Momotaro and His Oni Nemesis

What happens when you feel a wistful longing for children but can’t conceive any naturally? You are granted one by the deities, delivered inside a giant peach. Well, at least this is the dawning of one of Japan’s most enduring folktale and popular hero – Momotaro (桃太郎. lit. Peach Boy). His old foster mother was washing clothes by the river and a giant peach floated down the waters. Inside the luscious fruit, she and her husband found a nice little baby-boy, whom they adopted and raised as their own.

When Momotaro grew up, he left his parents and went to Onigashima (Demon Island) to fight the Oni (demons, ogres) who wrecked havoc by plundering their land. On route, he met a dog and bought his loyalty in exchange for a kibi dango (millet dumpling), Momotaro’s mother had prepared for him to take in this endeavour. Next, Momotaro came across a monkey and like the dog, recruited him to his group by paying him with another kibi dango. And last, but not least, a pheasant joined the oddly matching army, taking one of the remaining dumpling. At Onigashima, the stoic warriors engaged in a feisty combat against the dissidents and came out victorious. The Oni surrendered and in exchange for their lives, handed over to Momotaro all the gold, jewels, and treasures they had looted in the past.

Momotaro returned to his parents as a hero and a rich young man. Although the oral version of Momotaro’s folktale emerged during the Muromachi Period (1392 – 1573), it was not set down in writing until the Edo Period (1603 –1868). Regardless, Momotaro’s character remained stable throughout those years – he was a hero who instilled patriotism, he was taught at schools as an ideal model for young kids, for his kind-heartedness, bravery, power, and care for his parents. Yet, the Oni adopted many different incarnations. Invariably evil and an enemy of the Japanese, they were used as war propaganda icon, analogised with the Qing dynasty of China during the Sino-Japanese War; with the Russians during the Russo-Japanese War and with the US and their allies during the WWII.