Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki), Part B

The next section of the Japanese Fairy Tales by Ozaki consisted of: The Goblin of Adachigahara; The Ogre of Rashomon; and, The Story of Princess Hase.

The first story, The Goblin of Adachingahara was one of the creepier stories that I have read this semester. I am a huge fan of horror, psychological thrillers, etc., so this is right up my ally. I liked the beginning of this story because it introduced the myth of the Goblin that lives in the woods disguised as a gentle old woman. This story is truly horrific because the goblin/old lady is a cannibal and she lures travelers into her cottage. This reminds me of Hansel and Gretel, just no candy. I also liked how the Buddhist priest's fear gradually progressed over time, until he finally trusted his gut to get out of the goblin's cottage. The story is suspenseful from start to finish. The word choice and sentence structure in this paragraph was one of the most suspenseful moments: (I've underlined the specific words that I thought were what made this moment so suspenseful.)

"He ran on, redoubling his speed, pretending not to hear. As he ran, he heard the steps behind him come nearer and nearer, and at last he recognized the old woman's voice which grew louder and louder as she came nearer" (Ozaki). 

(The priest running from the Adachigahara)

The second reading was, The Ogre of Rashomon. This reading was very similar to the story of Beowulf, e.g., there is a monster that loses his arm to a brave warrior. I liked this story because is was semi-suspenseful, but packed with action. I had and inkling that the warrior's old nurse was really the ogre because she was WAY too fixated on looking at the arm. Although the warrior lost his memorabilia, he still saved the city and was know and praised by everyone for his brave acts. I liked how this story was different from Beowulf in that the ogre went to the warrior's home to retrieve his arm disguised as an old woman. I am sure I am not the only one, but all I can really picture is a darker version of Shrek. One thing I did not quite understand was why the ogre returned to the city and terrorized it alone, knowing that a previous warrior had killed the rest of his group. An interesting spin-off to this story would be to tell it from the ogre's perspective: how he felt losing his family, why he decided he needed to retrieve his severed arm, where did he go afterwards, etc.? 

The third and final story of this unit was, The Story of Princess Hase. I really enjoyed this story because it reminded me of Snow White, without her seven dwarfs. This story was also suspenseful because you knew pretty quickly that the stepmother was evil. I was surprised that the father/husband did not wish to punish the stepmother, I feel like her acts that led to their son's death and her attempts at shaming and killer his daughter seems, to me, like there is enough evidence to seek revenge. Reading this story, I thought a funny twist could be put on it by making the princess intolerant of her new stepmother and have her play tricks on her. I also thought it would be interesting to reverse the roles, e.g., set in modern times; the father dies, a stepfather is introduces and the mother and her daughter are struggling to free themselves from their abusive husband/daughter. 

*(I know that is a very dark twist, but I think the reality of such a story, if done well, could put a life like that into perspective for those who have never been succumbed to such a heartbreaking scenario.)