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  • Setsubun or Bean Throwing Festival (Around February 3rd)
  • Mythical creatures
  • Seasons/months
  • Kanji numbers
 
Story Overview
 

This is a story of an oni that lived in the mountains and helped a farmer in return for his daughter's hand in marriage. When the oni takes his wife into the mountains to live with him she drops mustard seeds along the way to help her find her way back home.
 
 
Cultural Notes
 
Setsubun 　 Around February 3 (or 4) is Setsubun (Bean-throwing Ceremony). The festival is based on the old Chinese lunar calendar. Setsubun is the time to drive out bad luck, sickness and misfortune from the old year and to welcome good luck, health and fortune into the new year though the ritual of mame-maki (bean-throwing). Setsubun also refers to the division between winter and spring.
　 　 　
Oni 　 See こぶとりじいさん
 
 
Web Links
 
 
Language Concepts
 
  • "oni wa soto fuku wa uchi"
  • leave taking - itte kimasu, itte rasshai, tadaima, okaerinasai
  • "shikata ga nai"
  • numbers and months of the year
  • onomatopoeia - gorogoro, don don don
　
Characters
　 　
  • Narrator x 2
  • Oni
  • Otoosan
  • Okaasan
  • Daughter (Musume) 1
  • Daughter (Musume) 2
  • Daughter (Musume) 3- Kaiko
　
　 　
　
SCENE 1 - On a mountaintop
　
ナレーター 1 　 むかし　むかし　あるところに　おにが　 すんで　いました。
　 　 　
ナレーター 2 　 Once upon a time on a mountain top there lived an oni
　 　 　
ナレーター１ 　 おには　やまに　ひとりで　すんで　いました。
ひとりぼっちの　おには　はなよめさんを　 さがして　います。
　 　 　
ナレーター 2 　 He lived by himself on the mountain and was so lonely that he decided to find himself a bride.
　 　 　
SCENE 2 - In the village
ナレーター１ 　 やまを　おりて、おとうさんに　あいました。
　 　 　
ナレーター２ 　 He climbed down the mountain and came across a farmer looking sadly at his dry rice field.
　 　 　
おに 　 こんにちは。　どうしたんですか。
　 　 　
おとうさん 　 あ、　こんにちは。　あめが　ぜんぜん　ふりません。　はあ、　こまった …
　 　 　
ナレーター２ 　 The farmer explained that his rice fields were so dry they needed rain badly.
　 　 　
おに 　 あめ？　じゃ、　あめを　よびましょうか。　　
　 　 　
おとうさん 　 ええ、　おねがいします。
　 　 　
おに 　 じゃ、　そのかわりに　おまえの　むすめと　けっこんするぞ。
　 　 　
おとうさん 　 しかたが　ない…
　 　 　
ナレーター２ 　 The oni said he could make it rain but he wanted the hand of the farmer's daughter in exchange. The farmer had no choice and agreed to the oni's demands.
　 　 　
ナレーター１ 　 かみなりが　ごろごろ　なりました。 　あめ が　ふりはじめました。
　 　 　
　 　 (The sound of thunder begins and rain starts falling)
　 　 　
ナレーター２ 　 Thunder rumbled and the rain came down much to the delight of the villagers. But the farmer knew that he would have to hand over one of his daughters to the oni. The daughters said:
　 　 　
むすめ　１ 　 だめです。　わたしは　もう　けっこんして　います。
　 　 　
むすめ　２ 　 だめです。　わたしは　いそがしいです。
　 　 　
かいこ　　　 　 しかたが　ない。　じゃ、　わたしが　おにと けっこんします。
　 　 　
ナレーター　２ 　 The eldest daughter was already married. The second eldest daughter said she was too busy. So the youngest daughter Kaiko said goodbye to her parents and sisters and headed off with the oni to his mountain home.
　 　 　
かいこ 　 さようなら！
　 　 　
みんな 　 さようなら！　
　 　 　
　 　 (As they head off, the mother puts a bag of seeds in her daughter's coat pocket. Tiny mustard seeds drop out of her coat pocket on to the ground)
　 　 　
ナレーター　２ 　 As they headed off Kaiko's mother secretly placed a bag of mustard seed in her coat pocket. As Kaiko travelled up the mountain the seeds slowly trickled out on to the ground.
　 　 　
SCENE 3 - In the oni's cave in the mountain
おに 　 やさいと　こめが　ないぞ。　さがしに　いって　くるぞ。
　 　 　
かいこ 　 いってらっしゃい！　(she sighs) 　はあ、　さびしいなあ…
　 　 　
ナレーター　２ 　 Although the oni was kind to Kaiko she missed her family terribly. The months slipped by.
　 　 　
ナレーター　１ 　 九月(くがつ)、十月(じゅうがつ)、十一月(じゅういちがつ)、十二月(じゅうにがつ)、一月(いちがつ)、二月(にがつ)…
　 　 　
　 　 (As each month is counted off、 a giant page of a calendar is torn off to indicate the passing of time)
　 　 　
かいこ　 　 もう三月(さんがつ)。　はるですね。　
あら！　 きいろい　はな！　きれいですね。
　 　 　
ナレーター２ 　 As Kaiko emerged from the cave she saw bright yellow flowers stretching down the side of the mountain. The seeds from her pocket had started to grow. Excitedly she ran all the way home to her family.
　 　 　
SCENE 4- Family home
かいこ 　 ただいま！
　 　 　
みんな 　 かいこ！　おかえりなさい！　おいしい　しょくじを　 つくりましょう。
　 　 　
ナレーター　２ 　 In honour of their daughter's return the family cooked up some beans.
　 　 　
ナレーター　１ 　 みんな、かいこの　かえりを　よろこびすぎて　まめを　にているのを　わすれて　しまいました。
まめは、　はいに　なって　しまいました。
　 　 　
ナレーター　２ 　 Everyone was so delighted at Kaiko's return that they forgot about the beans boiling over the fire. They had burned into ashes. Just then they heard a loud banging on the front door. It was the oni.
　 　 　
おに 　 かいこは　どこだ！
　 　 　
おかあさん 　 この　まめを　もって、　うちに　かえって　ください。
そして、　にわに　うえて　ください。
かいこは、 はなが　さくころ　うちに　かえるでしょう。
　 　 　
ナレーター２ 　 Kaiko's mother told the oni to plant the burnt beans and when the flowers grew Kaiko would return to him.
　 　 　
　 　 (The oni returns home and plants the seeds)
　 　 　
おに 　 三月(さんがつ)、四月(しがつ)、五月(ごがつ)、六月(ろくがつ)、七月(しちがつ)、八月(はちがつ)…
　 　 　
　 　 (As each month is counted off、 a giant page of a calendar is torn off to indicate the passing of time)
　 　 　
おに 　 まだ　なにも　でて　こない。
　 　 　
ナレーター２ 　 Nothing grew.
　 　 　
おに 　 九月(くがつ)、十月(じゅうがつ)、十一月(じゅういちがつ)、十二月(じゅうにがつ)、一月(いちがつ)、二月(にがつ)
まだ　なにも　でて　こない。
　 　 　
ナレーター　２ 　 Again nothing grew. The oni grew angry and he went down to the village and pounded on the door of the farmer.
　 　 　
おに 　 かいこは　どこだ！
　 　 　
ナレーター２ 　 Picking up a handful of roasted beans the farmer threw them at the oni and said:
　 　 　
おとうさん 　 おには　そと、　かいこは　うち！
Out with the oni and Kaiko stay in!
　 　 　
ナレーター　２ 　 The oni who was not very clever picked up the beans and said he would try planting these beans as they might turn into flowers. He returned home to plant them.
ナレーター　１ 　 　
　 　 Legend says that even today in that part of Japan every spring people throw out a handful of burnt beans and say "Oni out and happiness in".
　 　 　
　 　

　　

　 　 　 ＊　This story came from a NSW Dept of Education and Training School Magazine.
　
　
　
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