"Once Upon A Time in Japan" Project Makes Us Want To Hunt Down All the Japanese Variants of These Tales

(Please note: credit not given on project page to identify the artist who created the banner)

 "What if fairy tales of our childhood would have happened in old Japan?"

That's the question put to a group of illustrators in Spain for a collaborative project in 2017, which makes for an interesting intercultural study of both fairy tales and Japanese folklore as seen and combined by outside peoples (both the stories, all of which shown here are referring to the German origin in the tales, even more than the American Disney lens, as well as Spanish interpretation of Japanese storytelling, culture, and folkloric characters).

Snow White by Aitor Prieto

There's definitely a subtext here showing how universal the tales of fairy tales are; that they are human stories, but we very much wish this project had included Japanese illustrators in the mix and had been expanded to Japanese writers, so they would write those stories rooted in their culture, as suggested by the illustrations.

Red Riding Hood by Nuria Tamarit

We feel there's a lot that could be unpacked here, in both positive and negative terms, but for now, we are thrilled to see a different lens applied to well-known fairy tales, which helps everyone look at them differently, and reminds people that people all over the world are people and that these tales resonate, no matter what form they take. 

Bremen Town Musicians by Xulia Vicente

It's not an approach without some risk though, For example, it is a little jarring to see a Japanese version of Cinderella as your brain figures out the multiple issues it just hit on. For one, most fairy tale fans these days are aware that one of the oldest variants found was from China (not Japan) and the illustration below isn't, perhaps, as clearly Japanese in style and design as it could be to distinguish this a different interpretation. To add further disruption, the character fondly considered to be the "Japanese Cinderella", Chūjō-hime, is depicted quite differently due to the fact that there is no "shoe" and "prince". Or perhaps that's just us being picky. Whatever the case, these are important conversations to have when considering other cultures, but it's also worth acknowledging that this doesn't make the idea of considering other settings (and how to represent that) as being invalid. The commonality is a love of fairy tales in "different clothes" and that can be very unifying. The important key here, though, is that a common love of something, while good, isn't enough. Using that commonality, however, to open the door to respectful and constructive conversations that aid proper representation can build bridges and bonds where nothing else could. (Yay for fairy tales!)

Cinderella by Alfonso Salazar

It's no secret that one of the big reasons we at Once Upon A Blog love fairy tales so much is that they show us how the human experience is the same all over the world while simultaneously showcasing just how widely variant the flavors of those experiences can be; they celebrate our shared experience as well as our cultural differences, and, as complicated as explaining those two things can be, fairy tales do it simply and clearly, and encourage an appreciation of people and peoples from every corner of the planet.

Continue scrolling down for some more lovely, interesting, and thought-provoking interpretations!

Bluebeard by Marina Vidal

The Wolf & the Seven Six Kids by Cristian Robles

Snow Queen by Aliz Fernandez

Sleeping Beauty by Miquel Muerto

Pinocchio by David Navarro

Puss In Boots by Paco Sordo

Snow White (Evil White) by Raquel Rodenas

There are more illustrations we haven't included here, so be sure to go check out all the various artist's contributions on Behance HERE.

The illustrators involved in this project are: 

Aitor Prieto, Alicia Fernández, Héctor Molina Fernández, David Navarro, Raquel Ródenas, Paco Sordo, MªLaura Brenlla, Elena Serrato, Jordi Villaverde, Michael Sanchez, Miquel Muerto, Cristian Robles, Adrián Rodríguez, Xulia Vicente, Núria Tamarit, Marina Vidal

All the individual portfolios can be found via this project page by scrolling to the bottom and seeing the list of "owners" for the project.

Are you pumped to read some Japanese "fairy" tales? We recommend the book "Once Upon A Time in Japan" by Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Nhk) (Author) Roger Pulvers (Translator) Juliet Carpenter (Translator), to get you started, though there are many beautiful individual-tale books and collections out there. [Please note this book has no relation to the project in this post!] Each Japanese tale (told in Japanese but translated to English) is illustrated by a Japanese artist, with an eye to representing their beloved tales and culture beautifully and magically for modern readers. (Amazon has a great preview showcasing the variety of illustrations used for different tales, which you can see HERE.)

Here is the blurb and a list of the tales included:

When wily animals, everyday people and magical beings come together in a collection of Japanese fairy tales, wonderful things are bound to happen.

Each story is brilliantly illustrated by a different talented Japanese artist. The tales recounted here are among Japan's oldest and most beloved stories. Entertaining and filled with subtle folk wisdom, these retold stories have been shared countless times in Japanese homes and schools for generations. Like good stories from every time and place, they never grow old. Kids (and their parents ) will enjoy hearing these stories read aloud on the accompanying CD.

The fairy tales and classic stories in this collection include:

• The Wife Who Never Eats--the story of a man who learns the hard way the evils of stinginess.
• The Mill of the Sea--the story of how a greedy man was responsible for the saltiness of seawater.
• The Monkey and the Crab--the crabs teach a tricky monkey a lesson in fairness and honesty.
• The Magical Hood--an act of kindness reaps great rewards.
• Sleepyhead Taro and the Children--a story about what can be accomplished at the right time, and with the right help and the right spirit.
• The Fox and the Otter--how a fox pays the price of deceit and selfishness.
• The Gratitude of the Crane--a story about the rewards of kindness and the danger of curiosity.
• The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter--a girl who starts life very tiny turns out to be big in many ways.

Worzel Gummidge, Our Favorite Talking Scarecrow, Is About To Get A New (Contemporary) Head

What is it about talking pumpkin heads and scarecrows? Why are we so fascinated with these characters? Though Jack Skellington was a talking Pumpkin King of a different kind, there have been talking farm constructs coming to life in tales well before Baum's Oz version and they continue to hold a fascination with kids - and adults! - today, and not just in the West. Children's tales are almost always a homegrown version, literally!, of a naive and/or mischievous clown (except for the Japanese versions, which we will mention further down in the post) but still retain their potential for darkness*.

If you have any UK children's television in your upbringing, you're probably familiar with a certain walking, talking scarecrow and his many adventures on Scatterbrook Farm. Thanks to a popular TV series created in the late 1970's, Worzel Gummidge, the comical scarecrow with interchangeable heads, (he has one for every important situation) and his true love/femme fatale Aunt Sally, a life-sized fairground doll, brought magic to farms (and backyards) everywhere.

Well that series, specifically the original children's books the TV series was adapted from, written in the 1930s by Barbara Euphan Todd, is about to get a reboot by the BBC - which means Worzle is about to get a new head: that of Mackenzie Crook.

A representative for Mackenzie Crook, spoke to BBC.com stating he's working on:

"...a new contemporary adaptation of the original Worzel Gummidge books. It's in the very early stages of development, so scripts have not yet been written".

Mackenzie Crook (left) Jon Pertwee as Worzel Gummidge (right)

We have to wonder what "contemporary adaptation" means. Factory farms? Organic grower farms? Will it have an eco-friendly/save-the-planet angle to it? Or will it be Worzel Gummidge discovers social media and Starbucks... and AI..?! (Ah the possibilities for terrible, yet hilarious, things!)

We've included some pages from the 1971 annual which combines some of the adventures of Worzel Gummidge with illustrations from the books, which the delightful text giving insights to this wonderfully bizarre character. (You can read all the pages HERE.)

Though it's difficult to look at images from the original show and not be a little concerned about this odd-looking, vagrant-type, clown-character giving today's children nightmares, Jon Pertwee (yes, a.k.a. Doctor Who) played this mischievous character in such a way as it was impossible not to find him hilarious and sympathetic, even as he caused a lot of trouble for the two children of Scatterbrook Farm who knew him to be alive, and we hope that same trait will exist in any modern adaptation as well.

We are including this clip below specifically to show the opening titles as it's one of the better recordings/transfers currently available. Even watching only a few minutes further beyond the opening, it's easy to see why the knuckle-headed character was so beloved:

There is an interesting book available (published in 2016) that tells the story of the original TV series and goes behind the scenes. We haven't had a chance to look at much of it, but what we've seen is worth a second look. It can be found for purchase HERE.

Worzel Gummidge's 'creator' (in the story) was The Crowman, who created many living scarecrows and friends for Worzel, a few of which appeared in the show. He was a fascinating character too, worthy of a whole series just about his mysterious existence and job. Here's a clip from an episode in which he features. As a bonus you get to hear a little of '"scarecrow-ease", the language of scarecrows, which Pertwee pulled off flawlessly, delighting generations of kids and inspiring to create their own scarecrow-ease (annoying generations of parents everywhere):

We mentioned earlier that it wasn't just the West that is fascinated with agricultural man-like constructs. Japan in particular, has scarecrow festivals and shrines dedicated to them but they're a little different to the bumbling idiots causing trouble (or the nightmare-inducing creatures) we're familiar with. Japanese scarecrows are knowledgeable and wise:

In Japan... there’s even a shrine dedicated to the scarecrow. It’s called Kuehiko Shrine and it’s in Nara, near Osaka. 

In direct opposition to L. Frank Baum’s brainless creation, the scarecrow of Japanese folklore is meant to be very knowledgeable. Kuebiko is worshipped as the god of agriculture or scholarship and wisdom, kind of like the Western owl. Here (FTNH Ed. - at this Google Earth link) you can see where Japanese visitors have written their wishes on boards and hung them up outside the shrine dedicated to the scarecrow. 

In Japanese children’s books, scarecrows are kindly creatures**. Japan also imports books from overseas, and those tend to feature kind scarecrows, too. (Read more about scarecrows in children's stories here at SlapHappyLarry's site HERE)

Incidentally, in the Worzel Gummidge TV series, the actor who played The Crowman, Geoffrey Bayldon, also played another magical character, starring as the title character of Catweazle - another fabulous fantasy show that appeals to fairy tale folk, in which an accidental-time-traveling wizard comes from the 1300's (if memory serves) to the future (as in the 1960's) and not only has to come to terms with "elec-trickery" but is trying to figure out how to get back home. (Worse still his magic sometimes actually works...)

* We do not need to mention The Wicker Man, do we?
** Related to, and perhaps inspired by, the scarecrow, Japanese urban legend yokai has the kunekune. This is a long, slender white guy (or black in the city) who hangs around paddy fields. It's made out of fabric or paper, with the name being mimetic, describing how it twists about in the wind (like one of those windsock dancers used for advertising).  The kunekune has quite a dark side and can be paralleled with The Slender Man of the West. If you hold the gaze of a kunekune too long, you can go insane. You can read more about the kunekune urban legend HERE. [Info adapted and expanded from SlapHappyLarry.]

'Mary and The Witch's Flower' Opens in Japan to Great Acclaim & Thumbs Up by Miyazaki

You may not have heard of this new film that has a serious Studio Ghibli vibe, but take a look at why you want this one on your radar!

We've included the three trailers so you can see a range of the goodies awaiting - all three are worth watching for a different perspective on the film:

'Mary and The Witch's Flower' is based on the 1971 English children's novel by Mary Stewart (yes, that Mary Stewart!), 'The Little Broomstick' and is considered a simple 'proto-Harry Potter' type of story. The movie itself shows a lot of Ghibli-like magic, style and Miyazaki-ish imagination, even as it pays close attention to it's source material.

The story is based off a very short novel. The greatest strength of the original story was its vivid and lyrical descriptions, making the world it takes place in feel very tangible despite the brevity of its plot. This same quality is on display in the film, too, which succeeds more because of its attention to detail than anything else. Even brief asides in the novel like “The little broomstick gave a leap, a violent twist, a kick like the kick of a pony” are faithfully recreated in visual form. (Animenewsnetwork)

Here's a brief introduction to the novel, taken from a non-spoilery review:

‘Nothing, thought Mary, nothing could ever happen here’ ‘Everywhere was damp, and decay, and the end of summer’; but then a small black green-eyed cat appears, and adventure and magic begin.
The cat leads Mary to a clump of unusual purple flowers that she shows to Zebedee the gardener at Red Manor, who names both the cat (Tib) and the blooms (fly-by-night). Zebedee also tells Mary of the folklore surrounding the flower , including: ‘And ’tis said that in the olden days the witches sought her [the flower] from the corners of the Black Mountains, and from the place where the old city was and there’s now naught but a pool o’ water’. 

...While sweeping up leaves with a small broom, Mary accidentally smears the broom in the juice of a fly-by-night flower. Immediately, ‘the little broomstick gave a leap, a violent twist, a kick like the kick of a pony’ and Mary and Tib are transported by flying broomstick to Endor College, school of witchcraft. Endor is no Hogwarts: Madam Mumblechook believes that Mary has come to enrol at the school to learn skills such as ‘Turning milk sour, blighting turnips, making the cows go dry’. The ill-wishing of the spells is underlined by the sourness of the rhymes used in the spells: nursery-rhymes that ‘slipped somehow, so that the result was not ordinary, or even nice at all.’ But then Mary makes a sinister discovery about animals that have been ‘transformed’ and begins to wonder if she will be allowed to leave Endor. She does manage to return to Red Manor, only to find that the cat Tib has been kept captive at the College. 

True to the spirit of a Mary Stewart heroine, Mary decides to go back to rescue Tib, which leads to further adventure and dangers as Mary releases all of the animals, breaks the transformation spell and flees Endor College. (extracted from a review at MaryStewartReading)

We recommend reading the whole review for a good overview of the book and it's themes in context of today. What Studio Ponoc does with those themes and ideas, we've yet to see, of course, but it's intriguing to have this as background.

The new studio producing 'Mary and The Witch's Flower', Studio Ponoc, is being considered "the new Studio Ghibli" - or, more accurately "Studio Ghibli 2.0". 

As Miyazaki slips out of retirement (for the sixth?? time) to finish another short film, 'Boro the Caterpillar' for the exclusive Ghibli Museum theater presentations, it's clear that even with blessed longevity, he can't keep un-retiring forever, and speculation mounts as to 'who will be the new Miyazaki?'. (Answer: no one!)

Director of 'Mary and The Witch's Flower', Hiromasa Yonebayashi (director of 'Arriety' and 'When Marnie Was There') is considered a protegé of Miyazaki with this being his third feature film (and his first since leaving Studio Ghibli). Miyazaki - a notoriously critical director - has officially given it his thumbs-up, which is a huge deal. While no one will ever 'do Miyazaki like Miyazaki', Yonebayashi is certain to do his legacy proud at the very least and we can look forward to more of this unique type of storytelling and animation magic in the future.

Distribution update from Crunchyroll on July 13, 2017:

After a modest opening in theaters in Japan on July 08, 2017, Mary and the Witch's Flower will be casting its spell with an expanded theatrical release that will include some 155 territories worldwide, including the United States, England, France, Australia, China, and South Korea. The film will also see distribution in South America, Africa, and the Middle East.

Yes! We are doubly-excited now!

Fairy Tale Transformation Illustrations from Ivana's House of Fairy Tales

These unusual fairy tale illustrations by Ivo Matić are from Ivanas' House of Fairy Tales, which is a unique multimedia and interactive visitor's center and permanent exhibition, which celebrates fairy tales and their makers. (Located in Ogulin, Croatia) The illustrations are displayed on a tablet though a "secret spyhole" within the exhibition and are just one part of an interactive multimedia display/experience.

Our mission is to celebrate the writings of Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić and to use fairy tales to inspire a love of reading, knowledge and creative expression. By promoting the knowledge of fairy tales – a widespread literary genre – we encourage intercultural exchange and enhance the cultural and tourist prosperity of Ogulin, while actively contributing to the development of the city and improving the quality of life of its inhabitants.

The idea behind Ivana's House of Fairy Tales is part of a cultural incentive from the local Board of Tourism to encourage the perception that Ogulin is a unique, beautiful and culturally important place to visit, along with the international Ogulin Fairy-Tale Festival.

The reason it's called Ivana's House, is wonderful and easiest to explain by including some text from the official website HERE:

This idea was inspired by the fact that Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić – Croatia's foremost writer of fairy tales – was born in Ogulin. Tales of Long Ago, her most successful collection of fairy tales, bears traces of the natural beauties of Ogulin, and the intangible heritage of its tales and legends.  

...More than sixty collaborators from different areas of expertise were involved in the various phases of developing Ivana's House of Fairy Tales. Their wide range of knowledge along with a variety of their individual talents and skills makeIvana's House of Fairy Tales a prime example of an interdisciplinary and multimedia team project! The project would surely not have been so successful without the highly motivated local inhabitants, who took an active part in the various activities and showed support for the idea of turning their hometown into a homeland of fairy tales.

We admit we are not very familiar with Ivana's fairy tales but it would seem more than just this Polish fairy tale writer's are represented at the center. We see both Grimm's and Andersen's tales represented in the illustrations as well as Japanese and Russian tales.

Although only a selection of the "porthole illustrations" showing transformation in fairy tales (the pen and ink drawings above) are available to view online (to see the others you need to visit the center), there's a description of the experience on the website and I'm including it here. (Note: I do not intend to breach any copyright but only to encourage people to visit and appreciate the project.)

 

The interactive and multimedia permanent exhibition is based on the principles of knowledge, creativity and the use of new technologies.  

The exhibition starts with the “Magic Forest”: a gateway into the world of Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, a world where trees narrate episodes from Ivana's life and stories from her books, a place where clever heads and capable hands can put together a real fairy tale! 

The “Enchanted Castle Hallways” are the perfect place to “get busy with” exploring fairy tales: what are fairy tales, who writes, collects and narrates them, and what are they about – these are some of the things you can learn in the “Enchanted Hallways”, or catch a glimpse of out of the corner of your eye. 

A secret corner of the castle holds the “Magic Mirror”, which reveals the 'wondrous inner image' of all who look into it. But only those who listen carefully can get a 'monstrous' picture as a keepsake! 

The “Fireplace” is the “warm” corner of Ivana's House of Fairy Tales where you can listen to (and later attempt to recreate) fairy tales in the “Fairy-Tale Jukebox”. 

In the “Fairy-Tale Library”, visitors can find numerous books of fairy tales and about them. Special attention is given to collecting valuable first editions of fairy tales. Should you need help browsing through the Library, simply ask one of our very own Brownies – the educators of Ivana's House of Fairy Tales. 

The “Chamber of Mystery” is located in the centre of the “Enchanted Castle”. This is a multifunctional space where you can watch three educational animated films or play an interactive game. This is also the stage for theatrical productions, concerts and other events.

Doesn't it sound like a wonderful way to spend an afternoon, or better still, a great project to be part of? One of the wonderful benefits of present day technology is the collaborative possibilities as well as the multimedia and interactive options, providing new options for storytelling experiences and for preserving - and spreading the knowledge of - fairy tales.

Note: The center also has a wonderful project in progress: a database of fairy tales, which you can see the description of below. Clicking on the image will take you to it.

                    

Film: "The Red Turtle" (And Its Fairy Tale Roots)

“Washing up on the shores of Cannes after nearly a decade of painstaking under-the-radar toil, Michael Dudok de Wit’s hypnotizing, entirely dialogue-free ‘The Red Turtle’ is a fable so simple, so pure, it feels as if it has existed for hundreds of years, like a brilliant shard of sea glass rendered smooth and elegant through generations of retelling...” (Variety Chief International Film Critic Peter Debruge)

Popping up on our fairy tale radar this past week, a new animated film, The Red Turtle. It's a new Ghibli film, released this last Friday (September 23, 2016) and, a first for the Japanese studio, an international co-production, directed by Dutch animator Michaël Dudok de Wit, and animated in France and Belgium by a series of animation companies.

Here's the trailer:

With rave reviews coming from the Toronto International Film festival and critics around the globe, it isn't necessarily obvious that a "castaway and desert island survival" film would have fairy tale connections, but our radar blipped insistently so we went digging and found it did indeed!

But first, what is this film? It's an almost-dialogue free celebration of both Nature and man's indomitable Nature, surviving and thriving against the odds. It's also, reportedly, an immersive film which the viewer just needs to experience. While possibly a risky venture, it's clear the team achieved their intent as we only seen glowing reports about people being very moved.

So where do fairy tales fit here? Reviewers and critics have been intuitively connecting the film to fairy tales in that they say "it's easy to believe this is an adaptation of a little known Hans Christian Andersen classic or perhaps a rare tale from some remote Pacific Island", even though it isn't, it's original. They're right, it is original but there is a also a fairy tale connection, though not perhaps the type that most readily spring to mind.

The fact that there's a magical turtle might initially be misleading, so we had to dig a little deeper.

We found an interview with writer and director Dudok de Wit, in which he said this:

On the inspiration for the magical turtle in the film: 

As a child, I was a voracious reader of fairy tales and myths and legends. When I started on this, Takahata sent me a book called Kwaidan, by Lafcadio Hearn, which has Japanese traditional fairy tales about transformations of people and animals. 

Subconsciously I had a basis [for the story]... [the protagonist] wants to go home, the island is not his home. But he can't. Why can't he? I wanted a sea creature [to stop him], a shark, etc. Hang on — a turtle. Intuitively, it felt really good. My rational side looked at it a bit later, and the color came later, but at that moment, I thought, "Not only do we have our main character, but it's probably going to be the name of the film." So rationally, I can say I needed a mysterious sea creature that gives the impression of being immortal. It's a peaceful animal, non-aggressive, it's solitary, it disappears into infinity, which I find very important in this film. There's something very moving about a turtle leaving where she belongs, the sea, and going on the beach with a lot of effort, digging, laying eggs, filling the pits, and going back. I've seen one doing it — I've seen umpteen video clips. It looks like they can't make it, because it's such an effort. For a moment, they become like us, mammals who breathe, with arms and legs. And then they disappear [into the sea] again, and become part of infinity. So that all clicked together beautifully.

(You can read the rest of the interview HERE.)

Kwaidan can be translated as Japanese Weird Tales, or Tales About Strange Things (Sometimes you see it titled Stories and Studies of Strange Things.) Although Japan has more "fairy tales" as we might define them than China (which have more supernatural tales), Kwaidan is definitely a mix, and includes ghost and supernatural tales in addition to what you would find in a book specifically titled Japanese Fairy Tales. If you read both, however, you see overlaps and how they often exist in that same "fairy tale place". We highly recommend reading the volume if you haven't already!

So keep an eye out for The Red Turtle. It's clear that among filmmakers, at present, there's a big interest in going back to the "old" fairy tales, legends and myths and creating new works inspired by them. Although this won't be considered a "fairy tale film", it's already widely regarded as a fable, and it's refreshing to see creators explore new narratives (even if they're mostly silent), spring-boarding from old tales, instead of just retelling familiar ones. It brings a nice balance to the storytelling people are engaging in, in the 're-boot' age, with nods to both history and the future.

Forest Rogers Wins Gold Spectrum Award!

Venetian Harpy  by Forest Rogers

The 22nd Spectrum Awards (for science fiction and fantasy art in all mediums) were recently held and one of my favorite fairy tale illustrators and sculptors, Forest Rogers, won a gold award in the Dimensional category, for her stunning and amazing Venetian Harpy (see above).

Congratulations Forest!!

Note: I should also mention that Scott Gustafson, who has illustrated many a fairy tale picture book, received the Grand Master Award!

Though Forest Rogers doesn't exclusively work on fairy tale subjects she has made, and continues to create, many memorable fairy tale-based pieces, and from little bits I pick up around social media, she's looking at continuing/completing the Vasilissa illustrations she began many years ago (before she got into sculpting) and, off and on, has been researching The Crane Wife, as she'd apparently like to create a sculpture based on the Japanese fairy tale as well. (!!)

Below are some of her other fairy tale works to date, and perhaps you can see why I love her work so.

Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga's Hut

Vasilissa with her mother's doll

Baba Yaga (still being dressed) & Vasilissa

Baba Yaga, Vasilissa and the Chicken-Legged Hut together

Snow Maiden as she melts

Banshee

Yuki Ona - snow spirit

East of the Sun (inspired by Kay Neilsen's illustration)

East of the Sun (2nd sculpt)

Swan child in progress

Hans Andersen's Little Mermaid

Silvershod (aka Silver Hoof) & his friend Cat (Russian tale)

Red Riding Hood in progress

Red Riding Hood & Wolf
(Something about this evokes Perrault and Dore and other early illustrated versions of LRRH to me.)

Vasiliss'a Mother gives her a doll before she passes away

Vaslissa enters Baba Yaga's forest

Baba Yaga tasks Vasilissa with impossible tasks

Vaslissa talks to her doll (and the doll talks back)

Baba Yaga in a rage

One of the horsemen Vasilissa sees on her journey

 You can see much more of Forest Roger's work on her website HERE and follow her on Facebook HERE and Twitter HERE. She also has a great set of boards on Pinterest HERE.