Hmm. I grew up with Momotaro, and there's a whole genre of Japanese folktales with foundlings/boys of mystical antecedents, like Issunboushi (little one-inch, the equivalent to Tom Thumb, I suppose). I just figured that in a feudal system, and one where ancestry was a great determinant of destiny, that heroes could really only come from unknown origins.
I hadn't thought about just how common or uncommon that is outside of Japanese stories.
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Date: 2011-02-13 12:53 am (UTC)I hadn't thought about just how common or uncommon that is outside of Japanese stories.