昔話の終わり方の考察

Fairy tales have a well-known beginning/spell, and in the end, they have similar patterns. While narrating the tale, it is necessary to declare the end because the listener can understand the same through an appropriate word or phrase. Without it, the listener will continue to share time with the narrator, even in the end. And in the silence of the end, the listener is bewildered, asking questions like as “Is he confused that he cannot talk?” In Japan, the end spell of old tales is narrated as follows: dontoharai (at once sweep),” “ichigosaketa (whole life flourished),” and “mukashimaccou (once, it’s really so).” In foreign countries, those who hear “colorin colorado” (in Spain) or “snipp snapp snute ” (in Norway), can agree that the tale was over. Even if this is not the case, the end must be clearly manifested as “finished,” because a clear utterance is essential for narration. The Japanese classic “Konjaku Monogatari (new and old stories)” has the common end-phrase to each story and says, “It has been talked about as above.” When reading, it feels superfluous, but when listening, this expression clearly shows the end of the tale. An end spell allows the listener to return to the real world from old tales and their mystic world. At the same time, with an end spell like “mukashimaccou (once, it’s really so),” myths and the like, they may also influence the secular world of the listener.