As with the Georgian folktales that I
discussed in a previous essay, the Japanese fairy tales are full of heroes who
overcome trials and foes not by the strength of their arms, but by the
sharpness of their wits. Trickster characters abound in these stories, ranging
from the young boy in “Schippeitaro” to the crab in “The Crab and the Monkey”
to the various tanuki that feature prominently in several of the tales. With
tricksters come fools as well, and it is interesting to note that many
tricksters in these stories in up being made into fools in the end. This
reversal of roles is what of makes many of these stories so delightful to read.
Despite being entitled “Schippeitaro,” the
hero of the story is in fact the nameless protagonist who harnesses the might
of the canine Schippeitaro to solve a local feline problem. Although the hero
of the story goes on a journey to do great deeds and is described as fighting
duels with other men who have set out with a similar mindset, it is notable
that protagonist ultimately achieves victory in this story through trickery
rather than brute force. When the protagonist first hears of the problem a
village has of having to sacrifice its maidens to a Local Mountain Spirit, he
investigates with pointed questions that ultimately lead him toward a way to
solve the problem. It is impressive how quickly the hero draws a connection between
the spirit and the dancing cats he encountered the previous night in the chapel
where the young girls are apparently ritually offered up. From there he is able
to piece together in phrase he overheard—“Do not tell Schippeitaro”—with the information
he has and determine that this Schippeitaro is the key to his overcoming the
Mountain Spirit. He is then able to hatch a plan to use Schippeitaro the dog to
ambush the spirit and kill it. Ultimately the hero in this story prevails
because of his potent inductive reasoning skills and his cleverness in laying a
trap. He is a trickster with a bit of a Holmesian twist one could say.
“The Crab and the Monkey” is interesting in
how the trickster protagonist Crab succeeds in tricking the fool Monkey
multiple times, but does not always win out in every exchange. At the beginning
of the story Monkey offers to trade his half-eaten kaki fruit to Crab for her
handful of rice, thinking he will get the better end of the deal. The Crab
makes the trade knowing that it can use the fruit’s seed to plant a tree that
she can make her own. She succeeds in doing this later, and thus outwits the Monkey
at first. Unfortunately he returns later and, seeing Crab’s beautiful kaki,
asks if he can climb up in it and grab a few fruits for himself. Crab assents, but
Monkey clambers up in her tree and begins to eat everything in sight. Once
again resorting to trickery, Crab challenges Monkey to do some acrobatics on
her tree, which he does, knocking some fruits down that Crab proceeds to snatch
for herself. Noticing that he has been tricked, Monkey swings down and beats up
Crab before she can secure a second batch of kakis for her burrow. Brute force
wins over trickery in this second exchange, but in the end trickery prevails
when Crab gets together with wasp, egg, and rice mortar (forget anthropomorphized
animals, talking cooking implements are where it’s at in Japanese fairy tales!)
and hatches a plot to trick Monkey one final time. In the end, Monkey dies from
a rice mortar to the head (ironic considering that Crab’s relationship began
over Monkey’s desire for some cooked rice, eh?) and wit once again proves
superior to muscle.
“The Slaying of the Tanuki” is a good example
of a story that does not have a character with a set trickster or fool role. At
first the peasant protagonist is the trickster when he lays a trap for a
thieving tanuki and subsequently captures him. The tanuki then has in turn as
he tricks the peasant’s wife into loosening his bonds and then frees itself,
kills the wife, and feeds her to the peasant. The hare then comes into his own
as a trickster as he tricks the tanuki, scorching him with flames and offering
stinging salve for his wounds. Finally, the hare and peasant join forces and
trick the tanuki to his death. What makes this story so interesting is how
dynamically the roles of trickster and fool shift.
These Japanese fairy tales bring a lot of
unique elements to the trickster narrative. “Schippeitaro” focuses on a hero
who is able to piece together knowledge and use it form a plan to overcome a
mountain spirit. “The Crab and the Monkey” features a multi-trick narrative in
which cunning must pit itself repeatedly against brute force as the two
creatures seek to get what they want from the other. “The Slaying of the Tanuki”
also features many tricks throughout the story, but notably has different
characters function in the role of fool and trickster. The variety of ways in
which the trickster narrative is used in these tales makes them all very
enjoyable to read.
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| Dat wasp tho! (Un-textbook) |
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