The Warrior and the Wise Man

David Wisniewski created this fiction tale and set the tale in Japan. He says that the Japanese culture seemed like the perfect setting for his story. It is very nice and interesting. A warrior seems to run over everything but get many things that he wants. A Wise Man uses his mind to help others and make the world around him a better place for everyone. It is a nice message.

This story uses the classic tale of twin brothers vastly different in temperament. Tozaemon the great warrior and Toeman the wisest of men are the sons of the Japanese Emperor and it is time for him to choose a successor. Given the talents of the brothers, the Emperor finds it difficult to make the selection. Therefore, he gives each of them five tasks, to bring back sample of the five eternal elements. *) The Earth that is ever bountiful *) The water that constantly quenches *) The fire that burns forever *) The wind that always blows *) The cloud that eternally covers Being a soldier, Tozaemon plunges ahead and uses force to obtain a sample of each of the eternal elements. However, being wise, Toeman simply talks to the keepers and in exchange for his assistance, Toeman is given samples. When both arrive back at the Emperor's residence, the armies of the keepers of the five eternal elements have followed Tozaemon to the castle and are prepared to destroy it. However, Toeman uses his wisdom to defeat the armies and is crowned Emperor by his father with his brother's assent. Toeman then turns out to be the wisest of rulers. This book is a good demonstration of wisdom over might. Illustrated using an interesting technique of shadow cutouts, all characters are black on a colored background. The author, who also served as illustrator, researched Japanese history and decorative arts before he wrote the book. Therefore, this is an adaptation of a Japanese folk tale.