A lot of the folklore, legends, and tales found in Japan are primarily influenced by the religions of Buddhism and Shinto. The tales often involve strange characters and ridiculous events. Below, are a few synopses of some of the most well known Japanese folk tales as well as resources to full text tales and legends.

Sannen Netaro

Sannen Netaro is the story of a young man who slept for three years. Netaro, meaning “Sleeping Boy,” was the son of an older couple. He was more than old enough to be working the rice fields, but alas merely slept all day...for three years. His mother worried that he would never marry because he never left the house. Until one day, when Netaro suddenly got up and went to the mountains. He brought back an eagle and a lantern. That night he tricked his wealthy neighbor into thinking he was a Tengu (a nasty Japanese goblin) by using the eagle and the lantern. He then persuaded his neighbor to let his daughter marry Netaro or else the wealthy man would become poor as dirt. The man reluctantly agreed an Netaro married his daughter. From that day on Netaro became the hardest of workers and his wealthy neighbor was delighted and believed Netaro was a reincarnated tengu.

• The Full Text of Sannen Netaro

Hanasaka Jiisan

Hannasake Jisan is the tale of an honest, elderly couple and the dog they adopted by chance. One day, the little white puppy of the old man's greedy neighbor came to him while he was plowing his field. The dog cried that he had been mistreated, and the couple took the puppy in as family. They named him Shiro meaning “white.” One day, Shiro brought the old man to a treasure of gold coins. When his greedy ex-owner found out, he demanded Shiro take him to treasure as well. But Shiro took him to garbage and the greedy old man killed Shiro. The honest couple were devastated. They made a grave for Shiro and the next day a tree had grown at the site. The couple had gotten the idea to make rice cakes for Shiro's grave because he always liked them so much. So, they cut down the tree and made a mortar out of the stump to prepare the rice cakes with. As the old man pounded the rice, it turned to gold coins. The greedy old man from next door witnessed this and demanded the mortar. Although, as the greedy man attempted to make the cakes, they merely turned to mud instead of gold coins. In a fit of rage, the greedy man then burned the mortar to ashes. The honest couple decided to spread the mortar ashes over the radish fields, where immediately all the dead trees turned to blooming cherry blossoms. The King soon found out about this miraculous occurrence and told the honest couple they would be rewarded. At the same moment, the greedy man came to the King carrying some of the leftover mortar ashes proclaiming that he was the best flower bloomer of Japan. While sprinkling the the leftovers, the ashes flew into the King's face choking him. The King then sentenced the greedy man to prison.

• The Full Text of Hanasaka Jiisan

Kackikachi-yama

Kackikachi-yama is the story of a kind old farmer and his wife. They friended a rabbit who became like their own daughter. As well, living in the area there was a nasty raccoon who destroyed their crops on a regular basis. One day the rabbit dressed in pretty clothes and asked the raccoon to carry her firewood up the mountain for her. In an attempt to show off for the rabbit, the raccoon agreed. On the way up the mountain, the rabbit sneakily set the load of firewood on the raccoon's back on fire. Scared and burned, the raccoon ran away. The next day, the rabbit disguised herself and waited for the raccoon. She tricked him into using the medicine she had made to heal his burns. Unfortunately, what the raccoon didn't know was the the “medicine” was actually soy bean paste with red hot peppers, this of course threw the raccoon into a whirlwind of agony. Soon after, the rabbit adorned yet another disguise and persuaded the raccoon to go fishing with her. She was able to trick the raccoon into making his boat out of mud while she made hers out of sturdy wood. The raccoon's boat of course fell apart and he drowned.

• The Full Text of Kachikachi-yama

Tanabata

Tanabata is a yearly festival celebrated in July. At this time of year, people write down their wishes on strips of paper and hang them from a bamboo tree. The following is one of the stories of Tanabata:

One say as a boy was walking home from working on the fields, he came across the most gorgeous selection of clothing he had ever laid eyes on. The boy scooped them up and was about to put them in his basket when he heard a voice. There was a girl in the nearby pond claiming to be from heaven and that the boy has taken her robe of feathers. The boy did not give back her robe and thus she could not return to heaven. The goddess, named Tanabata, thus had to stay on earth and live with the young man. The two married and several years later Tanabata found her robe in the young man's house. She of course put it on in a hurry and began to feel like a goddess once again. Tanabata began to rise to heaven and told the young man that if he really loved her he would make 1,000 pairs of straw sandals and bury them around the bamboo tree. If he did this, the proclaimed they would be together again. So, the young man of course did this. Immediately, the tree began to grow and stretch into the heavens and so the young man began to climb the tree. However, in his haste the man had only made 999 sandals and thus the tree stopped just short enough that he could not reach Tanabata. Tanabata was excited and pulled him up into the clouds with her. Tanabata's father was not happy with her marrying a mortal and so her father put the man to work in the melon fields, but he warned if the man ate even one melon something very bad would happen. In his extraordinary thirst, the young man reached for a melon. The young couple were immediately torn apart. They became the stars Vega and Altair across the Milky Way from each other and can only meet one day a year on the day of Tanabata celebrations in July.

• The Full Text of Tanabata

Japanese Folklore

• All About Japanese Folktales
• New World Encyclopedia: Japanese Folklore and Mythology
• Folktales from Japan
• Japanese Folklore

Hopefully you have enjoyed the above compilation of some the most notorious stories told in Japan; complete without having to worry about booking a flight to Japan or buying travel insurance or even travel medical insurance.