| Momotarō | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real name |
Monirtaro |
|
First Appearance |
Japanese folklore of the Edo period (1603–1868) |
|
Original publisher |
Unknown |
|
Created by |
the Japanese people |
Origin[]
Momotarō coming out of a peach.
When a poor, childless couple find a huge peach floating down the river, they bring it home with the intent of eating it but are shocked to find a child inside it who claims to have been sent to them from Heaven. They name him Momotaro and raise him, and he later goes out on his first adventure: fighting hostile Oni (variously described in the English‐language stories as demons, devils, spirits or monsters) on their island with (in most versions) the help of talking animals—a dog, a monkey and a pheasant—that he encounters on the way. The leader of the oni is sometimes named as Akandoji.
Momotaro swinging the magic mallet (uchide no kozuchi), with his animal companions.
He is sometimes portrayed as undertaking his first adventure as a young man, while others portray him as still being a child.
Momotarō was used in wartime propaganda against the U.S. and its Allies and was an immensely popular figure in Japan during World War II, appearing in many wartime films and cartoons. Momotarō represented the Japanese government, and the enemy states, namely the Allies, later including the United States was symbolized by the oni, the demonic figure. One wartime film, in which Momotarō and his animals mount on a military operation for the Japanese Armed Forces (against the British) is Momotarō's Divine Sea Warriors.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Some stories describe him as having great/super strength (with one story from 1874 describing him as being of giant size).
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
Japanese Language:
- Saihan Momotarō mukashigatari (1777)
- Momotarō (1723)
- Enseki zasshi (1811)
- Hina no Ukegi (1798–1861)
- Momotarō takara no kurairi (1830-40)
- Momotarō (1894)
- Kokugo tokuhon (1910)
- Momotarō-shugi no kyōiku (1915)
English Languauge:
- Tales of Old Japan (1871)
- Japanese Fairy Tale (1885)
- Iwaya's Fairy Tales of Old Japan (1903)
- Japanese Fairy Tales (1911)
Public Domain Film Appearances[]
- Momotarou of the Sea / Momotaro's Underwater Adventure (1932)
- Momotarō's Sea Eagles (1942)
- Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors (1945)
Notes[]
- English translations have named him Peach‐Boy, Little Peachling, Son of a Peach, and Peach Darling.
- Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors is public domain because in July 2006, a Japanese court ordered all films produced before 1953, are public domain.
- The Pokemon Pecharunt in Scarlet and Violet for Nintendo Switch was inspired by Momotaro. It is named Momowarou in Japanese.
- The Red Ranger in Avataro Sentai Donbrothers the 46th Super Sentai series is based on the main character from the story of Momotaro.