Tarou, the Dragon Boy
Taro, the Dragon Boy (龍の子太郎 Tatsu no Ko Tarō) is a children's literature written by Matsutani Miyoko (松谷みよ子). The book received the 1st Kodansha Award of Children's Literature for Newcomers in 1960 [1] , the 8th Sankei Juvenile Literature Publishing Culture Award in 1961 [2] , and awarded a place on the international IBBY Honour List in 1962 [3].
The story tells of a young boy's search for his mother, who was turned into a dragon. The story was adopted into an animation film by Toei in 1979, and was also adopted into various Puppet dramas, Straight dramas, Musicals, and Ballets.
Story of the Movie
There was once an orphan boy who lived with his grandmother in a tiny village in the mountains. His name was Taro. One day, a genie appeared when Taro was playing with the animals. The genie challenged him to a duel. It was a close match. The genie was impressed by Taro and granted him the strength of a hundred men.
Taro often asked about his mother. His grandmother told him that while his mother was pregnant with Taro, she ate a forbidden fish and was turned in into a dragon. She had been missing ever since she gave birth to him. Hearing this, Taro sat out to locate his mother.
Taro arrived at Mt. Iron where he found out his close friend, Aya, was kidnapped by “Black Demon” the mountain dweller. He defeated the demon and saved Aya. The villagers prepared a feast for him for getting rid of the pestilent. Taro gave Aya a special pony that could run 200 miles a day, and continued his travel in search of his mother.
Taro runs into a snowstorm in a mountain. A snow demon appeared and tormented him until he fell unconscious. Aya came to the rescue on the pony. The two escaped on the pony and went towards the North Lake, where Taro’s mother was to be found. When they arrived at the lake, Taro called out to his mother at the top of his voice while Aya played her flute. The dragon mother appeared and explained to the children why she was turned into that shape. Taro realized how poor the people in his native village were, and wished to provide fertile lands for them.
Hearing this, the huge dragon hurled herself from mountains and carried Taro on her back. She hit the mountain again and again, cracking the mountain and allowed the lake water to flow into the village, creating a vast fertile land. The dragon wounded herself when breaking the mountain, and a weeping Taro stayed by her side. Then a miracle happened, as when his tears shed on the dragon, the dragon was restored to her former state as a human. Taro, his mother, Aya and the mountain villagers lived happily thereafter.
External Links
- Toei Animation
- Kodansha Literary Awards
- IBBY Honour List
- The 8th Sankei Juvenile Literature Publishing Culture Award (Japanese Website)