The motif of the magical escape is found in folk tales, where the protagonist, pursued by monsters or enemies, uses some tool or magic to stop the enemy in their tracks and succeeds in escaping from their clutches.
In Japan's "Record of Ancient Matters", there is an ancient myth that Izanagi-no-Mikoto, having followed his dead wife Izanami-no-Mikoto into Yomi-no-Kuni (the land of the dead), ran away from her in fear of her appearance, with maggots gushing forth from her body, and flung head ornaments towards his pursuers, which transformed into obstacles, thus allowing him to run home above-ground.
In Europe, too, there are many folk tales and legends based on the motif of the magical escape. Many of them have a strong aspect of magical tales, in which a young man rescues a captured girl and escapes from his pursuers by transforming himself into a bird or other creature through the girl's magic.
This is believed to be strongly influenced by the famous legend in Greek mythology in which Jason, the leader of the Argo, returned home after obtaining the golden fleece guarded by a dragon through the witchcraft of his wife, the witch Medea.
According to the Russian folklorist Propp, the motifs of folk tales are common throughout the world and can be divided into several patterns. In other words, this magical escape motif can be found in several folk tales and myths, not only in Japan and Europe but also in other parts of the world.
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