Kobutori Jisan (The Old Man with a Wen) Coloring Pages

The Old Man Who Danced with Ogres

Kobutori Jisan (The Old Man with a Wen) is a story about an old man with a big wen on his cheek who dances at an ogre party and gets his wen removed.
An ogre appears in it, but it is not a scary story. It is fun and funny!
This story is also written in a book called "Uji Shui Monogatari" from the Kamakura period. It has been told for a very long time.

Story (1) Sheltering from the Rain in a Tree Hollow

Long, long ago, there was an old man with a big wen on his right cheek.
One day, while he was cutting wood in the mountains, it started to rain. He went inside a large tree hollow to stay dry.
Soon it became night, and he heard the lively sounds of drums and flutes coming from somewhere.
When he took a peek, he saw ogres having a party around a campfire.

Story (2) The Old Man's Dance

As he watched the ogres sing and dance, the old man felt so happy that he jumped out of the hollow and started dancing, too!
The old man's dance was so funny that the ogres were delighted.
"Come dance again tomorrow night. We will hold onto that wen so you do not forget!"
Saying this, the ogre popped the old man's wen right off.
Strangely enough, it did not hurt at all!

Story (3) The Neighboring Old Man

Next door lived a mean old man with a wen on his left cheek.
When he heard the story, the neighbor thought, "I will get my wen taken off, too!" So he went to the ogre party the next night.
But because he danced fearfully, his dance was not fun at all.
The angry ogre said, "Take your wen back!" and stuck the held wen onto the neighbor's right cheek.
They say the neighbor ended up with two wens!

3 Coloring Pages

There are 3 coloring pages.
The 1st page shows the old man with a wen dancing happily with a folding fan.
The 2nd page is a scene where he dances in front of the ogres around a campfire on a moonlit mountain.
The 3rd page is a detailed coloring page where the ogre takes off the old man's wen.
We also have an ogre coloring page, so try coloring that one, too!

The Old Man’s Gentle Colors

Try coloring Kobutori Jisan (The Old Man with a Wen)'s kimono in dark blue, green, or brown.
Color his skin light orange, and make his wen and cheeks light pink. That will make him look lively!
If you color the fan red or gold, his dance will look bright and grand.

Ogre Colors: Red, Blue, and Yellow

Color each ogre a different color, like red, blue, yellow, or green.
Color their fur loincloths ochre or brown, and trace the jagged edges in dark brown to make them look fluffy.
Their horns can be white or light yellow!

The Mountain at Night

Color the night sky dark blue or purple. Leave light yellow around the moon to make a bright, moonlit night.
If you color the bonfire orange and yellow, it will look like the fire is shining on the ogres' faces.

The Third Page Is the Dawn Sky

For the sky on the third page, use light orange or pink above the mountains, and light blue near the top to make a dawn sky.

Make the Ogres Look Cheerful

Put pink or orange on the ogres' cheeks! It makes them look cheerful instead of scary.
Color their hair dark brown or dark purple. Try not to fill it in with solid black so you can see their faces clearly.
Color the drums red and brown, and use white and blue patterns for the sake bottles and plates. This brings out the fun party mood!
If you use the same kimono color for Kobutori Jisan (The Old Man with a Wen) on all three pages, your pictures will tell the story step by step!

Similar stories around the world

Stories about getting a lump taken away are not just in Japan. You can find them in Korea, and even in Ireland in Europe!
In Europe, little people or fairies come out instead of ogres.
It is so strange and cool that far-away countries have similar stories, isn't it?

Do ogres like to dance?

The ogres in this story love singing and dancing, and they are very cheerful.
Long ago, people thought of ogres not just as scary things, but as magical mountain beings with strange powers.

"Uji Shui Monogatari"

"Uji Shui Monogatari" is a storybook put together about 800 years ago during the Kamakura period.
It also has the original stories that became "Straw Millionaire" and "Tongue-Cut Sparrow."

The Tale of Ogres Taking Away a Lump

In "Uji Shui Monogatari," this story is called "Ogre Takes Away a Lump."
It means "The thing where an ogre took away a lump."
It is written in old Japanese words, but the way the story goes is almost the same as picture books today.
It is amazing that a story from 800 years ago is still read the same way today!