Momotaro is a popular legend in Japanese folklore. It is particularly popular in the Okayama area where a statue depicting the principal characters of the legend stands outside the train station.

The main character of the legend, Momotaro, was found in a peach by an elderly childless couple. The elderly woman found peach in a stream, where she was washing some clothes, while her husband was gathering firewood. Momo means peach in Japanese and Momotaro translates as Peach Boy, Little Peachling or Peach Darling.

The elderly couple raised their adopted son to become a brave and strong youth. A group of ogres, from an island called Onigashima, was plaguing the people of the area in which the family lived. The Japanese word Oni translates as ogre, devil or demon and depending on the translator all three terms along with monster appear as the name of Momotaro’s enemy. Eventually, Momotaro left the family home to battle with the ogres. To sustain him on his journey Momotaro’s mother gave him some of his favorite millet dumplings.

On his journey, Momotaro met three animals a dog, a monkey and a pheasant. These animals joined him in his quest against the ogres in return for some of his mother’s millet dumplings.

When they reached the island, a locked gate barred their way but the pheasant flew over the gate and stole a key to allow the companions admission to the ogres compound. With the bites from the dog scratches from the monkey and pecks from the pheasant plus Momotaro’s fighting skills the companions triumphed over the ogres. Akandoji, the leader of the ogres returned the wealth stolen from the villagers in return for his life. Momotaro then returned home victorious.

Like many legends, the tale of Momotaro has a number of variations. In some, the baby arrives in a box rather than a peach. Another tale says that the elderly couple ate the peach that then rejuvenated them and they had the child after indulging in sex. When getting into the compound of the ogres another form of the legend suggests that the companions made so much noise outside the gates that the ogre’s servants believed they were under attack by an army and opened the gates before running away.

The popularity of the tale of Momotaro in Japanese culture is reflected in the inclusion of references to characters from the story in many anime and manga productions.

Reference Sources:

Japanese Fairy Tales by Teresa Pierce Williston (1911)

Fairytales4u.com

Kids Web Japan

IMDB International Movie Database