The Story of Peach Boy

This was the story I was relayed through a fury of Japanese and English on the ferry from Tamano to Shikoku:

A long time ago, there lived an old man and an old woman in Okayama. They did not have any children, but wanted a child very badly. One day, the old man went to cut wood on a mountainside while the old woman washed clothes in a nearby stream. While washing the clothes, the old woman spotted a giant peach drifting down the stream. The old woman brought the peach home, and when the old man cut it open they found the Peach Boy inside.

The Peach Boy was very strong. He could lift large boulders with little effort (and leap tall buildings in a single bound). An evil giant named Oni was plaguing the land and the Peach Boy offered to take a journey to battle Oni and save the town. The old woman gave the Peach Boy some very sweet dumplings to take on his journey.

Along the way, the Peach Boy met a dog. The dog said it would help him fight Oni in exchange for some of the Peach Boy's dumplings. The Peach Boy agreed, and the duo continued on their journey. Next the Peach Boy met a monkey who said the same thing as the dog. He then met a bird, completing the animal posse. The boy, dog, monkey, and bird came to the island where Oni lived. In a reasonably short battle, the Peach Boy defeated Oni and brought his treasure back to the old man and woman, who lived happily ever after.

Here comes the interesting part. As we're on the ferry, we spot an island in the distance.


The writing in white letters on the sign reads "Evil's Island." Pretty spooky, eh?