Issun-bōshi, the One-Inch Boy (Campfire Story)

Long ago in Japan, an old couple prayed every day for a child. 'Even a tiny one,' said the old woman. 'Even if he's only as big as my fingertip.'

Be careful what you pray for. Because that's exactly what they got. A baby boy, no bigger than your thumb. They named him ISSUN BOSHI, which means Little One-Inch.

They fed him and loved him and waited for him to grow. One year went by. Five years. Ten years. And ISSUN BOSHI was still one inch tall. The other children teased him. But he would only put his hands on his hips and say, 'ISSUN BOSHI!'

When he was fifteen, he told his parents, 'I'm going to the great city of Kyoto to make my fortune.' His mother gave him a sewing needle for a sword, with a piece of straw for a sheath. His father gave him a rice bowl for a boat and a chopstick for a paddle. And off he went, paddling down the river to Kyoto.

In Kyoto, he climbed the steps of the biggest house in the city, the house of a great lord, and called out at the top of his voice, which wasn't very loud, 'Excuse me! I'd like a job!'

The lord looked all around. He saw nobody. Then he looked down, and there, standing on the toe of his sandal, was the smallest samurai in Japan. The lord laughed so hard he nearly fell over. But ISSUN BOSHI was so polite and so clever and so hardworking that the lord gave him a job, and the lord's daughter, the princess, became his friend.

One day, ISSUN BOSHI went with the princess to visit a temple. On the way home, out of the trees jumped an enormous ONI, a red-faced ogre with horns and tusks and a big iron club. 'I'll take that princess!' roared the ONI.

'Not while I'm here!' shouted ISSUN BOSHI, and he drew his needle sword.

The ONI looked down and laughed. 'What's this? A bug?' And he picked up ISSUN BOSHI between two fingers, popped him into his mouth, and swallowed him whole. Gulp!

Down, down, down went Issun-bōshi, sliding into the ogre's dark, smelly stomach. But he didn't give up. He took his needle and he poked. Poke! Poke! Poke! Up and down and all around the inside of that ogre's belly.

'OW!' howled the ONI, grabbing his tummy. 'Ow! Ow! OW!' He hopped around in circles. And then he coughed, a great big cough, and out flew ISSUN BOSHI, right through the air, and landed on the ogre's nose, where he poked him in the eye for good measure.

That was enough for the ONI. He ran off into the mountains as fast as his big feet could go, and he dropped something as he ran. It was a little wooden hammer. The princess picked it up. 'Issun-bōshi! This is the Uchide no Kozuchi, the ogre's magic MALLET! If you shake it and make a wish, the wish comes true.'

'Then I wish,' said ISSUN BOSHI, 'to be as tall as everyone else.'

The princess gave the MALLET a shake. And with every shake, Issun-bōshi grew. One inch, a foot, three feet, until he stood as tall as a full-grown samurai. A very handsome samurai, too.

The lord was so grateful that he let the princess and Issun-bōshi marry. They brought his old mother and father to live in Kyoto with them. And for the rest of his life, whenever anybody teased someone for being small, Issun-bōshi would hold up his pinky finger and say, 'ISSUN BOSHI!' Which, as everyone in Kyoto knew, meant: I may be small, but I was never afraid.

Storyteller tips: if you have a rice bowl, chopstick and needle, show them when he sets off, then hold up your pinky to show his size. The poking inside the ogre's belly is the big laugh, so take your time with it.

Issun-bōshi is often called the Japanese Tom Thumb. The magic mallet, the Uchide no Kozuchi, also appears in many other Japanese tales.