Yofune-Nushi, Part 2

In the 1300s, a samurai’s daughter named Tokoyo went to search for her exiled father in the Oki Islands of Japan.

She stopped to rest on a beach, but was soon awakened by the sound of weeping nearby. She looked for the reason and saw two people dressed in white atop a nearby rock. A priest clapped his hands and prayed, “Namu Amida Butsu” (a Buddhist prayer, literally “think of Buddha” but more poetically “you will be remembered”). Meanwhile a beautiful maiden sobbed with despair. The priest was about to push the girl into the sea when Tokoyo rushed up and stopped him.

She demanded why this was happening, and the priest replied with sorrow that a dragon named Yofune-Nushi lived in a cave deep beneath this cove. The wicked creature had been terrorizing the people of the island for centuries, raising storms at sea and destroying their fishing fleet. It demanded the sacrifice of a virgin woman every spring. The villagers couldn’t live without fishing, and so they had to give in.

Tokoyo replied that her heart was already broken by losing her father, so she offered to be the sacrifice and let the younger girl go home. The priest was very surprised, but the maiden gratefully accepted. They changed clothes, so that Tokoyo wore the white robe of sacrifice. Holding a small dagger in her teeth, she leapt into the sea.

Moonlight illuminated the clear water of the cove, so she was able to swim down past fish and seaweed. She came to a grotto where gleaming pearls and awabi (abalone) shells surrounded a wooden statue. Tokoyo recognized that this represented Takatoki Hojo, the same man who had banished her father. She was furious, and wanted to destroy the statue, but she realized it would be easier to do this if she took it up to the shore.

Before she could lay hands on the statue, a horribie monster lunged at her. This was the dreaded Yofune-Nushi — a twenty-foot-long serpent with clawed legs, fiery eyes, and phosphorescent scales. The dragon assumed she was his annual sacrifice and approached without fear. But as he closed in, Tokoyo slipped aside and struck at his right eye with her dagger. Yofune-Nushi reeled with shock and pain. He tried to flee to his lair, but in turning he exposed his neck. Tokoyo’s blade struck true, and that was the end of the evil sea dragon.

Half-conscious, the brave samurai’s daughter swam back up with the statue and the body of the dragon. The priest and the maiden were very surprised to see her. By the blood in the water, they thought she must have perished. The priest ran to help her out of the waves, while the maiden brought help from her home village. They celebrated until dawn that their village had been saved by the valiant heroine, Tokoyo.

A few days later, the priest reported to his lord, Tameyoshi, that Yofune-Nushi had been slain. In turn, Tameyoshi reported to Hojo that a statue with his likeness had been pulled out of the sea. It turned out that Hojo had been very ill with a disease no physician could understand, but just a few days ago he had miraculously recovered. Now, with the priest’s report, it was evident that he had not been ill but cursed. Since Tokoyo had unknowingly broken the spell, Hojo showed his gratitude by releasing her father from prison. The two of them returned to their home and lived happily for many years.