Genre: Folktale
Culture: Japanese
Book: Schroeder, Alan. (1994). Lily
and the Wooden Bowl. New York:
Bantam Doubleday Dell Books.
Level/Age: Children (up to age 12)
Synopsis: Lily’s grandmother gives her three items
to watch over her when she dies: a rice paddle, a folded paper crane, and a
large bowl to wear atop her head to hide her beauty. A wealthy farmer named Yamoto then takes her
to his house to nurse his ailing wife, Matsu, back to health. Kumaso, the farmer’s son, and Lily fall in
love. But Matsu is a treacherous, vile
woman and will stop at nothing to keep her son and Lily apart. Matsu tries to trick Lily, and even uses evil
she learned from a sorceress, but Lily triumphs and after intervention from
Yamoto, she and Kumaso are married.
Comparisons/Contrasts
with traditional American/Western Culture:
Enryo, the Japanese
value of respect and modesty is a driving theme of this folktale. It is the reason Lily’s grandmother makes her
promise to always wear a large bowl atop her head—to hide her beauty, which
would tempt men and spoil her innocence.
Amae, the Japanese emphasis on
interdependence in preference to individualism, is apparent in Lily caring for
her grandmother, and then nursing Matsu back to health. It is also evident when Yamoto rescues
Lily. Locke writes (p. 107), “Many Japanese
believe that suffering and hard work are necessary ingredients of character
building.” This is clear as Lily becomes
a field worker in order to survive after the death of her grandmother, and then
as she suffers greatly at the hands of Matsu.
These values are in contrast with the traditional Western cultural
values of individual self-realization, high verbal participation (Lily barely
speaks), female assertiveness (Lily never fights back), and challenge of
authority (Lily never disobeys Matsu).
Response: I enjoyed reading this, my first
Japanese folktale. I took from it the
lesson of perseverance in adverse circumstances. I felt that Lily was a strong female
protagonist, shown by her graceful endurance of hardships and triumph in the
end. Lily shows girls that physical
beauty is not as important as strength, grace, and a beautiful
personality. There’s also a lot to be
said of the male character, Kumaso, who falls in love with Lily even when he
doesn’t see her face because of the bowl.
Suggested
Extension Activities: I look forward
to doing a storytelling of this folktale in my library—especially during May,
which is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.
I would also recommend this folktale for study in a Civics unit on
Japanese culture.
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