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Ryūgū-jō
or is the supernatural undersea palace of Ryūjin or Dragon God in Japanese tradition. It is best known as the place in fairytale where Urashima Tarō was invited after saving a turtle, where he was entertained by the Dragon God's princess Oto-hime and his minions, but when Urashima returned back to land after what he thought was a few days away, centuries had passed. Overview Ryūgū or Ryūgū-jō is the fabulous mythical residence of the Ryūjin (Dragon God) or Sea God, or the princess Otohime. It is also equated with the "fish-scale palace" (''iroko no goto tsukureru miya'')" which was the Sea God Watatsumi's palace mentioned in the ''Kojiki'' (8th century). The Ryūgū is well-known as the supernatural place in the fisherman's fairytale Urashima Tarō, and most Japanese now consider it to be a place which supposed to lie under the sea. Actually, Ryūgū that appears in other narratives and fairytales (''otogi banashi'') had been considered to be underwater for a long tim ...
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Urashima Tarō
is the protagonist of a Japanese fairy tale (''otogi banashi''), who in a typical modern version is a fisherman rewarded for rescuing a turtle, and carried on its back to the Dragon Palace (Ryūgū-jō) beneath the sea. There he is entertained by the princess Otohime as a reward. He spends what he believes to be several days with the princess, but when he returns to his home village, he discovers he has been gone for at least 100 years. When he opens the forbidden jewelled box (tamatebako), given to him by Otohime on his departure, he turns into an old man. The tale originates from the legend of Urashimako (Urashima no ko or Ura no Shimako) recorded in various pieces of literature dating to the 8th century, such as the ''Fudoki'' for Tango Province, '' Nihon Shoki'', and the '' Man'yōshū''. During the Muromachi to Edo periods, versions of ''Urashima Tarō'' appeared in storybook form called the '' Otogizōshi'', made into finely painted picture scrolls and picture books or m ...
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Otohime
Oto-hime or Otohime ( ja, 乙姫), in the Japanese folktale of ''Urashima Tarō'', is the princess of the undersea palace Ryūgū-jō or is the supernatural undersea palace of Ryūjin or Dragon God in Japanese tradition. It is best known as the place in fairytale where Urashima Tarō was invited after saving a turtle, where he was entertained by the Dragon God's princess Oto- .... Second daughter Oto-hime (Princess Oto)'s name consists of the character also read ''otsu'' meaning "No. 2".: "乙姫は甲乙の乙であるので次女、二女、妹姫となります". Thus Oto-hime must have been the 'second daughter' or 'younger princess' of the Dragon King ( Ryū-ō), as explained by folklorist in his bilingual edition of the In ''Urashima'' fairytale. Miyao whimsically wonders whatever became of Kō-hime, the elder daughter never mentioned. Explanatory notes References ;Bibliography * External links {{DEFAULTSORT:Otohime Female characters in fairy tale ...
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Oto-hime
Oto-hime or Otohime ( ja, 乙姫), in the Japanese folktale of ''Urashima Tarō'', is the princess of the undersea palace Ryūgū-jō or is the supernatural undersea palace of Ryūjin or Dragon God in Japanese tradition. It is best known as the place in fairytale where Urashima Tarō was invited after saving a turtle, where he was entertained by the Dragon God's princess Oto .... Second daughter Oto-hime (Princess Oto)'s name consists of the character also read ''otsu'' meaning "No. 2".: "乙姫は甲乙の乙であるので次女、二女、妹姫となります". Thus Oto-hime must have been the 'second daughter' or 'younger princess' of the Dragon King ( Ryū-ō), as explained by folklorist in his bilingual edition of the In ''Urashima'' fairytale. Miyao whimsically wonders whatever became of Kō-hime, the elder daughter never mentioned. Explanatory notes References ;Bibliography * External links {{DEFAULTSORT:Otohime Female characters in fairy tale ...
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Ryūjin
Ryūjin ( 龍神), which in some traditions is equivalent to Ōwatatsumi, was the tutelary deity of the sea in Japanese mythology. In many versions Ryūjin had the ability to transform into a human shape. Many believed the god had knowledge on medicine and many considered him as the bringer of rain and thunder, Ryūjin is also the patron god (''ujigami'') of several family groups. This Japanese dragon, symbolizing the power of the ocean, had a large mouth. He is considered a good god and patron of Japan, since the Japanese population has for millennia lived off the bounty of the sea. Ryūjin is also credited with the challenge of a hurricane which sank the Mongolian flotilla sent by Kublai Khan. Ryūjin lived in Ryūgū-jō, his palace under the sea built out of red and white coral, from where he controlled the tides with magical tide jewels. Sea turtles, fish, jellyfish, snakes, other sea creatures are often seen as Ryūjin's servants. Mythology How the jellyfish lost its bo ...
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Watatsumi
, also pronounced Wadatsumi, is a legendary ''kami'' (神, god; deity; spirit), Japanese dragon and tutelary water deity in Japanese mythology. is believed to be another name for the sea deity Ryūjin (龍神, Dragon God) and also for the , which rule the upper, middle and lower seas respectively and were created when Izanagi was washing himself of the dragons blood when he returned from Yomi, "the underworld". Name The earliest written sources of Old Japanese transcribe the name of the sea god in a diverse manner. The c. 712 CE ''Kojiki'' (tr. Basil Hall Chamberlain 1883) writes it semantically as 海 神 lit. "sea god" and transcribes it phonetically with man'yōgana as Wata-tsu-mi, 綿 津 見, lit. "cotton port see" in identifying Ōwatsumi kami and the Watatsumi Sanjin. The c. 720 CE '' Nihongi'' (tr. William George Aston 1896) also writes Watatsumi as 海神 "sea god", along with 海童 "sea child" and 少童命 "small child lords" for the Watatsumi Sanjin. In the modern J ...
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Amabie
is a legendary Japanese mermaid or merman with a bird-beak like mouth and three legs or tail-fins, who allegedly emerges from the sea, prophesies either an abundant harvest or an epidemic, and instructed people to make copies of its likeness to defend against illness. The ''amabie'' appears to be a variant or misspelling of the ''amabiko'' or ''amahiko'' ( ja, アマビコ, アマヒコ, , , , , ), otherwise known as the , also a prophetic beast depicted variously in different examples, being mostly as 3-legged or 4-legged, and said to bear ape-like (sometimes torso-less), daruma doll-like, or bird-like, or fish-like resemblance according to commentators. This information was typically disseminated in the form of illustrated woodblock print bulletins (''kawaraban'') or pamphlets (''surimono'') or hand-drawn copies. The ''amabie'' was depicted on a print marked with an 1846 date. Attestation to the ''amabiko'' predating ''amabie'' had not been known until the discovery of a han ...
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Giant Oarfish
The giant oarfish (''Regalecus glesne'') is a species of oarfish of the family Regalecidae. It is an oceanodromous species with a worldwide distribution, excluding polar regions. Other common names include Pacific oarfish, king of herrings, ribbonfish, and streamer fish. ''R. glesne'' is the world's longest bony fish. Its shape is ribbon-like, narrow laterally, with a dorsal fin along its entire length, stubby pectoral fins, and long, oar-shaped pelvic fins, from which its common name is derived. Its coloration is silver and blue with spots of dark pigmentation, and its fins are crimson. Its physical characteristics and undulating mode of swimming have led to speculation that it might be the source of many "sea serpent" sightings. Taxonomy ''R. glesne'' was first described by Peter Ascanius in 1772. The genus name, ''Regalecus'', signifies "belonging to a king"; the specific epithet ''glesne'' is from "Glesnaes", the name of a farm at Glesvær (not far from Norway's second la ...
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Okinawan Language
The Okinawan language (, , , ) or Central Okinawan, is a Northern Ryukyuan languages, Ryukyuan language spoken primarily in the southern half of the Okinawa Island, island of Okinawa, as well as in the surrounding islands of Kerama Islands, Kerama, Kumejima, Okinawa, Kumejima, Tonaki, Okinawa, Tonaki, Aguni, Okinawa, Aguni and a number of smaller peripheral islands. Central Okinawan distinguishes itself from the speech of Northern Okinawa, which is classified independently as the Kunigami language. Both languages are listed by UNESCO as Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, endangered. Though Okinawan encompasses a number of local dialects, the Shuri, Okinawa, Shuri–Naha variant is generally recognized as the ''de facto'' standard, as it had been used as the official language of the Ryukyu Kingdom since the reign of King Shō Shin (1477–1526). Moreover, as the former capital of Shuri was built around the royal palace, the language used by the royal court became the regio ...
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Hoori
, also known as , is a figure in Japanese mythology, the third and youngest son of and the blossom princess . He is one of the ancestors of the Emperors of Japan as the grandfather of Emperor Jimmu. He is also known as . Mythology Hoori's legend is told in both the ''Kojiki'' and the '' Nihon Shoki''. Hoori was a hunter, and he had an argument with his brother Hoderi, a fisherman, over a fish-hook that Hoori had forced his elder brother to lend him and had lost. Hoderi claimed that Hoori should give back the fish-hook, for he refused to accept another one (due to the belief that each tool is animated and hence unique). Hoori then descended to the bottom of the sea to search, but was unable to find it. Instead, he found Toyotama-hime, the daughter of the sea god, Ryūjin. The sea god helped Hoori find Hoderi's lost hook, and Hoori later married Toyotama-hime. Hoori lived with his wife in a palace under the sea for three years, but after that Hoori became home-sick and wished to ...
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Hoderi
, in Japanese mythology and folklore, was a deity of the bounty of the sea and enchanted fisherman. He is called in the ''Kojiki'', and or in the '' Nihon Shoki''. In Japanese mythology, he appears with his younger brother Yamasachi-hiko (Hoori). When the fish hook he lends to his younger brother is lost at sea, he demands its return rather than to accept any compensation. Later, Hoderi is defeated after attacking Hoori (who has obtained mastery of the tides with a magic jewel) and vows to serve his younger brother forever onward. Genealogy According to the ''Kojiki'', Umisachi-hiko or Hoderi ("Fire Shine") was the eldest son of the god Ninigi and the blossom princess Konohanasakuya-hime, who gave birth to triplets during the same delivery., ''Kojiki'', pp. 117–119, note 10 (Hoderi-no-mikoto), p. 119 ("a prince who got his luck on the sea"). The '' Nihon Shoki'' refers to the birth of the triplets redundantly several times, and the names are represented inconsistently. In th ...
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Mizukagami
is a Japanese '' rekishi monogatari''. It is believed to have been written in the early Kamakura period around 1195. It is widely credited to Nakayama Tadachika but the actual writer is unknown. It is the third book of the four mirror series. It deals with the oldest time-period, starting with the legendary Emperor Jimmu and ending with Emperor Ninmyō. It is told by a fictitious old woman who is visited by a bhikkhu while staying at Hase-dera. All the facts are taken from ca. 1150 by Kōen, the teacher of Hōnen. "Mizukagami" refers to the reflective pool in Japanese gardens in which can be seen such things as bridges and cherry blossoms in its reflection. See also * ''Ōkagami'' * '' Imakagami'' * ''Masukagami is a Japanese historical tale written in the early Muromachi period believed to be between 1368 and 1376. The author is not known but is believed to be Nijō Yoshimoto.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric ''et al.'' (2005). "''Masu-kagami''" i ''Japan Ency ...'' Referenc ...
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