The wooden bowl story appears in
"Grandma! Grandpa! Write Stories to Me!" (also titled "A Grandpa's Notebook")
by Meyer Moldeven
but without the schmaltzy ending tacked on.
In the book, the wooden bowl story is followed by a similarly themed story:
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In many villages of old Japan, the townsfolk suffered deeply and, often, the
extremes of hunger and cold. It was vital to the survival of the able- bodied
that those who were in their final hours of life be taken to the nearby
foothills and left there to die. This sorrowful task belonged to the senior
son.
So it was, indeed, that a dutiful senior son, at the appropriate time imposed
by illness and tradition, wrapped his dying mother in the family blanket
reserved for such sad occasions. He lifted her gently, cradled her in his
arms, and made his way to a sheltered place among the nearby foothills'
rocks and underbrush.
Lowering his mother to the ground, he kneeled beside her and tenderly
made his final good-bye. She listened silently, breathing shallow, eyes
closed. Finally, he stood, bowed deeply and, tears in his eyes, turned to
leave.
'Wait, my son.' Her voice was barely a whisper. 'Do not forget the blanket.
The day will come when it will be needed for another and, in time, for you.'
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If you want to read these tales and others, "Grandpa's Notebook" is a free ebook in various formats, available from:
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2737