Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Reading Notes: The Quest of the Jewel, Part B



·      Takeuchi was disgraced, and he decided to take his own life by jumping off of a cliff
·      As he was removing his swords, a fisher-maid approached him ad pointed out a gleaming light in the sea
o   She had followed him as he wondered about before going to the cliff
o   She loved the minister, but she knew that she had no hope of marrying him because she wasn’t a princess
·      The reason he was disgraced: The Empress was furious that the crystal was lost
·      The Jewel of Heart’s Desire was at the top of a coral pagoda in the sea
·      The fisher-maid told him that she could retrieve it
o   As she dove down and grabbed the magic crystal, a sea-dragon crawled out of his lair
·      The other sea monsters, including sharks, swordfish, and cuttlefish, hurried to his call
o   The dragon smiled at the fisher-maid
·      The fisher-maid knew that a dragon would not touch a corpse, so she drove Takeuchi’s sword into her chest and placed the magic crystal there
·      The dragon, upset that his plan had been foiled, disappeared into deeper waters
·      The fisher-maid’s body eventually floated to the top and Takeuchi found the jewel in her chest
·      She was honored in a manner similar to that of a general, and the Empress declared her a princess

 Tamatori and the Dragon. Source: Wikipedia.


Bibliography:  This story can be found here. Story source: Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).

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