Storyteller W. Nikola-Lisa crafts an original literary folktale for the upper elementary and middle school reader. It is a tale told in the manner of what comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell would call a "Return of the Hero" format, with the setting ancient Japan rather than medieval Europe. Told in brief, repetitive, even cryptic episodes, Ichiro and the Great Mountain follows a young, free-spirited boy through the stages of life as he searches for his true self, making this literary folktale a story of becoming or, in the Buddhist tradition, a story of self-realization and enlightenment.