What do you think?
Rate this book
The Magic Purse
In a retelling of an old Japanese folktale, complemented by delicate watercolor paintings, a young farmer stumbles on the dreaded Black Swamp and agrees to deliver a letter for a girl held prisoner there.
- GenresChildrensPicture Books
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 1993
1 person is currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Yoshiko Uchida
52 books96 followersYoshiko, born on November 24, 1921, was the second daughter of Japanese immigrant parents Takashi and Iku. Her father worked as a businessman for Mitsui and Company in San Francisco, and Iku wrote poetry, passing along her love of literature to her girls. Though the Great Depression raged, the Uchida family enjoyed comforts because of Takashi's well-paying job and their own frugality. Yoshiko loved to write, and her stories played out on pieces of brown wrapping paper. She also kept a journal to record her thoughts and events.
Enveloped in love and tradition at home, Yoshiko weathered the prejudice she sometimes faced. Many white students at University High School in Oakland didn't invite her to their parties and wouldn't socialize with her, deeming her a foreigner. Even while attending the University of California at Berkley, Yoshiko often faced the same dilemma of being ostracized. She found friendships with other Japanese American students and was preparing to graduate when Pearl Harbor was bombed, changing her life.
The United States government rounded up 120,000 people of Japanese descent and put them into camps. The Uchida family first resided in a horse stall at a racetrack in California, surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. Though difficult to endure, the next move was worse. Almost 8,000 Japanese were sent to a relocation concentration camp called Topaz in the Utah desert. The detainees suffered from violent dust storms, scorpions, snakes, and exceedingly poor living conditions. Yoshiko taught second grade children there until she received a fellowship from Smith College to earn a master's degree in education.
Yoshiko and her sister both left the camp in May of 1943, with their parents gaining release later that year. Teaching for several years in a Quaker school outside of Philadelphia, Yoshiko decided to quit teaching and find work that allowed more time for writing. She moved to New York City and began as a secretary, penning stories in the evenings. Asked to contribute to a book about Japanese folk tales, Yoshiko discovered that though the book didn't come to be, with time she could create a full collection of folk tales. Writing a few pieces for adults, Yoshiko realized she was better suited for children's books.
A Ford Foundation fellowship sent her to Japan to research the culture and their stories. Spending two years, Yoshiko found her time to be healing as she learned about her own ancestry. The pain of the concentration camps lessened, and she began writing about the experiences in fictional books such as Journey to Topaz and Journey Home. Her career as an author soared as people regarded her as a pioneer in Japanese American children's literature. The author of almost forty works, including Japanese folk tales and stories of Japanese American children making their way in the world, Yoshiko traveled extensively, lectured, and wrote. After suffering from a stroke, Yoshiko passed away on June 25, 1992, in Berkeley, California.
Enveloped in love and tradition at home, Yoshiko weathered the prejudice she sometimes faced. Many white students at University High School in Oakland didn't invite her to their parties and wouldn't socialize with her, deeming her a foreigner. Even while attending the University of California at Berkley, Yoshiko often faced the same dilemma of being ostracized. She found friendships with other Japanese American students and was preparing to graduate when Pearl Harbor was bombed, changing her life.
The United States government rounded up 120,000 people of Japanese descent and put them into camps. The Uchida family first resided in a horse stall at a racetrack in California, surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. Though difficult to endure, the next move was worse. Almost 8,000 Japanese were sent to a relocation concentration camp called Topaz in the Utah desert. The detainees suffered from violent dust storms, scorpions, snakes, and exceedingly poor living conditions. Yoshiko taught second grade children there until she received a fellowship from Smith College to earn a master's degree in education.
Yoshiko and her sister both left the camp in May of 1943, with their parents gaining release later that year. Teaching for several years in a Quaker school outside of Philadelphia, Yoshiko decided to quit teaching and find work that allowed more time for writing. She moved to New York City and began as a secretary, penning stories in the evenings. Asked to contribute to a book about Japanese folk tales, Yoshiko discovered that though the book didn't come to be, with time she could create a full collection of folk tales. Writing a few pieces for adults, Yoshiko realized she was better suited for children's books.
A Ford Foundation fellowship sent her to Japan to research the culture and their stories. Spending two years, Yoshiko found her time to be healing as she learned about her own ancestry. The pain of the concentration camps lessened, and she began writing about the experiences in fictional books such as Journey to Topaz and Journey Home. Her career as an author soared as people regarded her as a pioneer in Japanese American children's literature. The author of almost forty works, including Japanese folk tales and stories of Japanese American children making their way in the world, Yoshiko traveled extensively, lectured, and wrote. After suffering from a stroke, Yoshiko passed away on June 25, 1992, in Berkeley, California.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 18, 2014
This is a sweet story with pretty water-color illustrations about how doing good deeds will lead to good rewards. I knocked off a star because there was sentence that said "he could not forget the beautiful young girl..." Um. If she wasn't beautiful, would you be able to forget her? The author should've left out the word 'beautiful'. It takes away from the farmer doing a selfless deed, makes readers question if the farmer would've helped an ugly, old woman.
January 10, 2026
A poor young farmer gets lost on his way to the nearby Iseh shrine one spring, finding himself at the fearsome Black Swamp instead in this picture book retelling of a traditional Japanese folktale from author Yoshiko Uchida and illustrator Keiko Narahashi. Here he encounters an ethereal and sorrowful young woman, who asks him to deliver a letter to her parents in the Red Swamp near Osaka, offering him a magic coin purse that always refills itself. Despite his fear, the farmer pities her sadness, delivering a letter and receiving a second reward from the woman's parents. With this new fortune, he sets up a more prosperous farm, employing many of his neighbors, and helping the poor. Every spring, at cherry blossom season, the farmer again visits the Black Swamp, to leave a gift for the young woman, remembering her and her parents for the rest of his life...
Published in 1993, The Magic Purse is the first book I have read from either Uchida or Narahashi, but I will certainly be seeking out more of their work! I was familiar with Uchida before, because of her many children's books about the Japanese American experience, but I didn't realize she had also written a number of folkloric retellings and collections, which I will now seek out. I found the story here engaging, with the classic theme of the kindhearted young man who is rewarded for his goodness and bravery. The narrative never explores who or what the young woman and her parents are, but it's clear they're not mortals, but some kind of supernatural being. In any case, I particularly appreciated that the book closed with the young farmer always remembering the young woman and her parents, as so many stories of this kind close with the reward, rather than the recollection of the source of the hero's blessings. The watercolor artwork was lovely, capturing the beautiful but eerie atmosphere of the two swamps particularly well. Recommended to young folklore enthusiasts, particularly those interested in Japanese tales.
Published in 1993, The Magic Purse is the first book I have read from either Uchida or Narahashi, but I will certainly be seeking out more of their work! I was familiar with Uchida before, because of her many children's books about the Japanese American experience, but I didn't realize she had also written a number of folkloric retellings and collections, which I will now seek out. I found the story here engaging, with the classic theme of the kindhearted young man who is rewarded for his goodness and bravery. The narrative never explores who or what the young woman and her parents are, but it's clear they're not mortals, but some kind of supernatural being. In any case, I particularly appreciated that the book closed with the young farmer always remembering the young woman and her parents, as so many stories of this kind close with the reward, rather than the recollection of the source of the hero's blessings. The watercolor artwork was lovely, capturing the beautiful but eerie atmosphere of the two swamps particularly well. Recommended to young folklore enthusiasts, particularly those interested in Japanese tales.
October 13, 2023
Beautiful illustrations - elegant story. Its message not to be taken literally (do a kind deed and be rewarded in riches) but rather metaphorically. Might stimulate ideas and discussion among young readers especially.
August 30, 2018
Pleasant story with beautiful drawings.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews