Once upon a time, in a cold, cold northern land,
there lived an old woodcutter named Shigesaku and his son, Onokichi.
Around the time when the mountains were covered with snow,
they would go hunting with their rifles.
One day,
they went out into the snowy mountain as usual, but the sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds,
and it started snowing heavily.
They were overtaken by a blizzard in the middle of the mountains.
Luckily, they found a small hut for woodcutters.
"We have no choice but to stay overnight here."
"I suppose so."
Both of them were worn out.
As they warmed themselves up at the fire, they soon fell asleep.
The strong wind blew toward the hut, slamming its door open and blowing snow inside.
Suddenly, the fire blew out.
"Brrr....I'm freezing."
It was so freezing cold that Onokichi woke up.
Then, he saw a figure.
"Who is there?"
There in the dark appeared a young beautiful woman.
"Oh my gosh, it's the Snow Woman!"
She stood by Shigesaku, and blew white frost on him.
When the frost covered his face, his body gradually turned pale.
Finally, he died peacefully in his sleep.
The Snow Woman then approached closer to Onokichi.
"Please, don't kill me!"
Onokichi was struggling to run away, but the Snow Woman gently spoke to him.
"You are young and still full of vigor. As you wish, I will let you live.
But, if you should ever tell anyone what happened tonight,
your beautiful soul will be taken"
said the Snow Woman, and disappeared into the blizzard.
Onokichi sank weakly to the floor and fainted.
The next morning, Onokichi woke up to find his father frozen dead.
A year later, on a heavy rainy day,
there stood a young woman in front of Onokichi's house.
"You poor thing! You are drenched."
Since Onokichi was very kind, he let her into his house.
The woman's name was Oyuki.
Onokichi and Oyuki got married, and they were blessed with beautiful children.
They lived a very happy life.
The only thing that made Onokichi worried was that every time Oyuki went out into the strong sun,
she would faint.
But kind Onokichi always cared for her and helped her, and they were really happy together.
One day, seeing Oyuki doing needlework from the side,
Onokichi suddenly remembered the day of the stormy night long ago.
"Oyuki, I have seen a beautiful woman who looked very much like you.
I was caught in a blizzard in the mountains, and met her.
She was the Snow Woman."
Suddenly, Oyuki turned pale and said sadly.
"You told the secret.
You promised me that you would never tell anyone."
"What's the matter, Oyuki?" asked Onokichi.
Before he knew it, Oyuki's clothes turned as white as snow.
"I can no longer live as a human because you revealed the secret." said Oyuki in grief.
""I will never forget you.
I was very happy with you and our children.
Please take very good care of them. Farewell...""
A cold wind slammed the door open, letting the coldness enter.
Then, Oyuki disappeared with the wind without leaving a trace.