A tale of two strong men: Ni-ou from Japan and Dokkoi from China. Ni-ou believed he was the strongest man until he heard of Dokkoi in China. So he rowed a boat to China to meet this man. However, while he was waiting for him he heard noises that sounded like an earthquake. When he asked Dokkoi's mother what the sound was she informed him that those were her son's footsteps. She could hear him coming from miles away. Frightened, Ni-ou fled out the bathroom window. When Dokkoi found that Ni-ou had More...

As usual Junko Morimoto's illustrations are fantastic. My favourite is the Ni-ou crossing the Pacific Ocean to reach China.

Junko's modus operandi of taking traditional Japanese folk tales, translating them into English and beautifully illustrating them is a winner. The traditional tales have stood the test of time - and are thus all great stories. The translation opens these stories up to an English-speaking (or -reading!) audience.

For a Japanese folk tale it is in More...