Japanese folk tales - Momotaro

Momotaro is an old Japanese folk tale / fairy story that tells of Momotaro, a boy born from a peach, who journeys to rid an island of demons with the help of his animal companions.
I present a radio show where I sometimes read Japanese folk tales. This is one of them. There's not much to look at, but I've added some notes that may interest you.
Notably, the translation of this story is quite old. I mostly kept to the archaic language because I find it more fitting for an ancient tale. I did change some bits though where the language proved too opaque for modern listeners.

[@ajikpajik9331]

This is a beautiful telling of this story. Thank you.

[@miguelmako8582]

This is the story I remember from when I was about nine. Please continue

[@jasoncook9817]

Thanks chap, I really enjoyed that. Surly it lends itself to SoundCloud or a podcast?

[@kodabar]

It's from my radio show

[@nkosisandisiwe9848]

What is the city of origin of the Japanese folktale Momotaro?

[@kodabar]

There is a lot of argument about that. In Japan, it is widely believed that he was from Okayama Prefecture, but that's a modern invention. The reality is that no one knows. The boy was born from a giant peach, so the story isn't exactly factual...

[@moonlit-ck7]

I am Korean,
In Korea, it spread to the Russo-Japanese War and caused Japanese colonial era.
The Japanese bullied Koreans.
From unauthorized rule to national division,
Japan's Governor-General of Korea under the rule of national extermination
That's how japan bullied Koreans.

[@Janka007]

Similar to a Hungarian folk tale about the son of a white horse. :D

[@jaobille79]

Are the dog, monkey, and pheasant all males?

[@kodabar]

That's an interesting question. The text I'm reading from is an English translation and it's rather old. Japanese has no pronouns beyond first personal ones, so there's no 'he' or 'she' in the story. Because of the time in which the translation to English was made, it's reasonable to assume that any mention of pronouns in regard to the animals is likely to be male, but not intended to be determinative. In formal English (especially before the 20th century), it was common to use the masculine form as a default without intending any meaning. cf Legal documents and laws are still termed in such a manner, though often with a prefacing comment saying "The masculine shall imply the feminine" to specify that ostensibly male pronouns are used as non-gendered terms.
So if the story does use any gender pronouns in relation to the animals, that's not something that was in the Japanese text and it's likely not even intended to convey any meaning in English.