What point does the folktale make about people who have power over others?

Abstract 

This essay explores the message that the folktale The Wise Old Woman retold by Yoshiko Uchida sends to readers about people who are in power. Through the development of the plot in the folktale, readers are able to gain many valuable insights on how to manage and distribute power evenly among others when you have the power. Through the old woman’s actions and the ending of the story, readers are able to learn important things about not abusing your power. The lord’s foolish decision without consulting others teaches readers to listen, the unsuccessful campaigns of both the lord that governed the town and Lord Higa taught readers about the dangers of cruelty, and the wisdom that the old woman proved to the entire village taught people not to judge a book by its cover and to respect the elderly. This essay explores the lessons that the folktale teaches to readers about people who are in positions of power, the dangers of being so and how to be a better leader.

The Wise Old Woman by Yoshiko Uchida is a traditional Japanese folktale that teaches readers lessons on cruelty and wisdom through a wonderful plotline. The folktale starts off in a village that is governed by a cruel lord who demands that all people over the age of 71 must be left in the mountains to die. A young farmer, faced with his aging mother, has no choice but to bring her up to the mountains, but on the way, he backs out and brings his mother back down, hiding her in a room under his kitchen that he dug. When Lord Higa, another cruel lord, comes to take over the town, he agrees to let the town go if they solve his challenges. Though the villagers are all dumbfounded, the farmer’s mother manages to find solutions to all of the problems, and thus saves the village from being conquered. At the end of the tale, the lord admits to being wrong, and the entire village is finally able to recognize the abilities of the elderly. The folktale explores many concepts, including the topic of what people with power can do to others.

A person in a position of power, especially one in charge of a group of people, always needs to be able to listen to different ideas and opinions. The lord that ruled over the Japanese town in this story was very headstrong, and that was a good thing, but it also tended to make him keep many things one-sided. He was ignorant about the elderly’s wisdom, and didn’t listen to their opinions at all. “Just because one can not do something doesn't mean they can not guide us with their wisdom” (StudyMode).  The lord thought that the elderly were no use because they could not perform physical labor, but they turned out to be actually very useful, as they could provide valuable insights from their many years of experience in the world. “..share with us the wisdom of their years” (Uchida, pg. 6). The lord was too narrow-minded to realize that there was another side of the story apart from just his. The challenges that Lord Higa gave to the villagers helped him learn that if he was to be able to govern a village and let it prosper, he would have to listen to all sides of the story before deciding.

The cruelty that the lords inflict on the villagers is also portrayed through the actions of the characters in the novel. The young lord that rules over the village is cruel to his villagers, being brutal and fierce. “But the lord fearfully punished anyone who disobeyed him” (Uchida, pg. 1). The young lord, not knowing how to lead, had to resort to intimidation and physical strength in order to win over the villagers. In this way, the villagers only feared him even more, which didn’t lead to a very trustful or united community. When Lord Higa came along, his first course of actions was to also use force to make the villagers obey him. “Lord Higa of the town beyond the hills threatened to conquer their village” (Uchida, pg. 3). The cruelty that the two lords showed to the villagers benefited no one, as the village definitely did not prosper when all the villagers followed the lord’s decrees, and in the end, Lord Higa didn’t even conquer the village successfully. Both lords tried to abuse their power for personal gain, but never really reaped any benefits. The farmer’s aging mother and the villagers proved them wrong, they proved that they could fight against unjust rules and laws. The villagers proved that physical strength and/or cruelty isn’t always the best course of action. 

In The Wise Old Woman, the author also explores the importance of wisdom and experience, and respect for the elderly. When the young lord banished all the elderly citizens from the village, he was actually stripping the townspeople of a valuable reservoir of knowledge that was held by the elderly. The older people had experience from their lives that they could have shared with the younger citizens, but by making them be left to die in the mountains, the young lord just made his entire village be left in the dark to valuable insights and opinions. “....how much wisdom and knowledge old people possess.” (Uchida, pg. 5). The elderly in the village were more trained on many aspects of life such as solving problems creatively and thinking outside of the box, yet many younger people didn’t realize how important that would be in any given situation. When the young farmer saved his mother from the mountains, he just did the village a terrific deed. Through the farmer’s mother’s solutions to the seemingly impossible challenges posed by Lord Higa, everyone learns to appreciate the older generations and the lessons from incidents that occurred in their past life that they have to offer. Sometimes, people in positions of power may not realize what they are doing, and so, it will be up to the villagers to correct them.

The Wise Old Woman by Yoshiko Uchida really is a beautifully folktale rich with lessons on respect, leadership and the dangers of cruelty. The folktale’s point on people in positions of power is a meaningful warning about not abusing power and listening to everyone’s perception before making a decision that could affect a large group of people. Through the actions and development of the plot, readers are able to grasp what the folktale really is trying to say that serves as a cautionary warning. Overall, this traditional Japanese folktale really holds important themes and lessons that could be reflected on in daily life. The morals and ethics that the plot subtle poses are designed to keep the reader questioning the true interpretation of the folktale. The Wise Old Woman is a literary work that can be referred to many times for many lessons about power, cruelty, wisdom, and respect.

Reference:

Uchida, Yoshiko. The Wise Old Woman: Retold. The Wise Old Woman

StudyMode. Yoshiko Uchida The Wise Old Woman Analysis - 538 Words | Studymode