Every Japanese child knows the story of Momotaro (桃太郎), the “Peach Boy.” An old woman washing clothes in a river sees a giant peach floating toward her. She takes it home, and when she and her husband cut it open, a baby boy jumps out. He grows up strong and brave, and sets out to defeat the oni — the ogres — who live on a distant island. On the way he shares his millet dumplings with a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant, who become his loyal companions. Together they storm the ogres’ fortress and bring home their treasure.
Momotaro is Japan’s most famous folk hero, the subject of picture books, songs, statues, films, and festivals. His story is simple, but it has been told and retold in many ways over the centuries, and it has carried very different meanings in different times.
The Tale
The Peach in the River
Once upon a time, an old man and an old woman lived in a village. They had no children. One day the old man went to the mountains to cut firewood, and the old woman went to the river to wash clothes. As she washed, a huge peach came bobbing down the river, donburako, donburako. She picked it up and took it home.
When the old man came back, they decided to eat the peach. But as they were about to cut it, the peach split open by itself, and out came a healthy baby boy. The couple, overjoyed, named him Momotaro — momo meaning “peach” and Tarō being a common name for an eldest son.
In an older version of the story, popular in the Edo period (1603–1868), the peach did not contain a baby. Instead, the old couple ate the peach and were rejuvenated, becoming young again, and conceived Momotaro in the ordinary way. The version with the baby inside the peach became standard in the Meiji period (1868–1912), when the story was included in school textbooks — perhaps because it was considered more suitable for children.
Growing Up
Momotaro grew quickly. He ate a great deal and became strong. When he was a young man, he learned that the oni of Onigashima (“Ogre Island”) had been raiding the villages, stealing treasure, and carrying off people. Momotaro resolved to go and defeat them.
The old woman made him kibi dango, dumplings of millet flour, for the journey. Momotaro put on a headband and a jinbaori coat, took a banner bearing the words “Japan’s Number One” (Nippon ichi), and set off.
The Three Companions
On his way, Momotaro met a dog. “Momotaro, where are you going?” asked the dog. “To Onigashima, to conquer the ogres,” said Momotaro. “What is that at your waist?” “The best millet dumplings in Japan.” “Give me one, and I will come with you.” Momotaro gave the dog a dumpling, and the dog joined him.
Next he met a monkey, and the same conversation followed. The monkey received a dumpling and joined them. Then he met a pheasant, and the pheasant joined them too.
In some versions, the dog and the monkey quarrel constantly, and Momotaro must keep peace between them — an echo of the Japanese saying that people who don’t get along are “like dogs and monkeys” (ken’en no naka).
The Battle of Onigashima
The four companions sailed to Onigashima. The ogres’ fortress had a great gate, and it was locked. The pheasant flew over the wall and pecked at the ogres’ eyes. The monkey climbed over the wall and opened the gate from the inside. The dog bit the ogres’ legs. And Momotaro fought the leader of the ogres.
The ogres were defeated. The chief ogre wept and begged for mercy, promising never to do evil again, and gave Momotaro all their treasure.
The Return
Momotaro and his companions returned home with carts full of treasure: gold, silver, coral, and the magical treasures of the ogres — a straw cloak of invisibility, a magic hammer (uchide no kozuchi) that produces whatever one wishes, and more. The old man and woman welcomed them joyfully, and they lived happily ever after.
Origins of the Tale
The story of Momotaro appears in written form from the Edo period, though it is probably much older in oral tradition. The earliest known illustrated versions (akahon, “red books” for children) date from the early eighteenth century.
The peach had long been associated in China and Japan with protection against evil and with long life. In Chinese legend, the peaches of immortality grew in the garden of the Queen Mother of the West. In the Japanese creation myth, the god Izanagi defeated the armies of the underworld by throwing peaches at them (see Izanagi in Yomi). A boy born from a peach naturally had power over demons.
The oni themselves were associated with the north-east, the “demon gate” (kimon), which in the Chinese zodiac corresponds to the ox and the tiger — which is why oni are often shown with ox horns and tiger-skin loincloths. The three animals that Momotaro recruits — the dog, the monkey, and the rooster-like pheasant — correspond to the zodiac signs of the opposite directions, the west and south-west, which were believed to counteract the demon gate. (See Oni: The Demons and Ogres of Japan.)
Okayama and Kibitsuhiko
The city of Okayama, in western Honshu, claims Momotaro as its own. According to local tradition, the story is based on the legend of Kibitsuhiko-no-Mikoto, a prince of the imperial family said to have been sent to the province of Kibi (modern Okayama) to defeat an ogre named Ura, who lived in a castle and terrorized the people. Kibitsuhiko shot two arrows at once, one of which struck Ura’s eye. Ura turned into a pheasant to escape, and Kibitsuhiko turned into a hawk to pursue him. The Kibitsu Shrine in Okayama honours Kibitsuhiko.
The connection is supported by the dumplings: kibi dango are a famous speciality of Okayama, and the word kibi means both “millet” and the old name of the province. Okayama station has a statue of Momotaro and his companions, and the city’s main street is called Momotaro Ōdōri.
A Hero for Every Age
Momotaro’s meaning has changed dramatically over time.
- In the Meiji era, the story was used in school textbooks to teach children loyalty, courage, and cooperation.
- During the Second World War, Momotaro was turned into a symbol of Japanese imperial expansion. The oni were identified with the Western Allies, and Momotaro’s conquest of Onigashima with Japan’s military campaigns in Asia and the Pacific. The animated film Momotaro’s Divine Sea Warriors (1945), Japan’s first feature-length animated film, showed Momotaro leading an army of animals against British and American forces.
- After the war, writers questioned the story. The novelist Akutagawa Ryūnosuke had already written a satirical version in 1924, in which the oni are peaceful island-dwellers and Momotaro a greedy invader. Later retellings have given the oni more sympathy.
- Today, Momotaro is a beloved figure of childhood, appearing in everything from anime and video games to advertising and tourist mascots.
Momotaro Today
The story is still told in countless picture books, performed in schools, and sung in the well-known children’s song Momotarō-san, which begins: “Momotaro-san, Momotaro-san, the dumpling in your pouch — won’t you give me one?” The characters are recognized throughout Japan, and Momotaro remains the model of a small hero who, with loyal friends and shared food, defeats great evil.
Last reviewed: September 2026.