A narrator of folklores: Mrs. Nanae Igarashi
The local folklores and legends were passed down through the generations.
Mrs. Igarashi, married into Mishima 53 years ago, is one of the profound folklore tellers in Fukushima prefecture who recites folk stories heard from her parents and grandparents.
She was born as the youngest among 7 sisters in Kaneyama town and brought up listening folk tales from her families every night.
“There might be many children like me at that time, but the television took place of a custom of storytelling in a family.” She said.
She worked as a nursery teacher while she was engaging in folklore telling. She often told folk tales to nursery school children and found them to be absorbed in her narration.
Retired from the nursery school, Mrs.Igarashi works vigorously to train people who want to be a folklore teller.
“The folklore in this region should be passed down by the people living in the region.”
In local folk tales, the scenery that the narrator had seen is reflected and remains in the tales even after his/her death.
Mrs. Igarashi hopes that folklore telling would pass down the sceneries of hometown as well as the stories to children living here in future.
