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Book/Printed Material The Old Man Who Made the Dead Trees Blossom.

About this Item

Title

  • The Old Man Who Made the Dead Trees Blossom.

Summary

  • Presented here is a compact watojihon (book bound in a traditional Japanese bookbinding style) containing pictures and text that are woodblock-printed on textureless paper called hiragami (flat paper). Kobunsha, the publishing company managed by Takejirō Hasegawa, started to translate and publish Nihon Mukashibanashi (Japanese fairy tale series) in 1885. Hanasaki Jiji (The old man who made the dead trees blossom) is a story from the series. It tells of a nice old married couple who kept a pet dog. One day when they dug at a place indicated by the dog, they found many gold coins. A greedy man who lived next door was envious and borrowed the dog. He forced the dog to search for such a place, but when he dug up the ground there he found only dirt. The greedy old man became angry, killed the dog and buried it under a pine tree. The tree grew vigorously and the nice old man used the wood to make a mortar. When he pounded barley in it, it would fill with so many barley grains that they spilled out. When the greedy old man saw this, he borrowed the mortar. However, when he pounded the barley, he only produced cracked and insect-ridden grain. Furious, he burnt the mortar. When the nice old man scattered the ashes from the burnt mortar over a dead tree, it blossomed and the old man was richly rewarded by the local lord. However, when the greedy old man scattered the ashes over a dead tree, they were blown by the wind into the lord's eyes. The greedy old man was seized and met a terrible fate.

Names

  • Kobayashi, Eitaku, 1843-1890 Illustrator.
  • Thompson, David, 1835-1915 Translator.

Created / Published

  • Tokyo : Kobunsha, 1885.

Headings

  • -  Japan
  • -  1885
  • -  Fairy tales
  • -  Woodcuts

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 15 pages ; 19 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: National Diet Library.
  • -  Content in English and Japanese.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021666955

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Kobayashi, Eitaku, Illustrator, and David Thompson. The Old Man Who Made the Dead Trees Blossom. Tokyo: Kobunsha, 1885. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666955/.

APA citation style:

Kobayashi, E. & Thompson, D. (1885) The Old Man Who Made the Dead Trees Blossom. Tokyo: Kobunsha. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666955/.

MLA citation style:

Kobayashi, Eitaku, Illustrator, and David Thompson. The Old Man Who Made the Dead Trees Blossom. Tokyo: Kobunsha, 1885. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021666955/>.