Jinshirou the Turnip Roaster - A Japanese Folktale
The Man Who Loved Roasted Turnips
A long time ago, there was a young man named Jinshirou who loved to roast turnips and eat them. His love for roasted turnips was so well known that the people in the town where he lived called him Jinshirou the Turnip Roaster. Though the nickname was said with negative connotations, it didn’t bother him, and it didn’t keep him from his daily routine either, which was to go out into his garden, pull up a day’s worth of turnips, then sit down and roast them nice and slowly.
One day, the people in the town where Jinshirou lived got together and had a conversation. The conversation went something like this:
Lately, I’ve been wondering. If Jinshirou the Turnip Roaster had a wife, do you think he would be more likely to help with the work around town.
You know, I’ve been wondering the same thing.
Me too. I think if he got married, he would stop spending all of his days in that damn garden of his roasting turnips, and he would actually become useful around here.
That would be nice, wouldn’t it? Where in the world could we find someone to marry him, though?
Oh my gosh! I think I’ve got an idea.
What is it?
You know Mr. Asahi, right?
The millionaire who lives across town?
Yeah. That’s the one.
What about him?
Well, he has a daughter, and she’s single.
You don’t say.
Shinjirou’s Bride
The following day, a few of the townspeople went to Mr. Asahi the millionaire’s house and they staged a scene for Mr. Asahi to overhear. While carrying some wares and produce in front of the old millionaire’s house, they spoke in loud voices.
That Jinshirou, can you believe how much money he has? I hope I can be that rich someday.
I know what you mean. I do too. And his house, god, I would kill for a house like that.
It’s beautiful, isn’t it?
It’s more than beautiful. It’s the most amazing house I’ve ever seen!
It’s hard to believe he’s still single, isn’t it? If I were younger, I’d go over and try to snatch him up myself.
Overhearing this conversation, Mr. Asahi’s ears perked up. From inside his mansion, he listened attentively. Hmmm, he thought. This sounds like the perfect man for my daughter. Not being a person to hesitate, Mr. Asahi, the millionaire, summoned his daughter at once and sent her to Jinshirou’s house with her trunks and a bridal kimono.
When the townspeople saw Mr. Asahi’s daughter later that afternoon, she was walking across town with two servants who followed behind her carrying two trunks. The townspeople couldn’t believe it. Their plan had worked. The old man had actually sent his daughter to Jinshirou’s house.
The townspeople were ecstatic.
When Mr. Asahi’s daughter arrived at Jinshirou’s house, she was astonished. Never before had she seen such a shack. The walkway was unswept. The paper screens on the doors and windows were yellowed and torn. The roof was sloping. The walls were bulging, and the peculiar smell of roast turnips hung in the air.
The millionaire’s daughter hung her head. Then she saw her future husband sitting in the garden eating roasted turnips, smiling with every bite, and seeming as happy as could be. At this, her heart sunk too. I will never be able to live like this, she thought. And without hesitation, she took the wedding kimono that she came with out of a trunk, marched over to Jinshirou the Turnip Roaster and told him to take her kimono to town, sell it, and return with the money. I may not have any choice about marrying you, she said, but I will not live in a shack like that.
Hearing this, Jinshirou got up, took the bridal kimono from the millionaire’s daughter, and went into town. Upon arriving in town, he went straight to a bridal shop and asked the shopkeeper to buy his wife’s kimono.
Seeing the quality and craftsmanship of the kimono, the shopkeeper became very excited. This is a very, very fine kimono, he said, and then he paid Jinshirou a handsome sum of money for it.
An Encounter With Fate
On his way home, carrying more money than he’d ever had in his life, Jinshirou came upon a very nice garden. On the far edge of the garden there was a hawk trapped in a snare. The hawk was lifting its leg, pulling on the snare, and calling out in a shrill, desperate sounding tone.
That poor bird, thought Jinshirou. I can’t just leave it there crying like that. And then he left the road and made his way over to the place where the hawk was caught in the snare. The hawk looked at Jinshirou nervously at first, but as Jinshirou gently reached out and took the hawk’s leg in his hand, the hawk became calm and looked at Jinshirou with gratitude. When Jinshirou released the hawk’s leg from the snare, the hawk spread its powerful wings and immediately flew off into the sky.
Just as the hawk did so, the farmer who owned the garden and the snare the hawk had been trapped in, came running across the fields shouting, What do you think you're doing? I’ve been trying to catch that bird all week and when I finally catch it you come along and let it go. Who do you think you are?
Hearing this, Jinshirou felt bad about releasing the hawk. I’m really sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I didn’t mean to do you any harm, he said. I thought the bird had been trapped by mistake. I’m really sorry. Jinshirou apologized profusely, but no matter what he said, the farmer wouldn’t forgive him.
After some time, Jinshirou remembered that, for once in his life, he was carrying a lot of money. Needing to be forgiven by the farmer, Jinshirou took out all of the money he had received for his wife’s bridal kimono and, giving it to the farmer, he said, I really am sorry for what I’ve done. Please, accept this money and forgive me.
Having been forgiven by the farmer, Jinshirou resumed his walk home. While walking, he wondered whether his wife would be angry with him or not. As he thought about his wife’s reaction to his story, Jinshirou’s thoughts shifted to the hawk he had released, and thinking about freeing the hawk filled Jinshirou with joy. This joy returned Jinshirou to his normal carefree state and in his relief, Jinshirou thought, Oh well. We’ll be okay. Something will happen, I’m sure. Something always does. And then he continued happily down the road, whistling as he walked.
Before arriving at his house, Jinshirou had to cross a river. An old but wide bridge was in place and as Jinshirou began to cross the bridge, he saw the same hawk he had just released from the farmer’s snare swoop down from the sky toward the far riverbank where it somehow managed to capture a Kappa (a legendary Japanese river creature).
Not believing his eyes, Jinshirou ran across the bridge and looked down at the mysterious river creature with disbelief. He had never seen a kappa before. Until now, he had even doubted their existence, but now, here one was right before his very eyes.
The kappa, with its webbed fingers and frog-like hands called out to Jinshirou: Help me! Help me!
As the kappa spoke, Jinshirou stood in disbelief. He looked at the kappa’s sharp teeth, and the flat dish-like space on top of its head where the magical water that gave kappa their power was supposed to be.
Please, please help me! the kappa continued. If you help me, I’ll give you one of the kappa’s most valuable treasures, a hammer that grants wishes. All you have to do is shake the hammer while making a wish, and your wish will be granted.
Hearing this, Jinshirou turned to the hawk and said Let the kappa go! I helped you, now you help me.
As soon as Jinshirou said this, the hawk released the kappa and flew away.
Upon being released, the kappa stood up, thanked Jinshirou for coming to his rescue, bowed, and then dove down to the bottom of the river where it went to retrieve its wishing hammer. As promised, the kappa gave Jinshirou the hammer, explained how to use it once more, then disappeared back into the river.
Jinshirou’s House
When Jinshirou got home, he called to his wife. Come here. Come here. I’m home. Hurry up. Come here.
The moment his wife appeared before him, Jinshirou shook the kappa’s hammer and said, Give me rice. Give me rice. No sooner had he said these words than piles of new, beautiful polished rice appeared all around him and his wife. Seeing this, Jinshirou’s wife’s eyes opened wide in astonishment.
What is that? she asked, barely able to contain her excitement. But Jinshirou didn’t take the time to explain, he just started shaking the hammer and making wishes one after another.
Give me the nicest house in the land.
Dress my wife and I in the most beautiful kimonos that ever were.
Fill my garden with turnips for roasting.
On and on he went, making wish after wish. When he finally finished, both he and his wife stood before a manor of unfathomable extravagance, clothed in kimonos of never before seen splendor, surrounded by gardens overflowing with turnips, vegetables, and fruits. Money lined their wallets, and smiles decorated their faces.
Suddenly blessed with such incredible new circumstances, the happy couple sent a letter to Mr. Asahi and his wife inviting them to dinner the following day. Upon arriving, Mr. Asahi the millionaire’s mouth dropped open wide. Never before had he seen such a residence.
My gosh! This house is absolutely amazing, he exclaimed. My daughter, you must be so happy. I, myself, can’t believe how happy I am just to see you dressed like this. You really have married well, haven’t you?
That night, when it came time for Mr. Asahi and his wife to return home, his daughter asked, Father, won’t you consider spending the night here?
But her father felt reserved about accepting his daughter’s invitation and answered, Your mother and I, we couldn’t possibly impose on two young newlyweds such as yourselves. We understand that you need your time alone, so we will return home tonight.
Not happy with her father’s answer, Jinshirou’s wife tried again, But it is so dark outside, and I worry about you. The way home might not be safe at this hour.
Again her father refused her invitation. As the conversation continued, Jinshirou appeared carrying the kappa’s hammer and a lit torch. My wife, my dear, he said. If you are worried about your parents traveling down such a dark road, let us light their way home. Then he shook the kappa’s hammer and said, Light the road to Mr. Asahi’s house.
No sooner had he spoken these words than the fire of his torch leapt to the walls of his house and quickly spread to the ceiling. In surprise, Jinshirou, Mr. Asahi, and their two wives ran from the burning house and crossed the street to safety. Before them was a fire such as no one had ever seen. The fire was so bright it lit up the countryside and the nearby town as if it were daytime. From where they stood, the four of them could all clearly see down the road that led straight into town and beyond, all the way to Mr. Asahi’s mansion.
Oh my gosh! What a shame! Mr. Asahi exclaimed while looking at the burning house. What will the two of you do?
Giddy with laughter, both Jinshirou and his wife answered, Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine. This is nothing. And then they pointed off into the distance and said, As you can see, the road to your house is very well lit and it will continue to be so for as long as our house is on fire, which will probably be a very long time. So please, don’t worry, just go home, and take your time getting there.
And in this way, Jinshirou and his wife saw the Mr. Asahi the millionaire and his wife off into the night.
Note: This is a Steemit original interpretation of an old Japanese folktale. The text that I used to loosely base this interpretation on can be found here: カブ焼き甚四郎.
Image Sources: Turnip Image, Woman Image, Kappa Image, House Image.
