The winners of a “Story Telling Contest” were recently announced at The Nippon Foundation.

The stories were based on folk tales told to children in interviews last year with elderly men and women around Japan who recalled them from their youth. The stories could have been lost to posterity if the children had not recorded them.

Acting out old folk stories at story telling gathering

The tales were compiled by the NPO group, “Chinju no Mori” (literally, Shrine Grove), and the three top works were presented at a ceremony held at The Nippon Foundation.

The stories were partly presented in a performance format. All of them touched the hearts of the people who attended the gathering.
The top three were entitled “The Snake and The Frog,” “The Ideal Village,” and “Story-teller Shichibei."

The first story was collected in an interview by Matsuyama City 1st year junior high school student Takashi Yasushi, the second by Asahikawa 2nd year junior high school student Sho Horishita, and the third prize winner was 5th year primary student Miki Kanai of Tokyo.

The students’ work was conveyed to the audience either through acting out the words, reading, or putting them to song, and the stories can now be passed on to future generations.

Takashi Yasushi is honored by two members of the “Reifu” Team that acted out the winning essay

The NPO Chinju No Mori supports the collection of stories and experiences from the elderly all over Japan. Director Nakao said the activities of his NPO reawakens the sleeping folk tales of Japan, while providing children with the opportunity to learn valuable human lessons from the older generations.

The project also acts as a boon to publishers of folk stories who search the country for interesting material for their readers. Academics as well can use the material for cultural, literary, and anthropological studies.

The 2010 entries for the old folk story telling contest are now being accepted by Chinju No Mori. The NPO’s activities are supported with a grant from The Nippon Foundation.

(This article is based on an original story by Yoshinori Ishii)