uriko-hime to amanojaku

瓜子姫

瓜子姫 (うりこひめ / Uriko-hime, literally, "melon princess"), or alternatively, うりこひめとあまのじゃく (Uriko-hime and an Amanojaku) is a Japanese fairy tale. Among the folktales in which the short, demon-like humanoid called Amanojaku appears, this story is the only type which is widely recounted throughout Japan.

In a basic summary of the story, a baby born from a melon is carefully raised by an old couple, and she grows up to be a beautiful young woman skilled at weaving. While her adoptive parents are away from their home, Amanojaku tricks and kidnaps her. The demon impersonates Uriko-hime, but while the impostor is going to a wealthy man's home to marry him, the fake Uriko-hime is accused by the cawing of a crow, and reveals her true identity, whereupon his true form is revealed, and the old couple and accompanying villagers beat him to death (or alternatively, he runs away).

This folktale is known for the countless variations on the story depending on the region. In southwestern Japan, her clothes are stolen and she is tied up to a tree, but in many cases she escapes unharmed and lives happily in the end. In northwestern Japan, in many versions the poor young woman is tricked to climb a persimmon tree from which she falls to her death. Amanojaku flays her skin and impersonates her by wearing it.

At the end of the tale, it is often accompanied by an explanation that the place where Amanojaku was killed was a field of buckwheat, and that is why buckwheat stalks are red.

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