Rice Fuku Awa Fuku - Rice Bubble Awa Fuku

Japanese: 米福粟福 - こめぶくあわぶく

A folktale. This tale tells of a stepchild named Yonefuku who endures abuse by his stepmother and her biological son Awafuku, until he finally manages to marry happily. The stepmother forces the stepchild to do hard work such as fetching water, gathering chestnuts, spinning thread, and threshing wheat, but he manages to get through it with the protection of his deceased mother's spirit. While attending a festival, the stepchild is discovered by a high-ranking young man and they marry happily. The general plot is that the stepmother and biological son end up unhappy. Tales of stepchild abuse have developed particularly in Japan. The stepmother's harsh attitude towards her stepchild is different in tone from examples in other countries.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

昔話。継子米福が継母とその実子粟福の虐待に耐えて，幸福な結婚に到達するまでを語る継子いじめ譚。継母は継子に水くみ，栗拾い，糸紡ぎ，麦つきなど苦労の多い労働を課すが，亡母の霊の加護によってきりぬける。祭見物で身分の高い若者に見出されて，継子は幸福な結婚をする。継母と実子は不幸になるという筋立てが一般的である。継子いじめ譚は，日本でとりわけ発達をみた。継子に対する継母の過酷な態度は外国の例と趣を異にする。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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