Urikohime

Urikohime (瓜子姫) – The Melon Princess) is a sinister Japanese Folktale.

In one version of this tale, a old childless couple find a melon drifting downstream, and after slicing it open they find a baby girl inside. It is said that she grows up into a beautiful woman and its eventually bethrothed to a prince. However, a creature known as the Amanojaku disguised as the princess attempts to take her place at the wedding. A bird is said to eventually disclose the ruse and the princess is properly married.¹

The tale itself is similar to Momotarō in that a child is found inside of a fruit.²

Footnotes

1. Kodansha. (1993) ”Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia”. Tokyo: Kodansha Ltd.
2. Louis Frederic, translated by Kathe Roth (2002) “Japan Encyclopedia”. London: Harvard University Press.

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