Japan has lots of folktales to keep its children amused, as well as teaching them a myriad of morals and manners.

You're no doubt familiar with one of the more famous ones, Momotaro, about a boy that bursts out of a giant peach. The moral of that story is: never conceive a child inside a piece of fruit.

While looking through a book of other Japanese folktales, translated into English, one particular story caught my eye.....



The Farting Wife is an amusing (and somewhat odorous) tale about a wife who, er, farts. Indeed, her gaseous expulsions are powerful enough to knock fruit from trees.

However, while the fruit pickers in the story are quite impressed by this feat, the woman herself sees her flatulence as a bit of a problem.

When she confesses to her understanding mother-in-law about her embarrassment regarding her excessive cutting of the cheese, the mother-in-law speaks her mind: "If you want to fart, fart," she says. "A fart's only a fart. Everyone farts. Why shouldn't you fart?" Sound advice indeed.

fart on the image to read part 1 of the folktale....


fart on the image to read part 2....




If you would like to purchase The Farting Wife, and other non-flatulent Japanese folktales, click here. The books have each story printed in English and Japanese, and a CD with an American woman reading each one (English only). Listen to a priceless and potent extract of The Farting Wife by viewing the short video below.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 14, 2007 at 8:08 pm. You can skip to the end and leave a response.