The aim of this thesis is to use the comparative the method in order to analyze and introduce the characteristics of Croatian and Japanese folk tales. Best-known tales from both cultures have been selected, and based on their content there is an insight into the characteristics of tales on several levels: literary, anthropological as well as religious. The goal was to investigate not only the characteristics, but the origin of the folk tales while taking into consideration the hypotheses (of the study and) and comparing the differences and similarities. The results of the study have shown there are significant similarities between certain Croatian and Japanese folk tales. However, these similarities are the consequence of the cultural import. Furthermore, the study also analyzes the typology of the most common characters in the tales, and the aim was to categorize them according to their frequency as well as their role. The chapter on chronotopes (space and time) analyzes different types of topoi, from those that are real to heterotopias, as well as their relation to time. Heterotopias that were particularly interesting were those where psychology and anthropology can be utilized for their analysis. Finally, the religious aspect of the tales was studied through Shintoism – Buddhism, as well as Pan-Slavism – Christianity dichotomies. The goal was to study the relationships between the initial religions and those that are dominant today (in the respective cultures). The literary kind of tales falls within the realm of oral literature, and it in itself reflects human reality well. Despite the frantastic dimension to the tales, their content of reflects the problems and social relationships of the ancient times. Lastly, the aim of this thesis/this study was to introduce the characteristics of Japanese folk tales to Croatian Literary Science as well as to create bridges between the two respective cultures in order to improve the mutual communication .