Straw Millionaire

Straw Millionaire by Kiichi Okamoto in Kunio Yanagita's Nihon Mukashibanashi-Shu

The legend of the "Straw Millionaire" (わらしべ長者 Warashibe Chōja), also known as "Daietsu" or the "Daikokumai", is a Japanese Buddhist folk tale about a poor man who becomes wealthy through a series of successive trades, starting with a single piece of straw.[1] The story was likely written during the Heian period and was later collected into Konjaku Monogatarishū and Uji Shūi Monogatari.[2][3] It became popular during the Muromachi period.[4] The legend has become a common anecdote in Japanese popular culture.

Plot

A hard-working but unlucky peasant named Daietsu-no-suke prays to Kannon, the goddess of mercy, to help him escape poverty. Kannon tells him to take the first thing he touches on the ground with him and travel west. He stumbles on his way out of the temple and grabs a piece of straw. While traveling, he catches a horsefly that was bothering him and ties it to the straw. In the next town, the buzzing horsefly calms a crying baby and the thankful mother exchanges it for three oranges. Taking the oranges, he continues on his journey and encounters a dehydrated woman. He gives her the oranges and she thanks him by giving him a rich silk cloth. The peasant meets a samurai with a weak horse. The samurai demands the silk cloth in exchange for his horse. The peasant nurses the horse back to health and continues west. A millionaire is impressed by his horse and invites him to his home. The millionaire's daughter turns out to be the same woman he saved with his oranges. Seeing this as a sign, the millionaire insists that the peasant marry his daughter, making him a millionaire.[5]

As part of oral tradition, the details of the story have changed over time and there are several competing accounts of the tale. Some versions portray the peasant as a soldier who trades the horse for rice fields and becomes a successful farmer, omitting the millionaire's daughter.[3]

In popular culture

See also

References

  1. Reader, Ian; Esben Andreasen; Finn Stefánsson (1993). Japanese Religions: Past & Present. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 61–62. ISBN 0-8248-1546-7.
  2. Frédéric, Louis (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. p. 1027. ISBN 0-674-01753-6.
  3. 1 2 Kawai, Hayao (1995). Dreams, Myths and Fairy Tales in Japan. Daimon. p. 39. ISBN 3-85630-544-0.
  4. Sumiyoshi, Hiromori (1700). "Daietsu". World Digital Library (in Japanese). Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  5. Saroj Kumar Chaudhuri (2003). Hindu Gods And Goddesses In Japan. Vedams eBooks (P) Ltd. p. 71. ISBN 978-81-7936-009-5. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  6. Terdiman, Daniel (2006-04-17). "ネット版わらしべ長者への道--ペーパークリップは家一軒に化けるか" (in Japanese). CNET. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  7. "赤いクリップで家を手に入れた男----ネット版わらしべ長者ものがたり (単行本)" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  8. "Iwata Asks - Volume 2 : The History of Handheld The Legend of Zelda Games". Nintendo. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
  9. "わらしべ長者―日本民話選 (岩波少年文庫) (単行本)" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
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