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History
In the Palace of
The Sea King
Hoderi was a great fisherman,
while his younger brother, Hoori, was an
accomplished hunter. One day they exclaimed:
"Let us for a trial exchange gifts."
This they did, but the elder brother, who could
catch fish to some degree, came home without any
spoil when he went a-hunting.
He therefore returned the bow and arrows, and
asked his younger brother for the fish-hook. Now
it so happened that Hoori had lost his brother's
fish-hook. The generous offer of a new hook to
take the place of the old one was scornfully
refused. He also refused to accept a heaped-up
tray of fish-hooks. To this offer the elder
brother replied: "They are not my old
fish-hook: though they are many, I will not take
them."
Now Hoori was troubled by his brother's
harshness, so he went down to the sea-shore and
there gave way to his grief. A kind old man by
the name of Shiko-tsutsu no Oji
("Salt-sea-elder") said: "Why dost
thou grieve here?" When the sad tale was
told, the old man replied: "Grieve no more.
I will arrange this matter for thee."
True to his word, the old man made a basket, set
Hoori in it, and then sank it in the sea. After
descending deep down in the water Hoori came to a
pleasant strand rich with all manner of fantastic
seaweed. Here he abandoned the basket and
eventually arrived at the Palace of the Sea King.
The palace was extremely imposing. It had
battlements and turrets and stately towers. A
well stood at the gate, and over the well there
was a cassia-tree. Here Hoori loitered in the
pleasant shade. He had not stood there long
before a beautiful woman appeared. As she was
about to draw water, she raised her eyes, saw the
stranger, and immediately returned, with much
alarm, to tell her mother and father what she had
seen.
The Dragon King, also known as the Sea God, when
he had heard the news, he "prepared an
eightfold cushion" and led the stranger in,
asking his visitor why he had been honored by his
presence. When Hoori explained the sad loss of
his brother's fish-hook the Sea King assembled
all the fishes of his kingdom, "broad of fin
and narrow of fin."
When the thousands upon thousands of fishes were
assembled, the Dragon King asked them if they
knew anything about the missing fish-hook.
"We know not," answered the fishes.
"Only the Red-woman (the tai) has had a sore
mouth for some time past, and has not come."
She was accordingly summoned, and on her mouth
being opened the lost fish-hook was discovered.
Hoori then took to wife the Sea God's daughter,
Toyo-tama ("Luminous jewel"), and they
dwelt together in the Palace under the sea. For
three years all went well, but after a time Hoori
hungered for a sight of his own country, and
possibly he may have remembered that he had yet
to restore the fish-hook to his elder brother.
These not unnatural feelings troubled the heart
of the loving Toyo-tama, and she went to her
father and told him of her sorrow, but the Sea
King, who was always urbane and courteous, in no
way resented his son-in-law's behaviors.
On the contrary he gave him the fish-hook,
saying: "When thou gives this fish-hook to
thy elder brother, before giving it to him, call
to it secretly, and say, 'A poor hook!'" He
also introduced Hoori to the Jewel of the Flowing
Tide and the Jewel of the Ebbing Tide, saying:
"If thou dost dip the Tide-flowing Jewel,
the tide will suddenly flow, and therewithal thou
shalt drown thine elder brother. But in case thy
elder brother should repent and beg forgiveness,
if, on the contrary thou dip the Tide-ebbing
Jewel, the tide will spontaneously ebb, and
therewithal thou shalt save him. If thou harass
him in this way thy elder brother will of his own
accord render submission."
Just before Hoori was about to depart his wife
came to him and told him that she was soon to
give him a child. Said she: "On a day when
the winds and waves are raging I will surely come
forth to the sea-shore. Build for me a house, and
await me there."
When Hoori reached his own home he found his
elder brother, who admitted his offence and
begged for forgiveness, which was readily
granted. Hoderi had become a great hunter now,
while Hoori kept the tradition of fishing.
Toyo-tama bravely confronted the winds and waves,
and came to the sea-shore. There Hoori had built
a hut roofed with cormorant feathers, and there
in due season she gave birth to a son. When
Toyo-tama had blessed her lord with offspring,
she turned into a mermaid and slipped back into
the sea. Since then they've never met again.
It's said that soon after Hoori left Koguryo and
went to live with his children on the Ilbon
Islands. The descendants of Hoderi still live by
Koguryo and kept the tradition of the family of
hunting. Hoori descendants are said to be
Pirates, or great sailors, either way, they know
a lot more about the Ocean than most people...
~Written by Vini~
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