or Luxuriant-Jewel-Princess is a
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
in
Japanese mythology
Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto and Buddhist traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of year ...
in the episode of the "Luck of the Sea and the Luck of the Mountain" in the ''
Kojiki
The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...
'' as well as ''
Nihon Shoki''. She is the daughter of the sea deity,
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 ...
.
Toyotama marries the prince, Luck of the Mountains (aka "Fire-Subside" or
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 lege ...
), but returns to the sea when he breaks the vow not to spy on her while she goes through childbirth. The child she gave birth to was
Ugayafukiaezu
is a Shinto ''kami'', and is in Japanese mythology, the father of Japan's first Emperor, Emperor Jimmu.
Nomenclature and story
In the ''Kojiki'', his name appears as , and in the '' Nihon Shoki'' as . Basil Hall Chamberlain glossed the ''Kojik ...
.
Myth
![Japan004b ia02-Hoori&Toyotama-hime](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Japan004b_ia02-Hoori%26Toyotama-hime.jpg)
Account of Toyatama-hime and the Luck of the Mountain appear in the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon Shoki''.
Toyotama-hime (Luxuriant-Jewel-Princess) was the daughter of the Sea-Deity
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 ...
. The palace where they reside is said to be as if made from fish scales and supposedly lies undersea.
She makes a fateful meeting with the hunter prince, named Luck of the Mountain (Yamasachi), also known as Fire-Subside (
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 lege ...
). The prince came in search of the fishing hook he lost at sea, borrowed from his elder brother Luck of the Sea (
Umisachi).
When the princess came to draw water from the well, the prince was already waiting, having climbed a ''
katsura'' tree (or ''
cassia'' tree) that towered above the well. The prince asked for a drink of water and made a gesture of spitting jewels into the vessel. The princess was captivated by his beauty. Her sea deity father recognized him as the descendant of the heavenly gods and arranged a banquet. Toyotama married the prince, and they lived in the place for three years.
At the end of three years, Toyotama's husband let out a sigh and revealed his unfinished quest for the lost fish hook, which needed to be returned to his brother. After the hook was found caught in the sea bream's (''tai'' fish's) throat, Toyotama's husband was set upon a one-fathom long crocodile (or shark) to return home and, with the advice from the seagod, subjugated his elder brother.
Toyotama, who had accompanied her husband to the land above sea, announced her pregnancy. The prince built for her a child-delivery hut ("parturition house") thatched with
cormorant
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
feathers, which was not completely thatched when she went into labour. Toyotama requested her husband not watch while she gave birth to their child. Toyotama then gave birth to a son, who was named
Ugayafukiaezu
is a Shinto ''kami'', and is in Japanese mythology, the father of Japan's first Emperor, Emperor Jimmu.
Nomenclature and story
In the ''Kojiki'', his name appears as , and in the '' Nihon Shoki'' as . Basil Hall Chamberlain glossed the ''Kojik ...
("Cormarant-Thatch-Meeting-Incompletely") or "Heavenly Male Brave of the Shore".
Unfortunately, Hoori's curiosity got the better of him and he attempted to spy on his wife. To his surprise, rather than seeing his wife as he knew her, he witnessed an enormous ''
wani
Wani may refer to:
*Vani (custom), a child marriage custom in tribal areas of Pakistan
*Wani (dragon), a Japanese dragon translated as "sea monster", "crocodile", or "shark"
*Wani (scholar), a legendary scholar, sent from Korea to Japan during the ...
'' (crocodile, or in ancient usage also meant shark) cradling his child (one ''Nihongi'' version claim she was a dragon, ''Tatsu''). This creature was none other than his beloved Toyotama who had shape-shifted to give birth. After catching her husband spying on her, she was utterly ashamed that he broke his promise. Unable to forgive Fire-Subside, she abandoned him and their child by returning to the sea. Following her departure, she sent her younger sister
Tamayori ("Jewel-Good") to help raise the child in her absence. As Ugayafukiaezu grew of age, he married his aunt and eventually conceived a child,
Jimmu
was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the '' Nihon Shoki'' and ''Kojiki''. His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture"
Emperor of Japan
The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...
.
Parallels
Some commentators have noted a parallel between Toyotama-hime and the princess
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 ...
in the tale of ''
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 ...
'', the boy who saves a turtle. Toyotama rode a sea turtle to return from the sea to give birth, according to the ''
Nihon Shoki''.
The transformation of Toyotama into a crocodile form draws parallels with the
Melusine
Mélusine () or Melusina is a figure of European folklore, a female spirit of fresh water in a holy well or river. She is usually depicted as a woman who is a serpent or fish from the waist down (much like a lamia or a mermaid). She is also s ...
legend of continental Europe and
selkie
In Celtic and Norse mythology, selkies (also spelled ', ', ') or selkie folk ( sco, selkie fowk) meaning 'seal folk' are mythological beings capable of therianthropy, changing from seal to human form by shedding their skin. They are found ...
legends of Scotland and Scandinavia.
Science
The extinct crocodile genus ''
Toyotamaphimeia
''Toyotamaphimeia machikanensis'' (Toyotama-hime from Mountain Machikane ( :ja:待兼山)) is an extinct gavialid crocodylian which lived in Japan during the Pleistocene. A specimen recovered in 1964 at Osaka University during the construction of ...
'' was named after this deity, in direct reference to this myth.
See also
*
The Wife from the Dragon Palace
The Wife from the Dragon Palace is a Japanese folktale collected by scholar Yanagita Kunio. Other scholars locate similar stories in Central and East Asia.
Summary
Yanagita collected a variant from Kikaijima, Kagoshima. In this version, a woman ...
Popular culture
*Throughout Japanese media, human-dragon hybrids (former on their mother's side as the case with Toyotama) are commonplace, notably in video games such as ''
Popolocrois
is a Japanese video game software developer located in Tokyo, Japan. Originally established as “GEN CREATIVE HOUSE CO., LTD.” in February 1987, changed company name to “G-Artists Inc.” in March 1991, then to “epics Inc.” in June 2 ...
'', ''
Fire Emblem
is a fantasy tactical role-playing game franchise developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. First produced and published for the Famicom in 1990, the series currently consists of sixteen core entries and five spinoffs. Game ...
'' and ''
Breath of Fire
''Breath of Fire'' is a role-playing video game series developed by Capcom. It originated on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. The series is notable for its recurring characters and ambiguous continuity; though each game is its ...
''.
*In the Japanese anime Sekirei, there is a Sekirei named Toyotama that fights using a traditional wooden staff.
Explanatory notes
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
;(primary sources)
*
**Chamberlain, Basil H. (tr.) (1981)
919
__NOTOC__
Year 919 ( CMXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By Place
Byzantine Empire
* March 25 – Romanos Lekapenos, admiral (''droungarios'') of the ...
The Kojiki, or Records of Ancient Matters', Rutland and Tokyo, Charles E. Tuttle. (reprint)
*
*
*
*
;(retellings)
* Pasteur, V. M. (1906).
The Story of Fire-shine and Fire-Fade in: ''Gods and heroes of old Japan'', London, England: Kegan, Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co. Ltd., pp. 29–47
*
;(secondary sources)
*
* Davis, Frederick Hadland (1916),
The Age of the Gods" in: ''Japan, from the age of the gods to the fall of tsingtau'' London, England: T.C & E.C Jack, Limited., pp. 24–25
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toyotama-Hime
Japanese goddesses
Japanese dragons
Shinto kami