Samebito: Difference between revisions
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'''Samebito''' |
The {{nihongo|'''Samebito'''|鮫人, ''[[shark]] man''}} is a creature that appears in "The Gratitude of the Samebito", a short story by [[Lafcadio Hearn]]. It is described as a [[anthropomorphism|humanoid]] with inky black skin, emerald green eyes, a face like a [[oni (folklore)|demon]]'s, and a beard like a [[Japanese dragon|dragon]]'s. |
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In the story, a man named Tōtarō meets the Samebito one day on a bridge. Although frightening, the creature turns out to be a gentle being who, as punishment petty fault, has been expelled from the sea by his former employer, one of the eight great [[Dragon King]]s of the ocean. Tōtarō takes pity on the creature and allows it to live in a deep pond in his garden. Meanwhile, Tōtarō has been seeking a bride, and eventually falls in love with a beautiful woman he sees at a female pilgrimage at [[Mii-dera]]. He becomes deathly sick with grief, however, on learning that her family requires a betrothal gift of ten thousand jewels for her hand in marriage. When the Samebito learns that his master is on his deathbed, he begins to cry tears of blood which become precious rubies when they hit the ground. Through the Samebito's tears, Tōtarō eventually wins the hand of the woman with whom he is infatuated. When he has finished weeping, the Samebito is also pardoned by the dragons, and the story ends happily. |
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Samebito are the inhabitants of a vast underwater kingdom, so they have little contact with mankind. When a samebito does find itself on land, it is usually in some sort of trouble. They are honest creatures and will repay any kindness offered by a [[human being]]. In one story, for example, a samebito repays a debt by [[crying]] tears that transform into [[Gemstone|precious stones]]. |
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Hearn notes that the name for this being is usually read as '''Kōjin'''. The ''kōjin'' are creatures thought to live in the [[South China Sea]], which resemble ''[[ningyo]]'', are always weaving at their looms, and whose tears become jewels. |
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The story goes something like this: |
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The hero and king Totaro met up with a fierce looking monster called Samebito one day on his travels. Instead of attacking it, though, he instead talked to it and found out it was a very peaceful creature that had been kicked out of its ocean home by the ocean god. Totaro took pity on the creature and let it live in the deep lake by his castle. Eventually, Totaro saw the most beautiful princess ever, and wished to marry her. Totaro became very sad because the princess’s price to marry was 10,000 precious stones! He became so sad that he began to get extremely sick. The Samebito felt very sad that such a kind soul was so sad and began to cry. As he cried he saw that his tears were turning into piles of pearls and precious stones! He was so happy, and gave the treasure to Totaro who used this wealth to pay the dowry for the princess. And so Totaro and the Samebito lived happily ever after. |
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Hearn's story appears to have been based on another story called ''Kōjin'' by [[Kyokutei Bakin]]. |
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==References== |
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* {{cite book |
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| last = Hearn |
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| first = Lafcadio |
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| authorlink = Lafcadio Hearn |
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| title = Shadowings |
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| url = http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC05054718&id=RMAOAAAAIAAJ&printsec=titlepage#PPA57,M1 |
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| date = 1905 |
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| publisher = Little, Brown and company |
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| isbn = B-000G-QWLF-0 |
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| pages = 57-66 |
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}} |
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*[http://www5.city.otsu.shiga.jp/kankyou/public/view.asp?piid=02030200090017&view=1 ] |
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*[http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E9%AE%AB%E4%BA%BA&stype=0&dtype=0 Daijisen definition: Kōjin]] |
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*[http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?p=%E9%AE%AB%E4%BA%BA&enc=UTF-8&stype=0&dtype=0&dname=0ss Daijirin definition: Kōjin]] |
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[[Category:Japanese legendary creatures]] |
[[Category:Japanese legendary creatures]] |
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Revision as of 23:21, 11 January 2007
The Samebito ([鮫人, shark man] Error: {{nihongo}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a creature that appears in "The Gratitude of the Samebito", a short story by Lafcadio Hearn. It is described as a humanoid with inky black skin, emerald green eyes, a face like a demon's, and a beard like a dragon's.
In the story, a man named Tōtarō meets the Samebito one day on a bridge. Although frightening, the creature turns out to be a gentle being who, as punishment petty fault, has been expelled from the sea by his former employer, one of the eight great Dragon Kings of the ocean. Tōtarō takes pity on the creature and allows it to live in a deep pond in his garden. Meanwhile, Tōtarō has been seeking a bride, and eventually falls in love with a beautiful woman he sees at a female pilgrimage at Mii-dera. He becomes deathly sick with grief, however, on learning that her family requires a betrothal gift of ten thousand jewels for her hand in marriage. When the Samebito learns that his master is on his deathbed, he begins to cry tears of blood which become precious rubies when they hit the ground. Through the Samebito's tears, Tōtarō eventually wins the hand of the woman with whom he is infatuated. When he has finished weeping, the Samebito is also pardoned by the dragons, and the story ends happily.
Hearn notes that the name for this being is usually read as Kōjin. The kōjin are creatures thought to live in the South China Sea, which resemble ningyo, are always weaving at their looms, and whose tears become jewels.
Hearn's story appears to have been based on another story called Kōjin by Kyokutei Bakin.
References
* Hearn, Lafcadio (1905). Shadowings. Little, Brown and company. pp. 57–66. ISBN B-000G-QWLF-0.{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: invalid character (help)
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