Tale of Momotaro

Stories and truth are the same thing. Except when they are not. I have a truth and I have a story. Sweetling, you can choose which is which.

A child comes to earth in a giant peach. Sent from heaven to be a perfect child — kindhearted, brave and respectful of his parents. Wish fulfilment in spades.

This child grew up big and strong, and he promised to go beat the Oni living on a nearby island. But first, his mother fixed him kibi—dango to go — a quest and a packed lunch.

There were animals and there was fighting, but the boy won and the Oni lost. Quest Complete! Momotaro was the winner. A hero to all. Please remember to rewind the video before you return it.

There was an Oni called Inbeda, exiled after a disagreement with his brother Ihan—sha. He kills an old couple eating peaches by the riverbank. He plants a rumour of great treasures on a nearby island. He makes a statue of a monkey, a dog, and a pheasant out of sparkling iron pyrite. He waits.

Immortals don’t need a word for patience.

First come nine scouts, then nine more, then nine houses. Greed is a powerful magnet. They find the statues and, angered, crush them into powdery dust which fills the air.

Then it all explodes.

Inbeda searches the corpses for his brother but does not find him. He goes to a nearby village and, in disguise, tells a story of demons slain and treasures found.

This is advertising. This is propaganda.

This is the tale of Momotaro.