's location of residence, the village of Naniwa (國難波) of Tsu Province, is said to be near the area between present-day Nanba (難波) and Mittera (三津寺). Also, in the Otogizōshi, there is the statement "Perhaps my heart longs to leave this shore of Nanba I've grown accustomed to living in and hurry to the capital" (すみなれし難波の浦をたちいでて都へいそぐわが心かな, suminareshi Nanba no ura wo tachiidete miyako he isogu wa ga kokoro ka na), so this "shore of Nanba" that was the point of departure for heading to the capital on a bowl is nowadays said to be the Dōtonbori river canal.

Folkloristics

Just like how Ōkuninushi no Mikoto (or Ōnamuchi, meaning "big earth": Ō means "big", na means "the earth", and muchi is an honorific) helped Sukuna-hikona create the nation, it often happens that a little person and giant would appear as a pair and would each separately have the different aspects for being a hero: power and knowledge.

Among picture books, the book Issun Bōshi written by Ishii Momoko and illustrated by Akino Fuku published in 1965 by Fukuinkan Shoten Fukuinkan Shoten is of particular note.

Songs

In 1905 (Meiji 38), Jinjō Shōgaku Shōka ("The Common Songs for Elementary Schoolers") included one titled "Issun Bōshi" by Iwaya Sazanami, and it continues to be sung by children today.

The love affair of Issun-boshi

In other media, Issun-boshi makes an appearance as the character Issun, and is depicted as a pervert of sorts. This depiction relates back to the adult version of Issun-boshi, also known as The Love Affair of Issun-bōshi. The beginning of the story is essentially the same until Issun-boshi reaches the capital. When he comes upon the home of a wealthy lord, Issun-bōshi convinces him that he can do anything, so he should let him work for him. The lord tells him to do a dance for him, and he was so amused by Issun-bōshi's dance that he decides to make him a playmate for his daughter. For a while, Issun-bōshi just listens to the daughter talk during the day, then he would tell her stories that she would fall asleep to at night. Issun-bōshi fell in love with her, and eventually she fell in love with him. One day the princess decides to head to a temple to go pray, and brings Issun-bōshi along with her. They are attacked by ogres along the way, and Issun-bōshi saves the princess, who then discovers the lucky mallet and makes Issun-bōshi normal sized. It was thought they would live happily ever after, but the couple would get into horrible fights, especially about how Issun-bōshi could not pleasure the princess like he used to. In his anger, Issun-bōshi used the lucky mallet to shrink the princess down, who in turn snatched the hammer from him and shrank him down. They went back and forth shrinking one another to the point where all that was left was the lucky mallet.

Modernized Issun-boshi

The modernized version of Issun-bōshi is very similar to the original, except there are different happenings that make it more universally acceptable. Rather than setting out on his own, Issun-bōshi's parents send him off to learn about the world on his own. He still travels to the capital and ends up in the home of a wealthy lord, but rather than his daughter disliking him, she immediately fell in love with him, as well as the other residents of the lord's home. Issun-bōshi and the girl still get attacked by ogres and obtain the lucky mallet, which is then used to make him normal sized. He grows into a fine young samurai, but it was never made clear where Issun-bōshi went from there. This abrupt ending is set up so that the audience can make their own guesses about what happened to Issun-bōshi.

In the 8th Season of Yami Shibai, Episode 07, Issub-bōshi is described as a creature which, when offended or provoked, can go inside a human body and as punishment turn it into a grotesque one, with large lumps sprouting randomly. He can also order the affected human to do evil things such as killing a person or in its words "punishing" them. The affected human will not be able to disobey said order and will forever succumb to Issub-bōshi's curse.

Themes

The story of Issun-bōshi follows three common themes that appear in almost every Japanese folk tale. The first theme is that those who are devout and pray often are blessed with a child. Issun-bōshi's parents prayed day after day until a child was born unto them. This theme also appears in the Japanese folk tale "Momotarō". The second theme is that the accomplishments of these children are so extraordinary that they achieve almost every task that the audience wishes them to accomplish. Issun-bōshi gets the love of his life, attains a normal size, and becomes a well known samurai. The third theme is that said child grows up to have a good marriage and carries a special family name. In most versions, Issun-bōshi marries some sort of official's daughter and becomes a very famous samurai.

Religious differences

In each of the different retellings of Issun-bōshi, there are different gods, goddesses, and deities that are mentioned in each, which are due to the differing regional religions at the time. In the modernized version as well as the adult versions of Issun-boshi, the princess he meets goes to pray to the Goddess Kannon. In Japan, Kannon is known as the goddess of child rearing and mercy, but the goddess has Buddhist origins. Buddhism originated in India but it grew across Asia and eventually settled in Japan as a base for Buddhism around the time Issun-bōshi became popular, which could potentially explain its influence in these versions of Issun-bōshi. In the modernized version of Issun-bōshi, his parents go pray to what they call "Sumiyoshi sanjin", which is actually the name of a temple in Osaka, Japan. This temple is used for Shinto religious purposes, so the story of Issun-bōshi actually embodies multiple religions.

References

External links

いっすんぼうし animated depiction with English closed captioning