Momotaro mochi

One of my students recently visted her family in a town called Okayama. The Japanese tale of Momotaro apparently originated from there, so she brought me some mochi (sweet, sticky rice paste balls) with the Momotaro characters on it. Below is a summarized story about the characters on the box of mochi.

Momotaro came to Earth inside a giant peach, which was found floating down a river by an old, childless woman who was washing clothes there. The woman and her husband discovered the child when they tried to open the peach to eat it. The child explained that he had been sent by heaven to be their son. The couple named him Momotaro, from momo (peach) and taro (eldest son in the family).

Years later, Momotaro left his parents for an island called Onigashima to destroy the marauding oni (demons or orgres) that dwelt there. En route, Momotaro met and befriended a talking dog, monkey, and pheasant, who agreed to help him in his quest. At the island, Momotaro and his animal friends penetrated the demons' fort and beat the demons' leader, Ura, as well as his army, into surrendering. Momotaro returned home with his new friends, and his family lived comfortably from then on."