Eric Kobayashi wrote:

> Far from being
> portrayed as evil despite their violent ways, one pirate leader was
> credited with creating the "Bible" of Japanese shipbuilding, as well as
> being marveled for his knowledge and execution of sea borne military
> tactics, able to resist or repel the advances of famous military leaders
> who later united Japan.

Pirate is as pirate does. We (=the English) have a pirate who defeated the
Spanish Armada and changed the course of history. His name was Francis
Drake. Whether he's a pirate or a hero depends on which country you were
born and grew up in (a bit like "terrorists" and "freedom fighters" these
days).

As for Momotaro, some versions stress that the dog, the pheasant and the
monkey would normally fight, but Momotaro united them in a cause. That
*could* be a fictionalising of some historical event, in which warring
factions were united under a strong leader to defeat a common enemy. I don't
know that there's any *evidence* for that interpretation - but what the
heck? - that's never stopped anyone from posting on Usenet before!

--
John
http://rarebooksinjapan.com