Reading Notes: Japanese Mythology, Part B

Story Source: Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).

Triptych print of women visiting the Enoshima shrine of Benzaiten (Source: Picryl)

The Labors of Yamato

Benzaiten (or Benten) - a sea goddess, considered one of the Seven Lucky Gods of Japan
Prince Yamato is bored of his loyal wife Tacibana
He comes upon a grotto and hears beautiful music
He enters, where mermaids are singing and a goddess is playing the lute
He falls in love with her, but she tells him to complete a task first:

Golden Apple

Jofuku was a doctor for a mean king
Jofuku convinced him send him on a journey for the Golden Apple (gives immortality)
Jofuku instead stays on the island for decades, eating the fruit and staying young
He got homesick and calls a bird to take him back home, golden apple in hand
He discovers the king is already dead, and he becomes the new king??

Demon Bear

Like rain upon a parching flower Thy presence is to me;/ But grieving lone for many an hour/I withered without thee.

Someone informs Yamato that there is a giant boar who is possessed in the forest of Hakone
The priestess gives him a sacred sword to defeat the boar
Him and his men climb a huge mountain and find the boar
Yamato puts down the sword and tries to just run at it with the horse
But the horse dies
Yamato finally picks up the sword and kills it

Grass-Cleaving Sword

Yamato and his men reached Suruga
While sleeping, Yamato hears goblin laughter and soon everything is on fire
His wife unexpectedly runs out through the fire and says "behold this fire-drill, may it help you find safety" (Not sure what this means)
She is severely burnt but devoted to helping her husband
He uses the sword to clean the area and stave off the fire

The Sacred Sword

Yamato and wife head home, taking a route near Enoshima
The sirens song call to Yamato again
He tells wife to go on home and heal because she is ugly right now
She is sad but obeys him
Yamato runs to the shrine but comes upon a dragon who he slashes at with his sword
The goddess Benten tells him not to do that because he's her guardian and will harm him
He says not to worry because he's got the sacred sword
The dragon is actually her dad- the evil Susanowo, who asked his daughter to lure Yamato to bring the sword to them
Yamato tells her he didn't get the golden apple
She gives him a feast and lulls him to sleep with her lute
He awakes to find they are gone along with his sword
He tries to return home to his wife but gets lost in a forest
He prays to Kwannon, goddess of mercy and love
She appears and tells him the sword will appear on a magical stag
He doesn't have any weapons to kill the stag, but then a bamboo tree appears with a flint and he makes a lance
He can't find the stag but then some wolves appear which help with tracking
Yamato gets the sword from the stag

The Dragon

Yamato finally realizes that Benten set the whole thing up to get the sword and he misses his wife
Yamato tries to find Benten to get revenge, so he dives deep into the water
She starts singing
But then Yamato hears Tacibana's voice from above the water

He knew that “the goddess more beautiful than Benten whose love was greater than her own,” was none other than his faithful Tacibana.

Her words enveloped him and like a net, fished him out of the water to the isle of Enoshima
Speechless, he hugs her, but then she vanishes
He goes back home
Everyone there is panicked because a dragon came
Many people died but he couldn't find his wife
He hears a chanting priestess and finds Tacibana wearing white, waving a wand and performing norito (exorcism to protect faithful from goblins, serpents, etc)
Susanowo appears and charges at Yamato
They fought and eventually the dragon of the sea dies
Tacibana finishes her chant, expelling all negative spirits from their area
Yamato thanks Tacibana for saving him and they live happy lives
One day Yamato plans on starting a war with the Ainos, and Tacibana wants to at least accompany him
He says it'll be his last fight
His men come upon the shore and he says he doesn't fear Susanowo since he already beat him on land
Then the Sea God got angry and the sea became dangerous
Tacibana appears and sacrifices herself
Yamato dives in and brings her lifeless body to surface

Mythology and Folklore