Contrasting the narrative structure of Japanese folktales and Grimms’ fairy tales

Abstract The narrative structure of Japanese and Western European folktales were compared. Using a folktale popularity index, 21 Brothers Grimm fairy tales and 19 Japanese folktales were selected for analysis. One shared pattern and three culture-specific patterns were predicted and observed. A “moral lesson” pattern of rewarding good and punishing evil appeared in both samples. A “hero’s adventurous journey with happy ending” pattern appeared only in the Grimms’ tales. A “wondrous events with happy ending” pattern and a “wondrous events with return-to-baseline ending” pattern appeared only in Japanese tales. Japanese folktales also were shorter. Links to other genres within each culture’s narrative ecology, such as life stories, are discussed.