TAMATORI-HIME

Lore

Tamatori-hime is a heroine, an ordinary free-diver named Tamamo whose craft was gathering shellfish and pearls off the coast of Shido—remembered in legend as the princess who stole a priceless jewel. According to the tale, in the fishing village of Shido-no-ura (in today’s Kagawa Prefecture) lived Fujiwara-no-Fuhito, son of the founder of the mighty Fujiwara clan. There he took a wife from among the local ama (women divers who harvest seafood), loving her with all his heart. At first he concealed his noble birth, wanting to be loved for who he truly was rather than for his titles and wealth. But after a time he revealed his lineage to his beloved Tamamo and shared a family secret. During his father Fujiwara-no-Kamatari’s lifetime, a sea storm had carried off the clan’s relic, the Menko-fuhai-no-tama—a pearl said to ensure its bearer would never lose a single blow in combat. Elders maintained that after the storm the pearl had come to rest in Ryugu-jo, the undersea palace of the sea god Ryujin, and that until it was returned the clan could not prove its divine favor or its rightful claim to rule. Tamamo volunteered to retrieve the pearl on one condition: if she succeeded, their son Fusasaki must be formally recognized as the legitimate heir with full rights as head of the clan.