Who is the legendary Momotaro?

The story of Momotaro (the peach boy) is a classic Japanese fairy tale that dates back to the Edo period of Japanese history. It has managed to last for centuries thanks to its simplistic way of conveying: adventure, camaraderie, courage and respect.

At this point, you’re probably wondering why the alias, Momotaro? (peach boy) Well, the story goes like this…

One day, a giant peach fell from the sky into a river. Next to that river, an old woman was washing her clothes and while she was washing she noticed the huge peach that was floating down the river. Excited to find such a large peach, she pulled it out to take home for dinner.

Her husband came home from a hard day’s work chopping wood in the mountains. Hungry and surprised to see a huge peach, he asked his wife to cut it. The old lady took out a large knife, but just before she started to cut the peach, a voice from inside the peach called out, “Wait, don’t cut me!”

Startled by the shouting voice, the old woman cautiously leaned back. She and her husband anxiously watched the peach shake as whatever was inside came out of the peach. The old couple was surprised when the peach broke in two and a beautiful baby emerged from inside.

It took the old couple a moment to recover from the shock. Once they recovered from their surprise, they realized that the baby in front of them was a gift from heaven. They agreed to raise the baby as their own son and gave him the name Momotaro , which literally means “Peach Boy” in Japanese.

Momotaro grew into a respectful, kind and strong boy. When he turned 15, he woke up with a spiritual urge to defeat the evil ogres who lived on an island far away.

Momotaro told his father about the mission he would undertake. At first his father was saddened that Momotaro was going on a dangerous journey, but at the same time, he was proud that his son wanted to accomplish a heroic deed. The father gave Momotaro his blessing and gifted him with a sword and armor to help him on his adventure.

Along the way, Momotaro encountered a talking dog , a monkey , and a pheasant . At first, each of the animals was hostile towards him, but after he told them about his adventure to fight the ogres, they immediately set out to help him and Momotaro rewarded each animal with a dumpling for their bravery in fighting the ogres. join him.

Once the group finally reaches the island of the ogres, and seeing the fortress they begin to figure out how to get in. The pheasant, being the smartest, flew over the ogres’ lair and distracted the guards by pecking their heads. The monkey that was the best climber in the group, while the ogres were distracted, climbed up the walls and opened the fortress for Momotaro and the dog to run inside.

There were many ogres inside the lair, and it was a long battle, but finally the heroic party was able to defeat the ogres. After facing defeat, the ogres surrendered to Momotaro, vowing never to be evil again, and handed over all the treasure they had stolen to him.

Momotaro was amazed by the treasure, he had never seen so much gold and silver in his life. He divided the treasure among his group, said goodbye to them, and returned home to his parents.

After he got home, he showed his parents all the treasure he had collected. Like Momotaro, they were surprised and happy to see so much gold and silver that he had gathered. But more importantly, they were all the more happy to see that Momotaro had returned to them safely.

And so ends the story of the heroic Momotaro .

Momotaro’s story is a fun adventure that anyone can enjoy. It is a story rooted in the Japanese since childhood. So much so, that it is easy to find Momotaro personified in many products.

What did you think of this story? Tell us in the comments!