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竹取物語 蒼き月のかぐや姫
<竹取物語>
竹取の翁は、ある日、竹の中に光り輝く女の子を見つけました。竹取の翁のもとで、あっという間に大きくなった女の子は、かぐや姫と名づけられました。その美しさは国中のうわさとなり、求婚者が後をたちません。けれどもかぐや姫は、だれとも結婚しようとせず、最後に残った五人の貴公子に、それぞれ異なるお願いをします。なぜ、かぐや姫は、無理なお願いをするの? 帝とかぐや姫の間柄は? など、絵本ではわからなかった、かぐや姫のほんとうの物語。
<鉢かづき姫>
なに不自由ないくらしをしていた姫。ところが十三歳のとき母が病死してしまいます。母にかぶせられた大きな鉢がとれなくなり、姫は「鉢かづき」とよばれて気味悪がられ、意地悪な継母のせいで、ついには家を追い出されてしまいます。
絶望し、死のうとする鉢かづき姫でしたが……。つらくても、いつか幸せになれると信じて頑張る姫の、シンデレラストーリー。
竹取の翁は、ある日、竹の中に光り輝く女の子を見つけました。竹取の翁のもとで、あっという間に大きくなった女の子は、かぐや姫と名づけられました。その美しさは国中のうわさとなり、求婚者が後をたちません。けれどもかぐや姫は、だれとも結婚しようとせず、最後に残った五人の貴公子に、それぞれ異なるお願いをします。なぜ、かぐや姫は、無理なお願いをするの? 帝とかぐや姫の間柄は? など、絵本ではわからなかった、かぐや姫のほんとうの物語。
<鉢かづき姫>
なに不自由ないくらしをしていた姫。ところが十三歳のとき母が病死してしまいます。母にかぶせられた大きな鉢がとれなくなり、姫は「鉢かづき」とよばれて気味悪がられ、意地悪な継母のせいで、ついには家を追い出されてしまいます。
絶望し、死のうとする鉢かづき姫でしたが……。つらくても、いつか幸せになれると信じて頑張る姫の、シンデレラストーリー。
224 pages, Paperback
Published May 11, 2012
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 6, 2018
This book for kids includes two old Japanese tales: Kaguya-hime (made famous around the world by the anime movie some years ago, or at least better known) and Hachikazuki-hime (or The Bowl-Bearer Princess), a tale it was the first time I had come across.
Both tales are told in an easy to read style, proper for children, with lots of dialogue, not very complicated writing style, and even furigana for the reading of kanji. As other books of this collection, it has drawings to give it a comic style and make them closer to the target readers, all characters really cute and childish.
Kaguya-hime is a very interesting story, even though not my favorite. I found interesting the connections with Buddhism that the writer comments at the end of the book and that I, silly me, had overlook. It tells the story of an old couple that find a little baby in a bamboo shoot. She grows up to be a beautiful woman that all rich men try to get with presents or power. There is the typical search for a treasure, but it offers nice twists on the old tale of a man getting his princess to a surprising ending. You will see.
I have to say, though, that I better enjoyed Hachikazuki-hime and that I think Yui Tokiumi does a better job with it. She compares it with Cinderella, but, while reading, I was thinking all the time that it has closer ties with The Ugly Duckling. But that is just probably me. It tells the story of a child whose mother puts a bowl on her head before dying. The child, unable to take the bowl out of her head, loses her position when his father remarries and ends up as a poor woman, thrown out of her home, no one caring for her. Desperate, she thinks of killing herself, but the bowl won't even allow her that. And... Read the rest :).
In both stories, Tokiumi centers on making things entertaining and easy to read, bringing old stories closer to nowadays tastes. They have both a very simple style, maybe too much, with all the plot developments too simple and characters that are quite stereotypical. But the stories are sweet (and bitter) and a good read. If you like fairy tales, you will enjoy this book. And it can be read in a couple of sittings.
5.5/10
(Original Japanese Version)
Both tales are told in an easy to read style, proper for children, with lots of dialogue, not very complicated writing style, and even furigana for the reading of kanji. As other books of this collection, it has drawings to give it a comic style and make them closer to the target readers, all characters really cute and childish.
Kaguya-hime is a very interesting story, even though not my favorite. I found interesting the connections with Buddhism that the writer comments at the end of the book and that I, silly me, had overlook. It tells the story of an old couple that find a little baby in a bamboo shoot. She grows up to be a beautiful woman that all rich men try to get with presents or power. There is the typical search for a treasure, but it offers nice twists on the old tale of a man getting his princess to a surprising ending. You will see.
I have to say, though, that I better enjoyed Hachikazuki-hime and that I think Yui Tokiumi does a better job with it. She compares it with Cinderella, but, while reading, I was thinking all the time that it has closer ties with The Ugly Duckling. But that is just probably me. It tells the story of a child whose mother puts a bowl on her head before dying. The child, unable to take the bowl out of her head, loses her position when his father remarries and ends up as a poor woman, thrown out of her home, no one caring for her. Desperate, she thinks of killing herself, but the bowl won't even allow her that. And... Read the rest :).
In both stories, Tokiumi centers on making things entertaining and easy to read, bringing old stories closer to nowadays tastes. They have both a very simple style, maybe too much, with all the plot developments too simple and characters that are quite stereotypical. But the stories are sweet (and bitter) and a good read. If you like fairy tales, you will enjoy this book. And it can be read in a couple of sittings.
5.5/10
(Original Japanese Version)
Displaying 1 of 1 review