Author · 1884–1950
楠山正雄Kusuyama Masao · くすやま まさお
Kusuyama Masao (1884–1950) was a Japanese writer, editor and translator who did much to shape children's literature in modern Japan. He studied at Waseda University and was also active in theatre, working as a critic and translator of Western drama. He is best remembered for his retellings of Japanese folk tales and legends for young readers. His retellings are written in clear, rhythmic Japanese meant to be read aloud.
Stories by Kusuyama Masao
ねずみの嫁入り — The Finest Match in All the Land
This is Kusuyama Masao's retelling of a traditional Japanese folktale, told in the gentle voice of a storyteller reading aloud to children. A well-off mouse couple has a daughter so lovely that they decide only the greatest being in the…
舌切りすずめ — The Sparrow with the Snipped Tongue
This is one of Japan's best-known folktales, retold by Kusuyama Masao in a warm, gently old-fashioned storyteller's voice. A kindly old man keeps a young sparrow as a pet. While he is away, the sparrow licks up his wife's laundry starch…
花咲かじじい — Grandpa Blossom
花咲かじじい is one of Japan's best-known folktales, retold by Kusuyama Masao in the gentle, polite voice of a storyteller reading aloud to children. An honest, kind old couple live next door to a greedy pair. When the honest couple's beloved dog…
かちかち山 — Click-Clack Mountain
かちかち山 is one of Japan's best-known folktales, told here in a retelling by Kusuyama Masao. It opens like a typical 'mukashi mukashi' story: an old man, his wife, and a raccoon dog (tanuki) who keeps ruining the old man's field. It quickly…
桃太郎 — The Boy Who Came from a Peach
This is Kusuyama Masao's retelling of Momotarō, perhaps Japan's best-known folk tale: a baby boy bursts out of a giant peach, grows up strong and kind, and sets off with millet dumplings to face the ogres of distant Onigashima. Along the…
猿かに合戦 — A Persimmon Seed for a Rice Ball
This is Kusuyama Masao's retelling of 猿かに合戦, one of Japan's best-known folktales. A crafty monkey cheats a crab out of a rice ball, then out of the persimmons from the tree the crab patiently grew. When the monkey's greed turns deadly, the…
浦島太郎 — Urashima Tarō and the Palace Under the Sea
This is Kusuyama Masao's retelling of Urashima Tarō, one of Japan's best-known folktales. A kind young fisherman from the shore of Mizunoe in Tango Province rescues a turtle from a group of village children. The grateful turtle later…