Saru Kani Gassen
Saru Kani Gassen
(The Quarrel of the Monkey and the Crab) Once upon a time a crab and a monkey were walking together. As they were going on their way, the crab found a rice ball and the monkey found a persimmon seed. The monkey wanted the rice ball, so he proposed a trade. The crab knew it was an unfair trade, but was finally persuaded by the monkey to trade the rice ball for the persimmon seed. They exchanged the two items, but immediately after receiving the rice ball, monkey gobbled it up. The crab took the inedible persimmon seed to his garden and planted. He cared for it every day and it grew and grew, from a seed to a fine tree. One autumn day the crab went out to pick some of the ripe persimmons from his tree, but no matter
how much he tried he couldn’t climb the tree to get the fruits. So he asked his friend the monkey to pick some for him. The monkey loved persimmons and was very greedy. He climbed up the tree and picked all the ripe persimmons and ate them. He then threw only green and inedible ones to the crab, one of which hit the crab on the head injuring him. The crab was furious and plotted his revenge. He asked his friend the mortar, the chestnut and the hornet to help him. The crab invited the Monkey to have tea at his house, but a little surprise was waiting for him. When he arrive he sat by the fire and the chestnut leaped out of the fire and burnt the monkey on the neck. The hornet came out of hiding and stung him. When he tried to escape out the door the mortar fell and almost broke the monkey’s spine. After all that he groveled and apologized for what he did to the crab. He learned his lesson and tried not to cheat anyone else (Sakade, 1958).
In one story the monkey kills the crab, his son goes and avenges him and the monkey doesn’t repent and ends up dying (Lit2Go, Web). Another story says the crab was a mother and she was bedridden after being hit, her children punish the monkey but he eventually repents (Kids Web Japan, Web). This story is very old and the story differs from different regions to entertain children from all over.
Most stories always have a moral. The moral of this story is punishment comes to those who are greedy. This is evident in all of the stories; the monkey gets burnt stung and almost flattened as a result of his greedy misdeed. However there is a more subtle moral, those who repent are spared. In one of the stories the monkey doesn’t repent and has a severed neck as a result. However in the other versions, the monkey repents and keeps his life.
Japan is an honor based society. There is a general unified belief of retribution, karma and respect throughout Japan. The story of the Monkey and the Crab was probably written to instill these beliefs in children. Children don’t like sitting through lectures, but stories captivate their imagination and therefore their attention and make it easier for them to learn morals from young. The unified belief of retribution probably helped develop the story of the crab and the monkey.
Works Cited
(The Quarrel of the Monkey and the Crab) Once upon a time a crab and a monkey were walking together. As they were going on their way, the crab found a rice ball and the monkey found a persimmon seed. The monkey wanted the rice ball, so he proposed a trade. The crab knew it was an unfair trade, but was finally persuaded by the monkey to trade the rice ball for the persimmon seed. They exchanged the two items, but immediately after receiving the rice ball, monkey gobbled it up. The crab took the inedible persimmon seed to his garden and planted. He cared for it every day and it grew and grew, from a seed to a fine tree. One autumn day the crab went out to pick some of the ripe persimmons from his tree, but no matter
how much he tried he couldn’t climb the tree to get the fruits. So he asked his friend the monkey to pick some for him. The monkey loved persimmons and was very greedy. He climbed up the tree and picked all the ripe persimmons and ate them. He then threw only green and inedible ones to the crab, one of which hit the crab on the head injuring him. The crab was furious and plotted his revenge. He asked his friend the mortar, the chestnut and the hornet to help him. The crab invited the Monkey to have tea at his house, but a little surprise was waiting for him. When he arrive he sat by the fire and the chestnut leaped out of the fire and burnt the monkey on the neck. The hornet came out of hiding and stung him. When he tried to escape out the door the mortar fell and almost broke the monkey’s spine. After all that he groveled and apologized for what he did to the crab. He learned his lesson and tried not to cheat anyone else (Sakade, 1958).
In one story the monkey kills the crab, his son goes and avenges him and the monkey doesn’t repent and ends up dying (Lit2Go, Web). Another story says the crab was a mother and she was bedridden after being hit, her children punish the monkey but he eventually repents (Kids Web Japan, Web). This story is very old and the story differs from different regions to entertain children from all over.
Most stories always have a moral. The moral of this story is punishment comes to those who are greedy. This is evident in all of the stories; the monkey gets burnt stung and almost flattened as a result of his greedy misdeed. However there is a more subtle moral, those who repent are spared. In one of the stories the monkey doesn’t repent and has a severed neck as a result. However in the other versions, the monkey repents and keeps his life.
Japan is an honor based society. There is a general unified belief of retribution, karma and respect throughout Japan. The story of the Monkey and the Crab was probably written to instill these beliefs in children. Children don’t like sitting through lectures, but stories captivate their imagination and therefore their attention and make it easier for them to learn morals from young. The unified belief of retribution probably helped develop the story of the crab and the monkey.
Works Cited