The 10 most interesting Japanese legends

Throughout the world there are a large number of myths and traditions, coming from the wide diversity of cultures that have existed (and continue to exist) throughout history. One of the mythologies that most often fascinates the Western world is the Japanese, which generates great interest and has become popular over time.

They are multiple the Japanese myths and legends through which the ancient inhabitants of the island tried to give an explanation to the world around them, and they continue to be an inspiration to multiple writers and artists.

That is why throughout this article we are going to make a brief collection of ten short or more complex Japanese legends, proof of the cultural richness of this Asian region. These allow us to see the traditional perspective of the Japanese people regarding topics as diverse as love or the origin of elements of nature or the geography of their territory.

• Related article: "10 short Mexican legends based on popular folklore"

A selection of the most popular Japanese legends

Next we leave you with a brief collection of ten highly known and relevant Japanese legends, which they explain to us from folklore Japanese the reason for the existence of elements of nature or stories of love or terror based on gods, creatures and spirits of their own mythology.

1. The Bamboo Cutter and the Princess of the Moon

One of the best known mythological figures in Japan is the Kaguya-hime, about which there are numerous legends. Among them we can see how some of its legends refer to some of the most relevant geographical features of the island, such as Mount Fuji. One of them is the following, which also incorporates references to the reason for the mist that covers this mountain (actually a volcano that still shows some activity).

According to legend, there was once a humble elderly couple who had never been able to have children despite deeply desiring it. To live, the couple relied on collecting bamboo and using it to make different items. One night, the old man went into the forest to cut and collect bamboo, but suddenly he realized that one of the samples he had cut was glowing in the moonlight. After examining the stem, he found within it a small girl, a few centimeters in size.

Since he and her wife had never been able to have children, the man took her to her home, where her partner would name him Kaguya and decide to raise her as her daughter. In addition to this, the branch from which the girl had emerged began to generate gold and precious stones over time, making the family rich.

The girl grew over time, becoming a beautiful woman. Her beauty would be such that she would begin to have numerous suitors, but she refused to marry any. The news of her about her beauty reached the ears of the emperor, who, intrigued, requested that he come to her presence, to which Kaguya-hime refused. Faced with her refusal, her emperor would come in person to visit her, quickly falling in love with her and pretending to take her with him to her castle, to which the young woman would also refuse. From then on the emperor would continue to maintain communication with Kaguya-hime through numerous letters.

One day, the young woman spoke with her adoptive father of hers about the reason for her refusals, as well as the reason why she spent the night every night. hours staring at the sky: she came from the Moon, her home, of which she was a princess and to which she was destined to return shortly weather. Distraught, her parents told the emperor, who sent guards to try to prevent the woman from being returned to the Moon.

Despite the security measures, one full moon night a cloud descended from the Moon with the intention of taking it away. Before departing back to her native home, however, Kaguya-hime said goodbye to her parents and left behind a love letter for the emperor, along with a bottle in which he left the second the elixir of eternal life. The letter and the bottle were given to the emperor, who decided to take them to the highest mountain and create a bonfire. There, once the Moon rose, the emperor threw the letter and the elixir into the fire, generating a smoke that would rise to the place where his beloved had departed. That mountain is Mount Fuji-yama, and even today we can see smoke from the emperor's bonfire at its top.

• You may be interested: "10 Irish legends steeped in mythology and folklore"

2. The red thread of destiny

One of the best-known love legends of the Japanese people is the one that tells us about the red thread of destiny, which starts from our little finger (which is irrigated by the same artery as the finger heart, something that ended up associating the first with the transmission of feelings) to tie to that of another person whom we are destined to know, maintaining a deep bond with they. These are legends that often speak of loves that are predisposed to occur. Although there is more than one legend based on this concept, the most famous is the one that follows.

Legend has it that many years ago, an emperor received the news that there was in his kingdom a powerful sorceress capable of seeing the red thread of destiny. The emperor ordered her to be brought before her, requesting that she help him find what should be his wife.

The sorceress accepted and began to follow the thread, leading them both to a market. There, the sorceress would stand in front of a commoner, a poor peasant who sold products in the market with her baby in her arms. Then the sorceress told the emperor that her thread ended there. However, and seeing that he was before a very poor peasant, the emperor thought that the sorceress he was teasing and pushed the peasant girl, causing her baby to fall and make a big wound on her head. After ordering the execution of the sorceress, the emperor returned to the palace.

Many years later and guided by her advisers, the emperor decided to marry the daughter of one of the most important generals in the country, although he would not see her until her wedding day. That day, when he saw her face for the first time, he discovered that his future wife had a scar on her head, the product of a fall when he was a baby. Obviously: just as the sorceress had predicted, the woman who was to share her life was the peasant's baby.

This is one of the Japanese legends that talk about the concept of predestination, specifically applied to the theme of love. The myth of the better half finds in this story a reflection in its oriental version.

3. Sakura and Yohiro

Another of the best known legends explains to us from a love story the origin and flowering of one of the most beautiful and iconic trees in Japan: the cherry tree. The story is the following.

Legend has it that a long time ago, in a time of great warfare, there was a forest full of beautiful trees. They all had abundant and flowery canopies, and such was their beauty and the comfort they offered that no combat took place in the forest. All but one: there was a young specimen who never bloomed, and whom no one approached because of his dry, decrepit-looking appearance.

One day a fairy, seeing the situation of the tree, was moved and decided to help him: he proposed to the tree cast a spell on her thanks to which she could feel the same as a human heart for twenty years, her with the hope that the experience of her emotion would make him blossom. Also during this period he could transform into a human being at will. However, if after those years it failed to recover and flourish, it would die.

After accepting the spell and receiving the ability to feel and transform, the tree began to enter the world of men. What she encountered was war and death, something that made her shy away from them for long periods. The years went by and the tree was losing hope. However, one day when he became human, the tree met a beautiful young woman in a stream, who treated him with great kindness. It was about Sakura, with whom After helping her carry water to her home, he held a long conversation on the state of the war and the world.

When the young woman asked her name, the tree managed to stammer Yohiro (hope). They saw each other every day, emerging a deep friendship. This friendship would end little by becoming deeper, until it became love. Yohiro decided to tell Sakura how he felt about her, along with the fact that she was a tree about to die. The young woman was silent.

When the twenty years of the spell were almost over, Yohiro turned into a tree again. But even though she didn't expect it, Sakura arrived and hugged him, telling him that she loved him too. In it the fairy appeared again, offering the young Sakura two options: to remain human, or to merge with the tree. Sakura chose to merge forever with Yohiro, something that gave rise to the flowers of the tree: the cherry tree. From that moment on, her love can be seen during the cherry blossom.

4. The legend of Yuki Onna

Yuki-Onna is a yokai or spirit, in female form, who appears during snowy nights to feed on the vital energy of those who are lost in their territory and transform them into frozen statues. This being is part of several legends, representing death by freezing. Among them, one of the most outstanding is the following.

Legend has it that one day two young woodcutters and carpenters, Mosaku and Minokichi, were returning home from the forest when they were immersed in a snowstorm. Both, teacher and student respectively, took refuge in a cabin and soon they fell asleep.

However, at that moment a blast opened the door violently, entering with her a woman dressed in white who, approaching Master Mosaku, absorbed the life energy of him and froze him, something that killed him in the act. Young Minokichi was paralyzed, but seeing her youth, Yuki-Onna decided to forgive him in exchange for her never revealing what happened, in which case he would kill him. The young man agreed.

A year later, Minokichi met and subsequently married a young woman named O-Yuki, with whom he had children and a happy relationship. One day, the young man decided to tell his wife what he had experienced. At that moment O-Yuki transformed, discovering herself as Yuki-Onna and willing to kill Minokichi after breaking her pact. However at the last moment he decided to forgive him by considering him a good father, and after leaving his children in the care of Minokichi he left home never to return.

5. Shita-kiri Suzume: The Slit-tongued Sparrow

Some ancient Japanese legends are in the form of a fable that shows us the price of greed and the virtue of kindness and moderation. One of them is the legend of the sparrow with the cut tongue.

This story tells us how a noble and benevolent old man went to the forest to cut firewood, to find a wounded sparrow. The old man took pity on the bird, taking the animal to his house to take care of it and feed it. The old man's wife, a greedy and greedy lady, was not supportive, but that did not stop him. One day when the old man had to return to the forest, the woman left the injured bird alone, which she found cornmeal that she ended up eating. When she came back, seeing that she had finished it, she got angry and cut out the sparrow's tongue before expelling it from the house.

Later, when the old woodcutter returned and found out what had happened, she went out to look for him. In the forest and with the help of some sparrows, the old man found the inn of the sparrows, where he was welcomed and was able to greet the one he had saved. When they said goodbye, the sparrows gave him a choice as a thank you gift between two baskets, one large and one small.

The old man chose the little one, to discover once at home that she was hiding a treasure of great value. Her wife, after knowing the story and that there was another basket, went to the inn and demanded the other basket for herself. They gave it to him with the warning not to open it until he got home. Despite this, the old man ignored them, opening the basket in the middle of the mountain. This caused that what he saw inside her were various monsters, something that scared her in such a way that she stumbled and fell down the mountain.

This is one of the Japanese legends that deal with the subject of greed, something much discussed in the popular culture of many societies. Its moral background is evident, showing a case of prize obtained not through effort and work but through arrogance.

6. Amemasu and tsunamis

Japan is in a territory that, due to its geological situation and since ancient times, is frequently punished by numerous natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis. In this sense, we can also find myths and legends that try to explain why these phenomena. An example is found in the legend of Amemasu, which tries to explain the reason for tsunamis.

The legend says that in ancient times there was a gigantic yokai (term that refers to a set of supernatural spirits of great power that make up much of Japanese mythology) in Whale form called Amemasu, which inhabited Lake Mashu in such a way that its enormous body blocked the passage of ocean waters Peaceful.

One day, a small deer came to the lake in order to quench its thirst. At that moment the gigantic yokai leaped to eat the deer, gobbling it up on the spot. The little deer, inside Amemasu, wept. He wept in such a way that his tears, of exceptional purity, pierced the beast's stomach with such force that a hole was ripped through Amemasu's guts, killing him while letting the deer out.

The death of the yokai was seen by a bird that passed through the area, which would run to the different villages to warn of the danger that the death of the being supposed, her body being the one that slowed the waters of the ocean. However, With the exception of the Ainu, who fled to high ground, most of the island's inhabitants were curious and they went to the lake in order to see what happened.

Once there and seeing the huge body of the yokai they decided to eat it without any respect. But that had serious consequences: after the body of Amemasu had been devoured, what was blocking the waters of the Pacific had disappeared, which at that very moment contained waters flooded the area and killed everyone present.

This would cause the first tsunami, which would only leave the Ainu alive, who heeded the bird's warnings. It is said that after that, the rest of the tsunamis that devastate Japan are caused by the anger of the spirit at the crimes directed at the animals of the sea.

7. Teke-teke

An urban horror legend based on modern times, the story of Teke-teke tells us how a shy young woman transformed into a spirit that continues to haunt the country's train stations.

Legend tells us how a shy and fragile young woman was the victim of bullying. The young woman received constant harassment and humiliation, without being able to defend herself. One day, the young woman was absorbed in her thoughts and waiting for a train to return to her home when some of her torturers spotted her.

They caught a cicada from the road, throwing it at their back. When the animal began to sing on her back, the girl got scared and fell to the tracksIn such a way that she just passed a train overhead: the girl died, she being split in two by the train.

From then on it is said that during the nights it is possible to see his upper body crawling with his nails, searching for his other half in a desperate and angry way. If she finds someone, she asks where her legs are, and sometimes attacks them with her claws. (getting to push other people to the tracks and even kill them and transform them into creatures like her).

8. Yamaya no Orochi

Japanese legends also often include the presence of various Shinto gods, as well as great deeds and the obtaining of treasures. An example of these is the legend of the dragon Yamaya no Orochi.

The legend tells us how in the beginning of time humanity lived on the same earth with deities and beasts, being in balance and helping each other. However, there came a time when the god Izanagi came into conflict with his wife Izanami, something that destroyed the balance forever.

In the context of the war between both gods, evil arose in many deities, and they came to the world the oni and the dragons (the latter being born from the vegetation that had absorbed the blood of the gods). Among these last beings arose one of the most powerful dragons, Yamata no Orochi, which she had eight heads and tails. The creature demanded from the human settlers of Izumo the sacrifice of eight girls every full moon night, once a month.

The citizens were complying with the sacrifice, gradually running out of maidens. The leader of Izumo had a daughter, Kushinada, who when she reached the age of sixteen she saw the last maidens being sacrificed. She would be next. But one day the god Susanowo came to Izumo and fell in love with Kushinada. The god promised to destroy Yamata no Orochi if they would grant him the girl's hand in exchange, something to which the king quickly agreed.

When the night came that Kushinada was to be slaughtered, Susanowo disguised herself as a servant and he entertained the dragon with eight barrels of liquor before the feast at which the young woman was to die began. The dragon drank, each head from a barrel, until he became drunk and fell asleep. After that, the god Susanowo proceeded to cut off the heads and tails of the being, as well as his entrails. From the wreckage he extracted the Kusanagi no Tsurugi sword, Yata no Kagami's mirror, and the Yasakani no Magatama medallion, the three imperial treasures of Japan.

9. The fisherman and the turtle

Many Japanese legends are based on promoting goodness and virtue, as well as referring to the need to listen to warnings. This is what happens with the legend of the fisherman and the turtle, which is also one of the oldest references to time travel.

Legend tells us that there was once a fisherman named Urashima, who one day observed how on the beach some children were torturing a giant tortoise. After facing them and paying them some coins to leave her, he helped the animal to return to the sea. The next day, fishing in the sea, the young man heard a voice calling him. When he turned around, he saw the turtle again, which told him that she was a servant of the queen of the seas and that she wanted to meet him (in other versions, the turtle itself was the daughter of the god of the sea).

The creature took him to the Dragon Palace, where the fisherman was well received and entertained. He stayed there for three days, but after that he wanted to go home since his parents were old and he wanted to visit them. Before leaving, the sea deity gave him a box, which he warned him never to open.

Urashima returned to the surface and went towards his house, but as he arrived he saw that the people were strange and the buildings were different. Upon reaching his case, he found her completely abandoned, and after searching for his family, he could not find her. Asking the neighbors, some old men told him that an old woman lived in that house a long time ago with her son, but he drowned. But the woman had died long ago, before he was born, and over time the town had developed. Although for Urashima only a few days had passed, in the world several centuries had passed.

Longing for the time spent in the Dragon Palace, the young man looked at the box that the sea deity had given him, and decided to open it. From within a small cloud arose, which began to move towards the horizon. Urashima followed her toward the beach, but it was getting harder and harder for her to move forward and she began to feel weaker and weaker. his skin wrinkled and cracked, like that of an elderly person. When he got to the beach, he finally understood that what the box kept was nothing other than the years that had passed for him, that after opening it they returned to his body. He died shortly after.

10. The legend of Tsukimi

Some Japanese legends tell us about the origin of some celebrations and traditions, such as the legend of Tsukimi, which explains the tradition of observing the Moon on the first day of autumn.

Legend has it that once upon a time an old pilgrim met various animals, such as the monkey, the fox or the rabbit. Exhausted and hungry, he asked them to help him get food. While the fox hunted a bird and the monkey gathered fruit from the trees, the rabbit did not get anything that humans could eat.

Seeing the old man so exhausted and weak, the animal decided to light a fire and jump at it, offering his own meat as food. Before the noble gesture, the old man revealed his true identity: it was a powerful deity, the incarnation of the Moon herself, which decided to reward the rabbit's gesture by taking it to the Moon together to the.