Japanese Fairy Tales, Yei Theodora Ozaki
Japanese Fairy Tales, Yei Theodora Ozaki
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Japanese Fairy Tales

Author: Yei Theodora Ozaki

Narrator: Linda Barrans

Unabridged: 6 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/08/2024


Synopsis

Many of the stories in this book seem at the same time both familiar and strange.Their authors valued family, duty, patience and heroism. They longed for children in their old age, and rejoiced when they saw cruelty and envy punished, wrongs righted, and kindness and bravery rewarded.These ideas are recognized the world over.What makes the stories different is partly the characters: the brave samurai, the evil wizards; the fantastical creatures – goblins, dragons, demons, fairies; the cunning talking animals – not only sparrows, badgers and rabbits, but crocodiles and jellyfish too.You may feel you know what is coming when the hero is told not, under any circumstance, to open the box – or when the doting father takes a second wife, a wicked stepmother. There is even one tale where the new wife sends a servant to take the daughter into the woods and dispose of her (sound familiar?).Though the ideas are tried and trusted, the journey is fresh and new.Not only because the heroes ride on paper cranes or tortoises that swim under the sea – but because the destination may not be what you expect.There is even more than one story where the wicked woman repents her evil ways and goes on to live a good and kind life.

About Yei Theodora Ozaki

Yei Theodora Ozaki (1870–1932) was a translator of Japanese short stories and fairy tales.

About Linda Barrans

Linda Barrans is a British narrator with a fondness for Jane Austen and Shakespeare. She wrote the Sam the Sheep books to make positive use of the time during COVID lockdown, and to give herself and her friend Cate Barratt a modern piece to record together.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Taro on August 08, 2015

Things I learnt from Japanese Fairy Tales -Never trust a monkey. -Never trust a stepmother. -Never trust a stepmother with your monkey. -Almost every boy in Japan is named Taro, or a variant of that name: Kintaro, Urashima Taro, Momotaro... -If an old man wants to wrestle your teenage son in the woods (b......more

Goodreads review by J.L. on December 25, 2015

Started off slow, but the way the stories echoed each other made them more interesting and gave them a certain rhythm I enjoyed. Some of the later tales (The Goblin of Adachigahara, The Ogre of Rashomon and How an Old Man Lost his Wen) were also interesting to me as they dealt with more magic/mythol......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on April 09, 2017

There is something delightful, something childish, something absolutely necessary about fairy tales. The further I travel into adulthood, the more I feel I need the simple delights of warriors and princesses fighting monsters in the mountains. Fairy tales often also bring much needed moral clarity.......more

Goodreads review by Meltem on December 06, 2018

Yei Theodora Ozaki tarafından derlenen ve biri Macidegül Batmaz çevirisi (22 hikaye) ile Maya Kitap tarafından, diğeri Servin Sarıyer çevirisi (11 öykü) ile Karakarga Yayınları tarafından basılan iki ayrı Japon Masalları kitabını okudum. Karakarga Yayınlarınca basılan 11 öykü, Maya Kitap baskısında......more

Goodreads review by Steven on January 21, 2016

This was a delightful read. This is an English translation of twentytwo fairy tales replete with ogars, gobblins, sea monsters, princes and princesses. They are very fun to read and they keep young ones inthrawled. I read it with my little second cousin. I recommend this book to all ages. Enjoy and Be......more