MOMOTARŌ 桃太郎
Pronunciation: MOH-moh-TAH-roh
Translation: The Peach Boy
Overview
Of the three big mythical folk heroes listed in this book—Kintarō, Urashima Tarō, and Momotarō—it is Momotarō who is the best known, both in Japan and abroad. Also known as the “Peach Boy,” he’s notorious for his bravery, strength, and kindheartedness.
In artwork, you’ll see him depicted with his three animal friends: a monkey, a dog, and a pheasant. Any one of them might be carrying a banner flag that reads “Nihon Ichi (日本一),” or “Number One in Japan.” Momotarō is usually dressed in fancy samurai attire with a white hachimaki headband tied around his head, and he carries a folding fan and a sword. Tied to his waist is a bag of kibidango, or millet dumplings (see sidebar at the end of this entry), which are popular in Okayama Prefecture.
Sometime in the 1930s, the idea came about that Okayama Prefecture was the birthplace of Momotarō. Much like how Kintarō is thought to be the real samurai Sakata no Kintoki as a child, someone suggested Momotarō might actually have been the hero Kibitsuhiko no Mikoto (吉備津彦命), the son of the seventh emperor (Emperor Kōrei), as a youth.
Since then, there has been a concerted effort to promote Okayama Prefecture as the birthplace of Momotarō. Although there are quite a few parallels, as you’ll see in the following stories, some Momotarō enthusiasts refuse to believe the marketing campaigns.
Legend says that there was a brutal oni (ogre-like creature) named Ura (sometimes called Onra) who lived in a castle called Kinojō (鬼ノ城), literally Oni Castle. Ura brought suffering and chaos to everyone who lived near, yet no one was brave enough to try and oust him. It was only when the courageous Kibitsuhiko no Mikoto came along with three friends that the brutal ogre was finally conquered. After killing Ura, in order to avoid a curse the oni might place on them—even after its death—they put his head under a cauldron and buried it under the castle. Kinojō Castle’s 1,300-year-old remains are still standing in Sōja City, Okayama Prefecture today.
Background and Popular Stories
Momotarō’s story was passed down orally—changing naturally as it was told and retold—long before it was written down in the Edo era (1603–1867). A typical version you’ll find in children’s books goes like this.
Long ago, there was a kind old man and a kind old woman. They lived all alone in the hills, satisfied and happy with their simple life. At night, after an honest hard day’s work, they would sit and reminisce about how good things were, except for one thing they truly missed: a child to love and dote on.
One day, following their normal routine, the old man trekked into the forest to cut wood while the old woman tottered over to the river to do laundry. But this day was different. As the old woman was scrubbing their clothes, she looked up to see a large peach floating down the rapids toward her. Shocked, she called to her husband, who came running, and together the two carried the peach into the house.
Excited about the unexpected treat, the old man lifted his axe to slice the peach in half, but just before he swung, out popped a small boy, who announced he had been sent by the gods to become their loving son. Elated, the couple named the boy Momotarō and loved and cherished him. Soon, though, they realized he wasn’t like other children. Aside from being hatched from a giant fruit, he was incredibly strong. By the age of five, he was sawing down trees with dull knives.
When he was a little older, he announced that it was time for him to go to the wicked island of Onigashima (Ogre Island) and conquer the oni who terrorized the land and stole all the people’s riches.
His parents were sad and worried but supported their son. His mother gave him a pouch filled with kibidango (millet dumplings), and together his aging parents sent him off. Along the way to Onigashima, Momotarō met and befriended three animals: a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant. He gave them some of his mother’s kibidango in exchange for their help in battling the oni. The four reached the island, fought the oni, and won. They gathered and returned all the treasure that had been pilfered from the villagers throughout the years, then returned home heroes.
A much older—and much less child-friendly—version of the story doesn’t have Momotarō springing from the peach. Instead, the elderly couple devour the peach, which causes them to get frisky—and fertile—again. Ten months later, the old woman gives birth to the boy, and they name him after that mysterious, magical aphrodisiac fruit.
In Modern Stories
In the early- to mid-1940s, Momotarō’s adventure with his animal friends and their defeat of the oni probably felt like the perfect metaphor as Japan entered World War II. That could be why the naval ministry ordered animator, screenwriter, and director Mitsuyo Seo to put out two animated films featuring the popular hero in a much more contemporary dilemma. And that’s how the beloved Momotarō got caught up and used in war propaganda.
The two films in question are the thirty-seven-minute-long Momotaro’s Sea Eagles (1943) and its sequel, the seventy-four-minute Momotaro: Sacred Sailors, sometimes called Momotaro’s Divine Sea Warriors (1945), which was also the first feature-length animated film in Japan. Both show Momotarō and his adorable animal buddies battling their enemy—not on the distant Onigashima but in much less fictional places: aboard a ship, in a Zero fighter, and on a much different island.
It’s said the naval ministry showed Mitsuyo Seo Disney’s Fantasia for inspiration, but he undoubtedly, somewhere along the line, also watched the then-popular-in-the-West cartoon Popeye. This is evident in the fact that the main adversary in Momotaro: Sacred Sailors (the American) was drawn as the spitting image of Bluto but with a single horn on his head à la an oni. Instead of popping a can of spinach, the cute animal pilots noshed on kibidango and flexed their muscles to show the miraculous effect.
Using the likeness of Momotarō for propaganda purposes wasn’t new to World War II, though. In both the Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), cartoonish images of the kindhearted Peach Boy preparing for battle were also used.
In even more modern times, Momotarō, like folk heroes Kintarō and Urashima Tarō, pops up often in games, manga, anime, and comics. There’s the Nintendo Switch game Momotaro Dentetsu and the manga series YuYu Hakusho, where he’s imagined as an anti-Momotarō known as Kuro Momotarō (Black Momotarō) or, in the English language version, Poison Peach Boy. There’s also a Chicago-based Japanese restaurant that opened in 2014 called Momotaro, a Momotarō cocktail that comes complete with a splash of peach wine, and Momotaro Jeans, which have a logo featuring the Peach Boy wearing a pair of jeans and standing behind an oversized peach.