Story: The Man Who Wished to Die

Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki (1908)
Based on the story: The Man Who Did Not Wish to Die

Paper Crane by Andreas Bauer

There once was a man who was bored of life and took pleasure in the thought of death. He had heard stories of people who were very happy and wealthy but lived short lives. He decided to try and find the life of these people he so longed to be. He first sent someone else along to find these people, but when they didn't return, he decided to look for them himself. Soon, he stumbled across a shrine and prayed for seven days. He then was approached by someone who told him that the people he was searching for lived in solitude in a far off land. The person gave him a little paper crane, which grew and grew until it was big enough to carry him and fly over to this land. When they arrived, the crane folded back up and placed itself in his pocket. The land was nothing like the man's home land. Everyone there was very welcoming, but sadly all of them dreaded the inevitability of death. They were all unable to enjoy their lives luxury because they felt that death followed them everywhere they went. They thought that the grass was greener on the other side of the fence so to speak, just as the man did. They tried all sorts of medications, teas, and exercises in order to attempt living longer, but still people would die at young ages. The healthier they tried to be, the earlier their deaths would come! After a while, the man was able to fit in comfortably with the new people, and even had a growing business. He was basically the only happy man in all of the land. But after a while, life became monotonous, and he was curious about his home land. He was tired of living a so called perfect life, but still being surrounded by the sadness of death. He decided to pray, until he felt the little crane begin to unfold in his pocket. Soon, the crane was back to its large size and the man was able to get back on it's back. But while crossing the sea on the way back to his homeland, the weather began to turn sour. The paper crane was unable to fly in the heavy rain and wind. They both began to dive bomb towards the water, until they both came crashing into a large wave. The man was frightened and his fear was heightened even more when he saw the fin of a shark heading right for him. Just when he was about to be face to face with the shark, the man woke up! He had been dreaming in the shrine the entire time! Then, an angel appeared before him and told him to remember this life lesson. He went back home and lived out the rest of his long life happily and without envy.

Author's Note: I really liked the overall theme of this story. It is common to envy other people, and this was a great example of how we should be thankful for what we have. The original story was actually the opposite, in which the man did not want to die. The people of the new land tried many ways to die because they were sick of living long lives of unhappiness. The ending of the story essentially remained the same in which an angel came to warn the man of heeding the lesson, and the man returned home.

Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki)-Part A

Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki (1908)

Tree Bridge

My Lord Bag of Rice: One day a warrior was on the search for adventure when he came across a bridge on a beautiful lake. A huge, sleeping serpent dragon was blocking the bridges path. The brave man simply stepped over its coils and continued on. That is, until a man appeared behind him in the place of the dragon. This was the dragon king and he had asked the warrior to kill his mortal centipede enemy who keeps stealing the king's family members. 

My Lord Bag of Rice (cont.): The warrior felt sorry for the king, and agreed to help. The king led him to his beautiful palace under the sea. They feasted and watched dancers, until a sudden noise appeared. The two rose to their feet and looked to see the centipede in the distance. The king was afraid, but the warrior was not. He drew is bow and arrow firing at the monster. The first two arrows hit perfectly, but did nothing to the monster. Then he remembered that human saliva was deadly to centipedes. So with his last arrow, he put it in his mouth before shooting and killing the beast.  

My Lord Bag of Rice (end): The king and his family were all safe, and greatly appreciated the warrior. Again they feasted and this time begged him to stay longer with them. They let him leave, but not before giving him two bells, a bag of rice, roll of silk, and a cooking pot. All of the gifts were magic, and were used to help many people of the warrior's village. The rice was always replenished, silk never ending, and cooking pot always making delicious food. 

The Adventures of Kintaro, The Golden Boy: There once was a warrior who married a beautiful woman. He unfortunately gained many enemies before his death, so his wife had to flee. She ended up having a child, who was remarkably strong. He never made human friends, but used the animals as servants and messengers. One day, they decided to play around and have a little friendly competition. 

The Adventures of Kintaro (cont.): The monkey and hare were the first to wrestle around. The monkey lost due to some back pain, and the boy rewarded the hare a rice dumpling. The monkey was a sore loser, and wanted to try to win. The monkey pulled on the hare's ears and won that round, getting the prize. Then the deer lost a round to the hare. They decided to take a break and came across a river. So the boy uprooted a tree to make a bridge for all of them 

The Adventures of Kintaro (cont. again): A woodcutter had seen what had happened and was amazed. The boy returned to his mother's cottage for the evening. He told her of the games they played and they debated who was the strongest. Then the woodcutter approached, asking to join the boy in a game of strength. The two arm-wrestled for a long while until a draw was declared. 

The Adventures of Kintaro (end): The man was impressed with the boy, and asked the mother why he had not decided to become a great Japanese warrior. The mother claimed the boy as wild and dangerous to those humans around him. The woodcutter then declared that he was really a general disguised as a woodcutter to find strong young men. The mom and his animal friends were sad to see the boy go off to become a great warrior, but they were proud of him as well. they boy grew to be one of the greatest warriors of all time and provided for his mother in her old age. 

The Man Who Did Not Wish to Die: There once was a man in his thirties who was not poor nor rich. One day, the thought of death crossed his mind and he was upset about it. he had heard of people living long lives, but also heard of those who were very happy and wealthy but lived short lives. For example a great king, who wanted to find the elixir of life. He sent off a man to find it, but he never returned from Mount Fuji. So the king decided to go for himself, looking for the hermits who live forever. He came across a hunter, who wouldn't tell of the hermits. So he decided to go to the shrine. 

The Man Who Did Not Wish to Die (cont.): He finally got to the shrine and prayed for seven days. Finally he was told that hermits did not live a long life of luxury, but off the wilderness. And now the king would go off and do just this. A crane flew him to a new land, that was very unfamiliar to his own. The people there were inviting and nice, but actually were unhappy to be burdened with immortality. They thought the grass was greener on the other side. They even tried to poison themselves to death, but they were actually restored to health. 

The Man Who Did Not Wish to Die (end): In this place, there was a man who could make a potion that could turn your hair a little grey and upset your stomach. The king was the only happy person in the land as his business grew. But after a while, life became monotonous, and he was curious about his home land. He prayed to go back, and then the crane came back to take him home. Unfortunately, the weather made the crane fall into the sea. The man fell off and was about to be eaten by a shark.... when he woke up! He had fell asleep while praying at the shrine. An angel appeared before him. and told him that he needed to remember this lesson on life. He went back home and lived out the rest of his life meaningfully and gave up being vain.