Gon, the Little Fox

Gon, the Little Fox (in Japanese: ごんぎつね: Gongitsune) is a famous Japanese children's story about the life of a little fox called Gon. The story is considered the masterpiece of Niimi Nankichi, also sometimes known as the Hans Christian Andersen of Japan.

ynopsis

Gon (Japanese:ごん) is a little fox. Looking for food he comes to a little village where he repeatedly steals food and creates other mischief, constantly evading the angry villagers.

One day Gon steals an eel in front of Hyoju, which Hyoju (Japanese:兵十) wanted to give to his sick old mother. His mother subsequently dies. Gon realizes his mistake and tries to make it up by secretly giving Hyoju gifts he stole, although the villagers now accuse Hyoju of stealing and beat him up. Afterwards, Gon only gives mushrooms and nuts he collected in the forest. Hyoju is grateful for the gifts, although he does not know where they come from. One day, Hyoju sees the fox sneaking around, and shoots him to death out of anger about the death of his mother. Only afterwards does he realize to his horror that the fox he just shot gave him all the mushrooms and nuts.

Analysis

Japanese stories do not always have a happy end. In this story, Hyoju's mother dies, Gon gets shot by Hyoju while trying to make up for his errors, and Hyoju feels guilty for shooting the fox that was trying to help him. The moral is often interpreted that everybody has to accept his fate.

Contrast this with most children's stories in the American and European culture, where the morale frequently is that one makes his own fate, and children stories almost exclusively have a happy ending. A prime example in contrast to the story of Gon is Bambi, which starts similarly with the death of the mother of the deer, but nevertheless has a happy end.

Foxes are also seen in Japanese culture as magical and often mischievous animals. Some folk tales tell stories how foxes change shape to impersonate other beings and objects. Gon also mimics humans on occasions, although there seem to be no magical powers involved.

The eel stolen by Gon may have accelerated or caused the death of Hyoju's mother. Dishes with eels have a reputation in Japan for providing strength, especially during the heat of the summer.

Author background

Nankichi wrote the story in 1930 (or 1932?)when he was only seventeen, based on a Japanese folk tale he heard. He wrote the story while in Handa, Aichi prefecture, the town where he was born. He also lost his mother when he was 4 years old, and was touched deeply by the tale. Like Gon, Nankichi also did not live very long and died at age 29 of tuberculosis.

Miscellaneous

The book was also made into an animated movie Gongitsune (ごんぎつね) with Mayumi Tanaka as the voice of Gon. The movie premiered in March 1985.

References

*Nankichi Niimi: Gon, the Little Fox, Kodansha English Library ISBN 4-7700-2277-8

External links

* Japan Mint: [http://www.mint.go.jp/eng/coin/international/coinset/page25.html 2007 Coin Set with the story of Gon, the Little Fox]