Week 6 Reading Diary B

This week I chose to read the Japanese Mythology reading unit from the un-textbook.

The Labors of Yamato: The Grotto of Love
* read this story HERE

Japanese geisha mermaid with umbrella under the great wave and cherry blossoms branches

By Martin Nieto, found on his PhotoBlog

• Yamato's bored of his princess and begins yearning for his lost mermaid. He was lured by her siren song into a cave where he runs into a dragon! He makes it past, and moves on to a big chamber where he finds a beautiful mermaid playing a lute upon a bed of coral.
• Here we meet Benten, a sea kami (goddess) who is also one of the Seven Lucky Gods of Japan. She introduces herself as Benten, the Goddess of Deathless Love, and she offers the pleasures of her kingdom to Yamato. She provides him a grand feast, with sweet ambrosia sake and heaps of shellfish and fruit. He becomes entranced and says, "Grant me thy love, sweet siren — else I shall surely die.”
• She sings to him and caresses him sweetly before shoving him back and saying that if he wants her love, he must risk his life by sailing to Horaizon and acquiring the Golden Apple of Immortal Youth. If he succeeds, she will grant him her undying love. 

The next story is just Benten telling Yamato about Horaizon and the story of the Golden Apple

The Labors of Yamato - The Demon Boar
*Check out this big, bad boar Here

• It turns out that before Yamato can get the apple, he must first defeat a demon boar in a forest near Fujiyama. So, he grabs a group of guys and heads out to nab a demon boar. They find it and rain arrows down onto it, but their arrows cannot penetrate its hide. Yamato becomes impatient and charges the boar with his spear even though he'd been warned earlier not to do that crap. His steed is impaled on the boar's tusks and Yamato is thrown from his back and landing hard on the ground. The boar then charges him and traps him with his back to a huge cliff. Yamato is unafraid and draws the sacred sword. He hops over the boar and cuts off its tale, causing it to freak and run off the cliff. 

In the next story, Yamato travels to Suruga where he is treated like a welcomed guest.. until he wakes up and the whole building he's in is ON FIRE! Not only this, but the fire had spooked the hundreds of deer and horses which began running about goring and trampling everyone in their blind terror. Some crazy specter girl comes in and burns up before saying some cryptic stuff- it's princess Tacibana,who sacrifices herself to save them. Then, Yamato cuts a pathway in the grass with his sword and they escape. 

Yamato's princess/wife has proven to be incredibly devoted and loyal, but he still can't resist Benten.

Yamato slays the dragon in the grotto.