Tsuru no Ongaeshi

Iwaki Yumoto hot spring is where the famous
crane story is believed to have originated.
Kokeshi, Tsuru no Ongaeshi Legend,
by Yasuo Yanagiuchi

The story of a Crane’s Return of a Favor is another lovely folktale from Japan. One day a man comes upon a wounded crane who was shot by hunters he aids the wounded crane and sets it free and goes on his way.

That very night, a beautiful girl appears at the man's door and tells him that she will be his wife. The kind man timidly tells her that he is not wealthy enough to support them. But the beautiful woman tells him that she has a bag of rice that will fill their stomachs and they will need for nothing. They both have plenty to eat daily, the rice just never seems to go down in the sack, and it always stays full.

Sometime later his new wife tells him that she is going into a room to make something and that he is not to come in until she is finished. Seven days passed by and she finally comes out with a beautiful piece of clothing, but has noticeably lost some weight. She tells the man to go to the market the next morning and to sell this for a very large price. He does as she asks and comes back home with good news that he has sold the clothing for a very good price. After that, they are now wealthy.

Some more time goes by and the wife then goes back into the room, telling him once again not to come in until she is finished. The husband?s curiosity takes over and he peeks in, and discovers that the beautiful woman is really the crane that he saved. When the crane sees that the man has found out her true identity, she says that she cannot stay there anymore and sadly she flies away to never come back. Note: There is another version titled Tsuru Ny?b? (鶴女房, “Crane Wife”) where the man is the crane.