Otogizoshi : The Fairy Tale Book of Dazai Osamu (Translated)

First published October 25, 1945 Dazai Osamu wrote The Fairy Tale Book (Otogizōshi) in the last months of the Pacific War. The traditional tales upon which Dazai's retellings are based are well known to every Japanese schoolchild, but this is no children's book. In Dazai's hands such stock characters as the kindhearted Oji-san to Oba-san ("Grandmother & Grandfather"), the mischievous tanuki badger, the fearsome Oni ogres, the greedy old man, the "tongue-cut" sparrow, & of course Urashima Taro (the Japanese Rip van Winkle) become complex individuals facing difficult & nuanced moral dilemmas. The resulting stories are thought-provoking, slyly subversive, & often hilarious. In spite of the "gloom & doom" atmosphere always cited in reviews of The Setting Sun & the later No Longer Human, though, Dazai's cutting wit & rich humor are evident in the entire body of his work. His literature depicts the human condition in painfully blunt & realistic terms, but, like life itself, is often accompanied by a smile. Osamu DAZAI (native name: 太宰治, real name Shūji Tsushima) was a Japanese author who is considered one of the foremost fiction writers of 20th-century Japan. A number of his most popular works, such as Shayō (The Setting Sun) & Ningen Shikkaku (No Longer Human), are considered modern-day classics in Japan. With a semi-autobiographical style & transparency into his personal life, Dazai’s stories have intrigued the minds of many readers. His books also bring about awareness to a number of important topics such as human nature, mental illness, social relationships, & postwar Japan. Momotarō, Click-Clack Mountain, The Sparrow Who Lost Her Tongue, The Stolen Wen, Urashima-san . . . The father reads these old tales to the children. Though he's shabbily dressed and looks to be a complete fool, this father is a singular man in his own right. He has an unusual knack for making up stories. Once upon a time, long, long ago . . . Even as he reads the picture book aloud in a strangely imbecilic voice, another, somewhat more elaborate tale is brewing inside him. Dazai Osamu wrote The Fairy Tale Book (Otogizoshi) in the last months of the Pacific War. The traditional tales upon which Dazai's retellings are based are well known to every Japanese schoolchild, but this is no children's book. In Dazai's hands such stock characters as the kindhearted Oji-san to Oba-san ("Grandmother and Grandfather"), the mischievous tanuki badger, the fearsome Oni ogres, the greedy old man, the "tongue-cut" sparrow, and of course Urashima Taro (the Japanese Rip van Winkle) become complex individuals facing difficult and nuanced moral dilemmas. The resulting stories are thought-provoking, slyly subversive, and often hilarious Title page; Table of Contents; Introduction; Prologue; The Stolen Wen; Urashima-san; Click-Clack Mountain; The Sparrow Who Lost Her Tongue; Acknowledgements; Contributors; Copyright information.;Dazai Osamu wrote The Fairy Tale Book (Otogizoshi) in the last months of the Pacific War. The traditional tales upon which Dazai's retellings are based are well known to every Japanese schoolchild, but this is no children's book. In Dazai's hands such stock characters as the kindhearted Oji-san to Oba-san (""Grandmother and Grandfather""), the mischi.