Written by Natsuko Hama
Illustration by Yohei Yokoyama
Long, long ago, there lived an old man and an old woman.
“Tomorrow is the New Year, but we do not even have any rice cakes in our home.”
“Yes…”
“Let us sell something! We will use the money to buy rice cakes!”
“Yes! Let us use this straw to weave some umbrella hats to sell!”
The old man and woman began to diligently weave together some straw hats.
They managed to complete five in total.
The old man took the straw hats and went into the village.
“Straw hats! Would anyone like a straw hat?”
The man could not sell a single one.
“Good grief, it has begun to snow. I suppose I shall return home.”
The old man began to walk home. It began to snow harder and harder.
“Oh, there seems to be someone over there!”
But as he got closer, he saw that they were only Jizo statues.
Six Jizo statues were standing by the road.
“Mister Jizo, you must be cold under all this snow. Please! Wear this straw hat.”
The old man took the straw hats he could not sell, and put them on the Jizo statues’heads.
“I have five straw hats. There are six Jizo statues, so I am missing one. Ah! Please use my own straw hat!”
The old man continued his journey home.
“Darling, the Jizo statues looked cold so I gave them my straw hats.”
“You did a very good thing. I am sure the Jizos are happy.”
That night, when the old man and woman were sleeping, they heard a song coming from somewhere far away.
“Where is the house of the old man, he gave us six straw hats?”
The singing stopped in front of the old man and woman’s house.
There was a rustle, and a loud boom.
“Dear, it’s unbelievable. There is a large amount of rice and fish in front of our house.”
“Oh my, I wonder what happened?”
The six Jizo statues had brought it over for them.
The old man and woman placed their hands together in front of the Jizo statues and showed their gratitude.
The old man and old lady lived happily ever after.
おくづけ
「かさじぞう」英語
文:浜 なつ子
絵:よこやま ようへい
翻訳、朗読:ステファニー佐久間
音楽:秋山裕和
企画:にほんごの会くれよん
制作:多言語絵本の会RAINBOW
"This work is not for sale, nor for revision, nor for any change."