"One day, when the god of Lake Akan was going for a walk around his lake, he accidentally stepped on a water chestnut [...]"

"To the west of Shiraoi, in the mountain of Noboribetsu Hot Springs and Lake Kuttara, sometimes, a mysterious fire has been seen."

"A long time ago, there lived a race of small people called korpokkur  (meaning 'people beneath the butterburs') in this region."

"A long, long time ago, in the villages of Akayu in the plains of Okitama, droughts persisted, fields were parched, and crops withered."

"A long, long time ago, there lived a princess who was talented at playing the koto."

"A long, long time ago, there lived an elderly father and mother with their beautiful daughter."

"A long, long time ago, there lived a villager named Magozaburō in a town called Kurokawa."