Aesop's Fables Dr Toyotaka Ota Sometimes Students Ask Me If I

Aesop's Fables Dr Toyotaka Ota Sometimes students ask me if I could recommend any classic Japanese folktales. My usual answer is: "Aesop's Fables." There are of course many Japanese native folktales, but when I think of the number of references made in Japanese anime, manga and movies today, the first book anyone interested in Japan should read is "Aesop's Fables." History === The introduction of "Aesop’s Fables" in Japan goes back to 1593. The first known edition in Japanese was published by Jesuit missionaries as a reading supplement on morality. The missionaries made their first contact with Japan in 1549. At first, they were welcomed by Japanese warlords and the good relation lasted about 40 years. By the late 16th century, however, the persecution of Christians began in Japan. The translation of "Aesop’s Fables" was published to the small community of Christians who were already in hiding. At the beginning of the 17th century, Japan started a policy of international isolation. The isolation lasted over 200 years until its end in 1853. The second known translation of "Aesop’s Fables" appeared in Japan in 1639, just as Japan entered international isolation. Its relation to the first edition by the Jesuits is unknown. Unlike the first edition, the second edition was published to the general public. Japanese people loved "Aesop’s Fables" and its moral teachings, and there were many editions afterwards. Due to their international isolation, Japan did not have access to the original source material of "Aesop’s Fables,” and every new edition was basically a re-telling of the stories that people read or heard from the previous editions. This caused the stories and their accompanying commentaries to become more and more Japanese in style and nuance. For 200 years, “Aesop’s Fables" was an important part of Japanese culture. An illustration of “Hercules and the wagoner” (the source unknown) After Japan ended its policy of international isolation and gained access to other sources of "Aesop’s Fables" in Europe, a new translation of "Aesop’s Fables" was published. Today "Aesop’s Fables" in Japan is the same as the one available elsewhere in the world, and it’s not the one the Japanese lived with for over 200 years. Nonetheless, Japanese people still love and feel close to "Aesop’s Fables.” Today === Here is a list of stories that you must know, in order to understand Japanese behaviors: - The Ant and the Grasshopper - The North Wind and the Sun - The Tortoise and the Hare - The Honest Woodcutter - The Boy Who Cried Wolf These are the stories that the Japanese use to teach basic morality to children. To understand the Japanese sense of right and wrong, you just have to study how the Japanese interpret these stories and how they talk about it in everyday life. .

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