Hanasaka Jiisan (The Old Man Who Made Flowers Bloom) Coloring Pages

Hanasaka Jiisan (The Old Man Who Made Flowers Bloom) is one of Japan's most famous classic fairy tales. It is a story where kindness and honesty are rewarded. A kind old man finds treasure thanks to his pet dog. Later, he scatters ashes to make dead trees bloom with beautiful flowers!

Where the Story Comes From and Its Lesson

People think the story of Hanasaka Jiisan (The Old Man Who Made Flowers Bloom) was already popular way back in the Edo period.

• Lesson and Theme: The main ideas of this story are "kindness and honesty" and "how foolish greed can be." The honest, kind old man follows the spirit of his dog. His sweet heart brings about a miracle, and he gets a big reward. On the other hand, the mean old man next door is blinded by greed. He tries to copy the good man, but he fails every time. This difference teaches you a very important lesson!
• The Power of Miracles: The magical scene where cherry blossoms bloom on dead trees from scattered ashes is the most exciting part of the story. It shows you the power of miracles that come from love and a good heart!

The Story

Long, long ago, an honest, kind old man and a greedy, mean old man lived next door to each other. The honest old man had a dog named Shiro. Shiro was very smart and loved the old man very much.

One day, Shiro kept barking at a spot in the garden. When the honest old man dug there, lots of gold coins came popping out! The honest old man became very rich.

The mean old man next door saw this and forced the good man to lend him Shiro. He tried to find treasure too, but Shiro only dug up a pile of trash. The mean old man got super mad and killed poor Shiro, then buried him.

The honest old man was so sad. He planted a tree where Shiro was buried and cared for it with love. One night, Shiro came into his dream and said, "If you scatter the ashes of that tree, flowers will bloom on dead trees."

The honest old man did just what Shiro said. Then, beautiful flowers really bloomed on a dead cherry blossom tree!

A great lord heard about this. He praised the honest old man and gave him many wonderful gifts.

The mean old man next door saw this and tried to copy him again. He scattered ashes, but no flowers bloomed at all. Instead, the ashes got right into the lord's eyes! The mean man was given a big punishment. But the honest old man and his wife kept being kind and lived happily ever after.

When you color, the trick is to show the kindness of the honest old man and the beautiful, miraculous scene where the cherry blossoms bloom.

Basic Ways to Color

• Honest Old Man:
  • Kimono: Use simple colors (like light brown, gray, or blue) to color his kind face and round body. If you highlight his smile, everyone will see how honest he is!
  • Treasure: Color the gold coins he dug up with gold so they look sparkly and bright.
• Mean Old Man:
  • Kimono: If you color it with dark colors like black or dark gray, it will look greedy and mean. Color his slanted eyes and wrinkles with dark colors to show how scary he is!
• Shiro:
  • Color Shiro the dog with white or light brown. Color his kind, looking-up eyes to show how much he loves Hanasaka Jiisan (The Old Man Who Made Flowers Bloom).

Colors for Special Items

• Cherry Blossoms:
  • Petals: Use soft pink and white to show the petals fluttering in the air. If you color the edges of the tree branches with bright pink, it will look like the flowers are blooming everywhere!
• Withered Tree:
  • Before he throws the ashes, color the withered tree with dark brown or black to make it look lonely. After the flowers bloom, color the trunk with a slightly lighter brown to show it coming back to life!
• Ashes:
  • Use light gray or white for the ashes Hanasaka Jiisan (The Old Man Who Made Flowers Bloom) throws to show the dust dancing in the air.

Hints for Having Fun with Your Coloring Page!

• Express Yourself Freely!
  • It is fun to use special colors for the cherry blossoms on the dead tree! Try white or light yellow along with pink to make a one-of-a-kind miracle cherry tree. Express yourself freely!
• Enjoy the Contrasts!
  • Use bright colors around the kind honest old man and dark colors around the mean old man. Thinking about these contrasts will make the story come to life!