Once upon a time,
Born from Prayer
There was a tiny child the size of a thumb.

When you open the book, you will find a small lucky ear on the top right of the first cover page. Furthermore, lucky ears were found on pages 2, 3, and 5. On the spread between pages 2 and 3, there is a trace on one of the pages where the lucky ears were made during the binding process, and the page was probably torn when it was read. The lucky ears left behind look like a tiny Tom Thumb popping out from the edge of the page.

This book is published in the UKThis is a Japanese-English translation of the fairy tale "Tom Thumb," which has been popular since the 17th century. It is an English textbook for high school students, created by Yamaguchi Shoten (Kyoto), which was founded in 1941.As part of the "ENGLISH READINGS LIBRARY" series,It was published in 1960. The Japanese translation is on the opposite page to the English text, making it fun to learn English through foreign literature. Other works in the series include Oscar Wilde's masterpiece, "The Happy Prince."

The story is about the adventures of a little boy the size of a thumb. A farmer and his wife, who have long desired a child, are blessed with a little boy through magical powers. The boy, named Tom, has extraordinary wisdom and courage, and sometimesWith the help of the fairies, Tom overcomes various difficulties. At the end of his adventure, he arrives at King Arthur's court, where he is loved and respected by everyone.

There are many versions of this story, but the oldest known is from 1621.The book is said to be "The History of Tom Thamb, the Little, for his small stature summed. King Arthur's Dwarfe" by Richard Johnson. The cover shows a woodcut of Tom Thamb being carried off by a bird. This Richard Johnson was a popular writer.ChapbooksAt a time when books were still a luxury item, popular authors like him made it possible for ordinary people to enjoy stories.Before "Tom Thumb", there was "Tom Thumb (The name "Tom Thumb" already existed, as in William Fulke's "Heskins Parleament Repealed" published in 1579, which states, "They feighed him to be a little child like Tom Thumb."

The story of "Tom Thumb" is very similar to the Japanese folktale "Issun-boshi" and Andersen's "Thumbelina." Both are stories about a child born extremely small, who overcomes adversity, but ultimately achieves success by using his own wisdom and courage, and with the help of invisible powers such as gods, Buddhas, and fairies. This type of folktale is called an "abnormal birth tale." It is a general term for stories about children who are born with abnormal appearances or who are born in abnormal ways. In folklore, short gods and characters who appear in myths, legends, and folk tales are called "little ones." It is strange that these "little ones" born from people's prayers continue to be loved by so many people across countries and cultures.

Tom was a mischievous boy who gave adults a hard time dealing with him. His lucky ears were also a serious abnormality. The fact that his lucky ears appeared as soon as he opened the door must have been a prank by Tom.

By the way, Shigetaro Yamaguchi, the founder of the publishing company Yamaguchi Shoten, had a close relationship with the printmaker Shiko Munakata, who was from the same hometown. At that time, Shigetaro built the current building next to the old company building for Munakata to stay at.Yamaguchi Bookstore buildingIt is as follows.

"table of contents"
TOM THUMB
THE MAN IN THE BAG
THE TWO BROTHERS