Our Town Inagi 2017: Kuniko Ohnishi

Inagi's Folktales for Children

Mr. Onishi, a resident of Koyodai, has been engaged in the hobby of picture letters for many years, and recently published two picture books based on stories passed down in Inagi.
The picture books are titled "The God and the Divine Child of Tenjin," which describes the origin of the Yanokuchi and Anazawa Tenjin Shrine, and "Old Tales of Odaryo," which tells the origin of the shrine in Sakahama and the Odaryo area. Both books feature hand-drawn illustrations and are warm-hearted works.
The motivation for creating the picture books was the desire to convey the local folklore of Inagi to many children through these stories.
This is the first attempt at publishing, and it reportedly took about 1 to 2 years to produce each book, culminating in a completed work after much trial and error.
The most important aspect of the production was meeting the local people and listening to their stories. The customs passed down in the area and the old ways of life were also carefully researched, and based on the stories heard, Mr. Onishi imagined and illustrated the picture books himself.
When asked about future plans, he expressed a desire to depict stories related to "water" that are characteristic of Inagi, such as "Omaru Waterway" and "Kappa Legends." He smiled and said, "I want to tell all the old tales of Inagi. There are still many stories that are not well known, and I want to spread them to many people." We look forward to his next work.

Note: The two picture books are available for viewing at each library, and are also for sale at the Inagi Communication Base Pair Terrace.