Somewhere in Japan, an old man and his wife lived together. One day, the old man went to the mountains to fetch firewood. While gathering firewood, he found a large cave in the ground. Thinking that the cave was the home of an evil spirit, he decided to fill it with wood.
When he inserted a bundle of wood, he found that it was not enough. So he continued adding wood into the cave until, finally, he used up all the firewood he had gathered in the last three months. At that moment, a beautiful woman emerged from the cave, thanked him for the firewood and pleaded with him to visit the cave.
Upon entering the cave, the old man found a magnificent mansion, beside which all his firewood was piled. As he entered the mansion, he saw another older man with a white beard. Poised and dignified, the older man in the mansion regaled him with a feast. As he was leaving, the bearded host offered him a very ugly lad named Hyōtoku, who was playing with his navel, as a gift. The old man took Hyōtoku to his house.
Hyōtoku continued his habit of always picking his navel. One day, the old man poked the boy’s navel with an iron tong used for the hibachi [portable heater], after which a golden grain came out of his navel. Since then, the old man poked the boy’s navel three times a day, and the old man and his wife became very rich. The golden grains that came out of the Hyōtoku’s navel are rice grains.
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