#ryūgū-jō

[nickysfacts]

All hail the god of the Sea and protector of Japan!

🌊⛩⛈

[pix4japan]

Zuishin-mon: A Portal to Enoshima Shrine’s Mythical Past・瑞心門：江の島神社と龍宮伝説をつなぐ門

A visit to Enoshima Island, off the coast of Shonan Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, led me to a grand gate marking the entrance to a complex of Shinto shrines atop the island. Stone stairways wound their way up through the lush hillside, adorned with rows of chochin paper lanterns set out in celebration of the New Year’s holidays.

The Zuishin-mon Gate (瑞心門) is designed in the style of Ryūgū-jō (竜宮城, Dragon Palace Castle), the mythical underwater palace from a famous Japanese folktale. According to the legend, a fisherman rescues a sea turtle and is invited to Ryūgū-jō as a reward. There, he is entertained by Princess Otohime, only to discover upon returning home that what felt like a few days was actually 100 years.

The name Zuishin-mon roughly translates to “Pure Heart Gate.” It was given this name with the hope that visitors would find spiritual renewal by offering their prayers here.

Surrounded by lush greenery, the gate’s imposing presence creates a distinct boundary between the sacred and the secular worlds.

Beyond the gate stands a stone sculpture of Benzaiten (弁財天), the patron goddess of water, eloquence, music, and knowledge. This statue was dedicated to commemorate the establishment of Enoshima Shrine in the year 1450, which sits atop Enoshima Island.

Location: Enoshima Island, Japan Timestamp: 2025/01/03・14:07 Pentax K-1 II + DFA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6 + CP 37 mm ISO 200 for 1/500 sec. at ƒ/11

Links to sources for further reading: https://www.pix4japan.com/blog/20250103-zuishinmon

[unfinishedjulyrain]

"Otohime ( 乙姫 ), in the Japanese folktale of Urashima Tarō, is the princess of the undersea palace Ryūgū-jō.

Ryūgū or Ryūgū-jō is the fabulous mythical residence of the Ryūjin ( Dragon God ) or Sea God, or the princess Otohime. It is also equated with the "fish-scale palace" ( ... )."

Otohime is a dragon princess, there is a hint of her mother being a ningyo and thus, granting her the possibility to change into a mermaid but given the fact that her grandfather is strict and only sees merfolk as servants, forbids her to use this form. It is a silent protest of the princess to show herself as a merperson and she herself thinks of her dragon self as ugly whereas Gin looks the most beautiful to her - inside and out.

[regaliasonata]

Headcanon Time: Kevin’s Family, the Wainauki Family💙🌊💙🌊

Wainauki comes from a few things I thought of, Wai being the Hawaiian word for water, as well as Njoki and Naki(Njoki is Kenyan name that means “precious” or “beautiful” while Naki is a term meaning “pure” or “without”

-The family is the third biggest when it comes to influence, with Shiba being the first and the Watanabe being in second.

-Like the other families, they deal in exports and other business that has been going on for centuries. Such as aquatic studies, port trades and even swimming affairs worldwide.

-Despite claims of the Shiba Clan uniting the allying the other families together against the nighlok, the Wainauki family was the first to discover their Symbol Power give or take 800 to 1200 years before due to their understanding of nature and water.

-Members of the family can breathe underwater for longer periods and even have slicker skin near their legs to swim faster, this is due to their adept training with the ocean but also has gandered the legends of mermaids being within the family.

-Kevin himself is the oldest of five other siblings. He has two brothers and three sisters with two of the sisters being twins. The youngest child, being a sister, is said to be a visionary who connects to water with her cognitive abilities. (Name wise Brother One-Kain, Brother Two-Caspian, Twin Sister One-Hali, Twin Sister Two-Ria, Youngest Sibling/Sister-Amaya)

-He also has three cousins who annoy him, which is why he tends to stay near the team to get his own privacy

-Fashion-wise, the family has a lot of blue and related colors within their wardrobe, some tend to wear cream white with their outfits while others have cool aquatic-style clothes with gill-like features and patterns. Another staple in their fashion is the usage of sea shells and pearls that are mainly placed in their hair or as jewelry.

-The Wainauki house is set into a few homes but there are three main buildings around the globe, the first said to be in the Caribbean, the second being in a seaside city within West Africa, and the main house said to be an underwater kingdom like city that can travel throughout the ocean.

-Kevin’s relationship with the Shiba Clan is mixed due to some individuals in his family not aligning with them while others tend to look up to them due to the centuries-old alliance. He questions their aid due to their elements being opposites but also has a soft spot for Jayden mainly because he may have picked up the idea that Jayden might’ve had Lauren as a sibling and with him having to take all the responsibility as family representative…years ago one fateful night, Kevin lost his mother and nearly lost his siblings when he forgot to watch a gap to the Netherworld forming in one of their houses and a banshee-like nighlok attacked the family. He took charge and killed it but has a lot of resentment for letting his mind slip, sometimes he feels his father blaming him for what occurred and it’s just best for Kevin to not allow any more tragedy to befall the people around him.

-He will shoot his hydro bow at any siblings and cousins that try to imply he has a thing for Mike or Jayden, of course, they’re too fast to hit but Kevin hates the implication(despite finding himself staring at Mike from time to time…).

-Like the Shiba Clan, the other families have a set of ultimate techniques. The Wainauki family has three, the first being based on Ryūgū-jō(The sea palace of the water dragon god Ryujin), the second said to be a song that calls upon the “wrath” of all mermaids and nereids, and the third being unknown as half of the script for the symbol power has been lost over 700 years but it was said to be powerful enough to cast an entire island or country into the ocean.

[fistfuloflightning]

Just discovered an Edo period genderbent version of Beren and Luthien—The fable of Tamatori-hime 玉取姫 "Princess Jewel Taker" and the Tide Jewels:

The legend of Princess Tamatori (Tamatorihime), or Ama, developed around the historical figure Fujiwara no Kamatari (614–69), who was the founder of the powerful Fujiwara clan. Upon Kamatari’s death, the Tang dynasty emperor, who had received Kamatari’s beautiful daughter as a consort, sent three priceless treasures to Japan in order to comfort his grieving lover by honoring her father. One of the treasures, a pearl, was stolen by the dragon king during a storm on its way to Japan in the inlet of Fusazaki. Kamatari’s son Fujiwara no Fuhito (659–720) went in search of the pearl to the isolated area where he met and married a beautiful pearl diver named Ama, who bore him a son. Ama, full of love for their son, vowed to help recover the stolen pearl. After many failed attempts, Ama was finally successful when the dragon and grotesque creatures guarding it were lulled to sleep by music. Upon reclaiming the treasure, she came under pursuit by the awakened sea creatures. She cut open her breast to place the pearl inside for safekeeping the resulting flow of blood clouded the water and aided her escape. She died from the resulting wound but is revered for her selfless act of sacrifice for her husband Fuhito and their son.

and

The story of Princess Tamatori, which was highly popular in the Edo period. In this story, Tamatori is a modest shell diver who marries Fujiwara no Fuhito of the Fujiwara clan, who is searching for a pearl stolen from his family by Ryūjin, the dragon god of the sea. Vowing to help, Tamatori dives down to Ryūjin's undersea palace of Ryūgū-jō, and is pursued by the god and his army of sea creatures. She cuts open her own breast and places the jewel inside; this allows her to swim faster and escape, but she dies from her wound soon after reaching the surface.

It’s very reminiscent of Beren stealing a silmaril from Morgoth on behalf of his love Luthien, and being pursued by Carcharoth to his death even though he returned with one of the silmarils in hand (literally…)

[dcrewatch]

Detective Conan Rewatch: Episode 1095

Episode 1095: "The Missing Man's Dream”

Before watching this episode, on a scale of 1-10, how much are you looking forward to seeing it again?

4!

Favorite screencap:

Chiba: "Excuse me sir, is this yours?"

Favorite Moment:

Conan insisting on yakiniku at the end with Kogoro insisting on buying cheap food for dinner instead.

Least Favorite Moment:

Good lord, this woman. Such massive red flags.

What’s one thing you noticed/realized about this episode that you hadn’t before?

I know we've been using the CG background people models for awhile but jeez they still stand out real bad. @_@;

It isn't explained in the official subtitles, but Kogoro specifically references Ryūgū-jō (竜宮城) the underwater Dragon God's palace from the Urashima Taro folktale.

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate this episode?

Oh thank goodness, they didn't find a half-eaten body in the shark tank. @_@; That would've been really gruesome. This isn't the Kindaichi Case Files, after all. 4.

Celebrate it!

Here’s a (not exactly) summary haiku:

Husband goes missing

His stingy controlling wife

May be who to blame

Next Episode: Episode 1096

Previous Episode: Episode 1093-1094

[thundergodfanclubpresident]

the day has finally come. the day for me to finally talk about my Mortal Kombat OC that i DEFINITELY didn’t make specifically to be gay for my sweet darling thunder god (or wind god, depending on what i'm vibing with. it is not consistent. sue me.)

i'm trying to write a gay little fanfic about him but i can't get my sorry ass to finish the first chapter 😫

anyway here he is! the lad himself: Ryūjin!

YES i used an online character maker to design him. i came up with him at like 2am, i was NOT drawing his ass that late.

things that aren't depicted as a result:

his eyes glow just like any other god's; they're a bright yellow

he has glowing tattoos (similar to Fujin's) all along his arms. a dragon surrounded by ocean waves winds around his right arm, his left depicts jellyfish, fish, and other sea creatures within the seas

anyway uhhh. detailed-ish explanation about him under the cut if you care.

Name: Ryūjin (龍神; "Dragon God")

Height: 7'2

Age: Eternal

Occupation: God of the Sea

If you didn't guess from his name, Ryūjin is directly based off of the Japanese dragon sea god of the same name. In mythology, he is mainly depicted as a dragon that lives in his undersea palace, Ryūgū-jō (竜宮城, 龍宮城; "Dragon palace castle"), however in many myths he possesed the ability to turn into a human. If you want to know more about Ryūjin from the myths, look it up. I don’t think anybody wants me infodumping about Japanese myths on my silly little MK sideblog.

Anyway, I digress. Ryūjin (or just Ryū), the OC, is Earthrealm's god of the sea. He's a little bit older than Raiden.

Much like his origin, he usually takes on the form of a massive dragon within the sea, but will take on a human-like form when the want or need arises. His human form has long, unkempt, white hair (if you couldn't tell), glowing yellow eyes, and he either wears his armor (as above) or just simple red and black robes.

He prefers to live in solitude in his Dragon Temple, controlling the oceans and mostly staying away from others. Local legends say that disasters such as tsunamis are caused when he leaves his temple in anger to swim around the seas, and the thrashing of his body causes the water to act up. He...might also be the cause of the whole Bermuda Triangle problem.

Much like the other Earthrealm gods, he has a sworn duty to protect Earthrealm when the needs arises, and will do anything to do so. However, he is generally an abrasive individual to those that work with him, and is quick to disappear into the seas when his work is done.

He has a soft spot for both Raiden and Fujin, causing them to be the only ones that see the kinder side of him. Generally, he's written to have a relationship with one or the other (usually Raiden). Regardless, he enjoys visiting both of them in the Heavens, and is always happy to see both of them (even if Fujin has a habit of getting on his nerves sometimes).

He specializes in hand-to-hand kombat, specifically jiu-jitsu, but he also possesses a sword and dagger should the need ever arise.

As a god, any standard rules that may apply to Raiden or Fujin will also apply to him.

Before you ask: No I have not thought about his role in MK1. That's a WHOLE other can of worms, methinks.

[thelorelounge]

Urashima Tarō—Japan’s answer to “what happens when you mess with fish and time.” This one’s got it all: a kind-hearted fisherman, a turtle with connections, an undersea palace straight out of a Studio Ghibli fever dream, and the kind of time dilation that would give Einstein an aneurysm.

So, dear reader, prepare yourself. Because what starts as a charming fairy tale quickly veers into existential crisis with sparkly sea dragons.

---

The Tale of Urashima Tarō: Or, How Not to Vacation Responsibly

Once upon a coastline—because fishermen don’t live in castles—there was a man named Urashima Tarō. Kind, gentle, and the kind of guy who’d probably rescue a bug from his bathwater. One day, while strolling along the beach with more good intentions than common sense, he sees a group of kids tormenting a turtle.

Now, Tarō may not have had a retirement plan, but he had morals. He shoos the brats away and sets the turtle free. Job well done, karma restored, back to fishing.

Or so he thought.

Because the very next day, a turtle pops its head out of the ocean and says, essentially: “Hey, remember me? I’ve got a princess boss who’d like to say thank you. Hop on my back.”

And Tarō, bless him, doesn’t even blink. He climbs aboard like this is a normal Tuesday.

Cue underwater montage. Coral palaces. Fish butlers. Seahorses doing synchronized swimming. And in the heart of it all? Princess Otohime of the Dragon Palace (Ryūgū-jō), shimmering and radiant and probably voiced by a K-pop idol in the anime version.

Tarō is treated like royalty. Time becomes a blur. Days pass. Or do they? He eats, drinks, vibes. Maybe falls a little in love. But eventually, he gets that itch—the mortal one. Homesickness.

Otohime sighs. She says he can leave if he must (subtext: men are always disappointing), but she gives him a parting gift: a beautiful, ornate box called a tamatebako.

“Whatever you do,” she says, “don’t open it.”

Which, of course, means he absolutely will.

Back on shore, things are… off. His village is still there, but nobody recognizes him. His house? Gone. His family? Dust. Turns out he was gone not for a few days, but for 300 years. (Thanks, underwater time warp.)

Reeling, alone, and very much not ready for the 300-year time skip, Tarō does the one thing he was told not to do: he opens the box.

Poof.

A cloud of smoke escapes, and in an instant, Tarō ages. His hair turns white, his back hunches, and his body crumbles with the weight of three centuries.

Inside the box was his age. His true time. His mortality.

And just like that, the story ends—not with a bang, but a soft, lonely sigh across the waves.

---

The Moral?

Time waits for no man. Not even the nice ones who save turtles and party with sea princesses.

Also: if a magical lady tells you not to open the box, maybe don’t open the box.

[centaurworks]

Aldus Reiher (Public Ref Sheet)

Commissions Open I have a Ko-Fi Social Medias Character (Aldus Reiher) © @CentaurWorks Alder is a former resident of Ryūgū-jō Kingdom. Born into the equivalent of a middle-class family, his family owned and ran a clothing and weaving store on the first floor of their home. He wasn’t born into a life of magic but he always admire the magic users from afar. This originally started out as a character me and a close friend of mine were like "we need a gay merman pairing," what spiraled out of it was this Sea Serpent Merman Mage. I'm honest to god really happy with how he came out! Piecing everything together was harder than usual as all I had was the "Sea Serpant Merman," but in the end, he came out so damn good!

[unfinishedjulyrain]

・❥・This is a small starter call for my five lady muses: Miran, Hana, Idun, Himari and Otohime. You can state which one you'd like or I'll choose randomly! Idun is based on the Norse deity, Otohime is also called Kuraokami Himeko, and actually the princess of the undersea palace Ryūgū-jō.

[huskymaine]

Some commentary that I had when translating the radio drama (I am very tempted to include them in the translation but worried that they can be a bother) :

[1:15] Aww Sakura and Naruto's tone when talking to Kakashi... Naruto said that he missed Kakashi 🥰🥰

[1:45] I don't think Naruto is the sole reason for Team 7's constant disastrous mission Kakashi, I mean he contributed greatly for being an MC but your luck plays a part too

[2:20] Not Kakashi applying Death of Author to Jiraiya for Icha-Icha 🤣

[2:35] Aww Naruto let your sensei ramble about his hyperfixation for longer...

[2:50] Sai tried to imitate Kakashi 😍

[3:20] Kakashi, not you giving your own diary chapter titles 😂 Actually your diary probably will sell out, since you are popular in both Naruto and the real world, and also your... turbulent life in general (in short I want one)

[4:20] Aren't you also forgetting something Naruto 😂

[4:30] Rare Kakashi explosive frustrated mode (expect more)

[5:05] I almost forgot how cute and bratty little Kakashi is 😍 (I WANT THAT DIARY NOW)

[5:45] "I have queued you know 😡" *died of cuteness* (I think I repeat that sequence like 5 times)

[5:45] I live for Team 7 discovering how bratty their sensei was as a kid

[6:07] You better let the boy eat before going to a mission in another country Minato, he hadn't eaten since dinnertime!

[7:50] A painful swelling on the head 🤣 Wonder how that happened right

[8:08] Frankly you sealed your fate there Kakashi, in front of Team 7 nonetheless

Sai Narration

[9:05] I am always impressed at Kakashi's constant worry about kids dealing with pointy stuff, especially since he himself is a kid who plays with pointy stuff way earlier than his peer

[9:15] Love Naruto and Kakashi's calm acceptance for Sai's antic, he already assimilated well into Team 7

[9:24] Asexual Kakashi moment

[9:53] Kakashi tsukkomi man (expect more)

[10:33] I forgot to put the context here, Urashima Taro is a fisherman rewarded for rescuing a sea turtle, and carried on its back to the Dragon Palace (Ryūgū-jō) beneath the sea. There, he is entertained by the princess Otohime as a reward. He spends what he believes to be several days with the princess. But when he returns to his home village, he discovers he has been gone for at least 100 years. When he opens the forbidden jewelled box (tamatebako), given to him by Otohime on his departure, he turns into an old man.

[10:41] Unintended Bullseye moment (expect more)

Sakura Narration

[11:26] Your "kyah!" is always so cute Kakashi

[11:50] It's canon that even ROOT ANBUs gossiped about Kakashi, but they did the Kakashi's face hunt too 😂

[11:56] Sponsored by the Hokage 🤣 Tsunade definitely can see Kakashi's face since she's a medic so she did that just to thrive on Kakashi's suffering 🤣

[12:33] Unexpected Bullseye moment pt.2

[12:40] The kids started to treat Kakashi's diary as a game, honestly what do you expect Kakashi 😂

[13:05] Honestly I can respect Sakura's effort to sprinkle some romance into Kakashi's bachelor life, but seeing Sai's narration too I think they collectively forgot how young Kakashi was at the time of that diary

[13:13] Asexual Kakashi moment pt.2

[13:30] Again, Sakura, guys, Kakashi was a kid

[13:45] Ignoring the fact that Team 7 forgot that it was a less than 12 years old kid whom they fantasized about getting a game, I appreciate Sai's (correct) comment on Kakashi's character that likely dug a hot spring in the desert rather than touching a defenseless woman inappropriately

[14:47] (justified) Asexual Kakashi moment pt.3

[15:00] Don't let Sakura's narration distract you from the fact that a man wrote the script ( although there's a reason for this narration tho...)

[15:14] Naruto, a woman can write smut AND defend woman's boundary from unconsented eyes

[15:20] Kakashi futilely reminded everyone that it was himself that those kids were crafting stories for (expect more) (honestly I almost forgot too sorry Kakashi-sensei..)

[15:45] Genjutsu Sakura moment (I expect more from canon but they disappoint me as usual)

[16:22] Troll Kakashi moment (expect more)

Naruto's narration

[16:38] Kakashi's -ttebayo 🤣

[17:06] Your diary has been hijacked long ago, Kakashi. Just accept it

[17:34] In a kinder world Naruto and Kakashi will be a good brothers duo 😭

[19:15] So Kakashi reads Jiraiya's other books but is not as hooked as Icha-Icha, he's truly a booktoker

[19:54] Naruto's MC power is too powerful 🤣

[20:46] Poor Teuchi-san, he didn't sign up for this kind of chaos 😂

[21:11] What is this awkwardness hiding, why don't you just enter Tenzo.. you are part of the team too

[21:32] Suddenly the atmosphere turns sad

[22:08] Rare Kakashi explosive frustrated mode pt.2

[22:33] Unintended Bullseye Moment Electric Boogaloo (minus the Queen's kiss)

[24:08] Honestly I don't care for any OOC rn, just enjoying Kakashi released more emotion than usual. Poor Yamato tho

[24:27] Multiple hits for one hit's revenge, Kakashi is like my older brother 😂

[26:06] It's you who was being praised by your father Naruto 😭

[26:41] 😭😭😭😭😭

"Naruto Fourth Movie : The Lost Tower" Radio Drama : Kakashi's Diary

Translation below (start from 0:36) :

Sound of paper flipping

Kakashi : Now… this…

Teuchi : Welcome!

Kakashi : Helloo!

Sakura : Huh?

Kakashi : Huh?

Naruto : Kakashi-sensei!

Kakashi : Long time no see you guys. Are you guys going to eat ramen together? It’s good that you get along so well as a team. Then, sorry to interrupt, I’ll leave first

Sakura : Really, Kakashi-sensei…

Naruto : What’s this sense of distance? Seriously, Kakashi-sensei is supposed to be the captain of our Team 7, but we haven’t been on many mission together recently. Like our last mission to track down Mukade Kakashi-sensei is not there, makes me lonely-ttebayo

Kakashi : Hahaha, happy to hear that. Well, I have entrusted you guys to my excellent junior Yamato’s care , so no worries…

Kakashi : *inner voice* Although I have been given solo missions recently, but it’s so relaxing. Ah.. the misson without Naruto is the best!

Naruto : Huh? Kakashi-sensei did you say something?

Kakashi : Ah, I didn’t say anything. Just the voice of my heart

Naruto : Well okay then. Huh? That book…

Kakashi : Ah, this…

Naruto : Don’t tell me, that’s the Pervy Sage’s writing, “Icha-Icha Paradise”? Although it’s such a boring book, but now that I think about it, it maybe also contains a message from my deceased master? In this case, shouldn’t I, as disciple, be the one holding it? Kakashi-sensei, give me that book, the whole series belongs to me!

Kakashi : No way, that’s absolutely not possible! Anyway, “Icha-Icha Paradise” is just for entertaintment. If you don’t separate the image of Jiraiya from the book when you read it, you can’t enjoy it completely. In the first place I think that book was conveyed by God through the hands of Jiraiya-sama! Can I talk about this topic for longer??

Naruto : N-no, stop it-ttebayo...

Kakashi : Besides, this book is not “Icha-Icha Paradise”!

Naruto : Eh? I-is that so?

Kakashi : This is… my diary.

Sakura : Wah..

Sai : As expected, Kakashi-san is a scholar, he even read his own diary. I should imitate it

Naruto : No, no, no, you shouldn’t imitate this. Reading a diary while eating ramen is too disgusting-ttebayo

Kakashi : There’s a reason why I’m like this.

Sakura : Reason? By the way Kakashi-sensei, that diary looks quite old..

Kakashi : Ah, this is a diary I have written everyday since I entered Ninja Academy. This is the twelfth volume of “Wind and Cloud” chapter, dated on the first day I became Chuunin. I found this when I was cleaning my room yesterday. After turning page after page, yeah I was so distracted by my nostalgic days that I forgot to clean up, extensively I read it till night. Well, I found out there’s only one day content in it that, I don’t know why, looks so vague.

Sakura : Vague?

Kakashi : Mm.. I only know that on this day and this month, I was assigned an important mission for the first time with Minato-sensei’s recommendation. But the details were not written. Also my own memory is also very vague, for some reason I simply can’t remember it.

Naruto : Wait, hold it! Is that Minato-sensei the Fourth Hokage?

Kakashi : Yeah, I was in Minato-sensei’s class, Minato-sensei was my master.

Naruto : Aah, Kakashi-sensei gaahh! That was clearly the first important mission with that Fourth Hokage, how can you forget it?! Unbelievable! Do dogeza (extensive kneeling down) to the Fourth Hokage’s face statue this instant-ttebayo!

Kakashi : I-I can’t refute it.. Nnnn-Even if you say so, I can’t do anything to something that was already forgotten!

Sakura : Haaate that Kakashi-sensei is start making excuses.

Kakashi : That’s why, I just came here to recall what happened on that blank day!

Sai : On the Ichiraku store?

Kakashi : Ah, this day’s diary started with Ichiraku Ramen store.

Teuchi : On that day and month, that’s the first time I released the result of my practice, Tonkotsu Miso Char Shiu Ramen.

Kakashi : Yeah, that’s right. That’s exactly what was written at the beginning of the page. [On this day and this month, I woke up early and ran into the long queue at Ichiraku Ramen store. How I look forward to this day coming. The so-called new ramen that Teuchi-san discovered through his ramen training, what kind of existence is it? I haven’t had dinner since yesterday, to completely prepare myself for this event. But when I arrived in line, there’s Gai, Asuma, and Shizune in front of me. That muscular idiot, nosy hag, and monkey’s idiot son, how can they possibly comprehend Teuchi-san’s masterpiece?]

Naruto : Geh… Can’t believe Kakashi-sensei had such a poisonous tongue..

Kakashi : [At that time, Minato-sensei came over and called me away. Eh, no way, seriously, Minato-sensei please read the room. Why do we need to perform the mission on this day? I have queuing up, you know? Ah, it’s so hard to have a nasty superior.]

Naruto : That’s cruel.. Even the Fourth Hokage was not spared..

Sakura : What’s an annoying little brat.

Kakashi : Ugh.. N-no, that’s, well it’s my diary, I think I can’t lie to maintain the reality of this diary.

Naruto : The impression is getting worse and worse-ttebayo.

Kakashi : Anyway! [On the time I was called away by Minato-sensei, he was together with Akimichi Choza-senpai and Aburame Shibi-senpai. Then we all started to go to my first important mission.]

Sakura : Choza-san is Chouji’s dad and Shibi-san is Shino’s dad, right?

Kakashi : That’s right.

Naruto : Waah… hey do you remember the mission’s content?

 Kakashi : Ah, if I remember correctly, it’s to capture a certain minister of Rouran, a city in the dessert of the Land of Sand.

Naruto : Speaking of Rouran, isn’t that where we went on our previous mission? There are nothing else but ruins.

Kakashi : At that time, Rouran had several towers built, it was a very prosperous place. My mission is to blow up an underground facility in Rouran using the paper bombs. The detonation was successful, but my memory after that is pretty vague. When I came back to my senses, I have already started my journey back to Konoha Village. That was obviously the first important mission with Minato-sensei, such an important memory, but I really can’t remember what happened! So in order to find clues, I came to the Ichiraku Ramen store that was mentioned in my diary.

Naruto : Hmm… is that so…

Sakura : But, if the Ichiraku was only mentioned before you got called away, there shouldn’t be any clues here

Kakashi : Hmm…

Sai : Is there nothing to remember in that vague memory?

Kakashi : That’s right… A smell of wood

Naruto, Sakura, Sai : Hm hm..

Kakashi : Kinda see shadowy something moving in the desert. Also, a face of a beautiful woman. And, that’s right! I don’t know why but there’s a swelling on my head, it felt very painful

Sai : I understand!

Naruto, Sakura : Heeh?

Sai : I know what that meant!

Kakashi : You know? As expected of Sai the ex-ROOT!

Sai : I read it on library.

Kakashi : What does that mean?

Sai : This is how it goes..

Sai’s Version

Sai : [My name is Hatake Kakashi. Today is my first important mission. We must make achievements, so that’s why teamwork is important. This is the first time I team up with Choza-san and Shibi-san, so I immediately gave those two people nicknames. Obviously Choza-san is ‘fatty’]

Kakashi : The protagonist has become you. Well, although Choza-san is indeed fat, but not to the extent of Chouji.

Sai : [Ah! There are turtles on the direction of that desert! The turtle was hit and abused with a stick by the bad kids.]

Naruto : I see! The turtle is ‘shadow moving in the desert’

Sakura : Then ‘the smell of wood’ is a stick?

 Sai : [Obviously I, who have Konoha’s Will of Fire inside me, used my kunai to chase away the bad kids, and saved the turtle.]

Kakashi : W-wait, isn’t to dangerous to use kunai? That will cause an incident.

Sai : [Then I was invited by the rescued turtle to the Dragon Palace.]

Naruto : Ah, there he went…

Kakashi : Dragon Palace in the middle of desert…

Sai : [In that place I, with the beautiful Otohime-sama, we spent days together like Icha-Icha Paradise.]

Kakashi : Ano… I don’t want you to use Icha-Icha Paradise for this kind of thing.

Sakura : I see, Otohime-sama is the beautiful woman, right?

Sai : [Happy time is always short. I remembered the mission, and decided to leave the Dragon Palace. Before going back, I received a jade box from Otohime-sama, and with that I came back to the desert.]

Sakura : Yes yes, after you opened it, smoke came out from the box, right?

Sai : [After the smoke dissipated, my hair turned completely white.]

Naruto : I see! That’s why Kakashi-sensei’s hair is like that-

Kakashi : It has been like that since the beginning!

Sai : [When I came back to my senses, the surrounding area has turned into desert.]

Kakashi : It was a desert since the beginning

Sai : [Then I was surrounded by bad kids with sticks! What a surprise, I turn into a turtle.]

Kakashi : Eh, why did I turn into turtle?

Sai : [I was poked and beaten with sticks by those bad kids, then got kicked. Because of that, there are swollen lumps all over my head.]

Naruto : Hm! Now all the keywords are complete.

Sai : [I craned my head for help from around. Then from the other side, myself from few days ago came to rescue me. The end]

Kakashi : Why did such a bizarre incident like Urashima Taro happen to me?

Naruto : Hmm, I don’t quite understand the last part

Sakura : Isn’t that the one? After opening the jade box, time and space retrogade ocurred, you went to the past time, and you met the past self?

Naruto : The so-called ‘Time-Slip!’

Kakashi : Yes yes, ‘slip’ indeed. By the way the original punchline is that “when I came back, decades of time have passed”.

Sai : I arranged the story a little bit according to the circumstances

Kakashi : Can you please not doing any irrelevant arrangement?

Sai : So is that wrong?

Sakura : Then… could this be what happened?

Sakura’s Version

Sakura : [My name is Hatake Kakashi. Today is my first important mission. I must make achievements. Even if it’s insignificant, I’ll work hard to get closer to Minato-sensei. While encouraging myself, I went to the desert. Kyah! What a huge sandstorm!]

Kakashi : What the heck is that “kyah!”

Sakura : [But sandstorm are nothing, because I wore my mask hehehehe]

Naruto : How do I say it, Kakashi-sensei’s mask is indeed very convenient, but it’s weird to wear a mask all the time, right? Hehe, I want to see Kakashi’s real face. That’s right! Sai, you’re an ex-ANBU ROOT, do you ever see Kakashi’s real face?

Sai : The ANBUs also spent a lot of effort to investigate, but all seem to have failed

Kakashi : Lady Tsunade please don’t spend our budget on this kind of ridiculous thing

Sakura : You guys, this is my turn to talk you know?

Kakashi : Ah, my bad, I’m sorry, ok. Then?

Sakura : Ehem! [After walking in the sandstorm for a while, I saw a shadow moving on the other side of the desert. When I looked closely, that shadow seems to be a human being.]

Naruto : A human, huh

Sakura : [When I approached it, I saw a beautiful woman with red hair. She seems to be the queen of Rouran.]

Kakashi : Hmm, it’s more likely than a turtle

Sai : I see, that’s awesome. Two keywords have been eliminated.

Kakashi : You see, this is not some kind of quizz game

Sakura : [The Queen seems to have lost consciousness. I will save the Queen. She wandered in the desert with her weak body. Her body was trembling, hugged me tightly. The Queen said, “I am cold, please warm me up.”]

Naruto : Ooh then what? Then what?

 Sakura : [In that moment I fell in love.] Kyaah! Hey Kakashi-sensei, is this a love story? This is truly my taste~

Kakashi : You came up with this yourself!

Sai : That makes us doki doki

Naruto : Mmm then? Then?! Sakura-chan, what happened next?

Sakura : [I don’t know how to give her warmth. Should I hug her tight to give her my warmth? I can’t do this kind of thing.] Kyaah! Kakashi-sensei you’re so pure!

Kakashi : Ano na, can you please stop fantasizing about me and getting to enthusiastic without my permission?

Naruto : Hmmm what did you do, Kakashi-sensei! How did you warmth the Queen?

Sakura : [Can’t be helped, I started digging around the desert, in search for hotspring]

Naruto : Eh, you are so spineless-ttebayo

Sai : But that does seem more in character of him

Kakashi : How is it possible that there are hot springs in the desert?

Sakura : [I dug out a hotspring.]

Kakashi : Eeehh? I actually dug it out…

Sakura : [Then I made hotspring bathtub from cypress for the Queen]

Sai : Cypress? Yosh, I understand. That’s the keyword for “the smell of wood”.

Naruto : That bathtub, does this feel like it’s started to go beyond the pure love route?

Sakura : [Across the steam of hot water, the Queen gradually took off her clothes and submerged herself into the water. That’s like the ancient text says, Mirage in The Dessert, dreamlike scene. Of course I can’t look directly at the scene. But I want to see! But I shouldn’t look. I want to see! I can’t look! Can’t, can’t can’t!] THAT'S RIGHT, KAKASHI SENSEI YOU CAN'T LOOK! YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO LOOK!

Kakashi : Ow ow ow, Sakura please don’t hit me in the head!

Sai : I see, the swelling on the head is from him hitting his own head to calm his evil desire

Kakashi : Whose evil desire?!

Sakura : [At that time. The Queen’s voice came from the other side of the steam. “The temperature is just right, would you like to come in?” My heart was beating so fast till about to burst. Ah, this is the real Icha-Icha Paradise! I entered the hot spring as if I were bewitched by a demon]

Naruto : Somehow, this doesn’t seem like the usual Sakura.

Sai : Is that so?

Naruto : She made this kind of story but when I went to peek into the women’s bath, she yelled “Shannaroo!” and beat me up with Iron Fists

Kakashi : To remind you all, this is my diary

Sakura : [“Hey, what’s wrong? Please come closer to this side.” But I was too shy to get closer, I didn’t move even a step. “Waah, you are such a shy person” saying that The Queen came toward me instead. The Queen looked at me. “No way, you’re wearing a mask into hotspring.”]

Naruto : Ah!

Sai : I see!

Sakura : [“Take out your mask and let me see your true face. Hurry, hurry!”]

Sai : Sakura, you’re doing great!

Naruto : The target is Kakashi-sensei’s true face!

Sai : This was her plan from the beginning. This is the genjutsu called “Story-telling”

Sakura : [“Hurry!” So I put my hand on the mask as she said. Then…]

Kakashi : [I took off the mask. My true face is…]

Naruto : What is it like-ttebayo, Kakashi-sensei??

Kakashi : [This is what I look like..] But obviously I didn’t take it off!

Sakura : Umrrh what a shame, I was so close…

Kakashi : Your intention is all wrong!

Naruto : Hmm, So, so, how about this?

Kakashi : Haah??

Naruto’s Version

Naruto : [My name is Hatake Kakashi-dattebayo]

Kakashi : Already wrong from the start-ttebayo

Naruto : [Today is my first important mission, I must make a great achievement, so that I can become Hokage, and make people in the village recognize my strength!]

Kakashi : That’s your goal, isn’t it?

Naruto : [I will not going back from my ninja way! I don’t care whether there’s a turtle or a queen in the desert-ttebayo!]

Kakashi : So you’re gonna ignore them

Naruto : [Of course there’s a smell of wood-ttebayo. I am Konoha’s ninja, my wind attribute will make the fuel of my Will of Fire burn strong!]

Kakashi : Uh, but my attribute is Lightning element…

Sai : You seems to be in a good spirit, Naruto

Sakura : Do your best, Naruto!

Naruto : Ooh!

Kakashi : As I said, this is my diary

Naruto : [I go straight to the mission, to punish the evil minister. Enemies are swarming wherever I go, and I beat them all with the pure strength of my fists!]

Kakashi : Ah, so the swelling is actually on other people’s heads?

Naruto : [Of course it is-ttebayo! How could I get hit by those people? To support in behalf of the Fourth Hokage, I am willing to go through fire and water without hesitation!]

Kakashi : Ooh oh, I understand! I understand that feeling!

Naruto : [Ah! I heard a shout, then the Fourth Hokage must be in danger. In that case, I have to help the Fourth Hokage no matter what-ttebayo!]

Kakashi : Naruto, you tell it so well, I feel so too

Naruto : [I started running to find the Fourth Hokage, and I entered a dark alley. Then, on there a toad sat upright on the ground and looked up to me]

Sai : Toad is not among the keywords

Naruto : [Suddenly the toad turned around and jumped further “PYOON” toward the dark alley, I was driven by some premonition and chase the toad.]

Sakura : Ah! “Kakashi in Wonderland!”

Kakashi : Then it should be rabbit

Sai : But both rabbit and toad jump forward

Kakashi : Fine, whatever

Naruto : [While chasing the toad that went “PYOKOON”, there’s a tunnel ahead. In the dark tunnel, I can only rely on the “PYOKOON” jumping sound to run forward. Then, I alone was suddenly ambushed by a shinobi. While I chase the toad, somehow I was also being chased by the other.]

Kakashi : Oh, the theme has changed!

Naruto : [Finally I was caught up, and the shinobi who chased me said “How about you just give up? I’m almost tired of playing this deduction game”]

Kakashi : Hmm? This dialogue..

Naruto : [The pursuing shinobi aimed his kunai at me, “You better know the reality and give up”. But I used my Kage Bunshin to deceive the enemy, so instead the chasing shinobi was the one that getting cornered. “I will never give up, NEVER GIVE UP!”]

Sakura : Waah, so cool!

Kakashi : That’s a parody of Jiraiya-sama’s other masterpiece which I am not really interested on, “The Tale of Gutsy Ninja”!

Naruto : [Then the chasing shinobi said, “Even if you defeat me, the next assassin will be there, aah, they will mess with Kakashi-sensei’s memories, as long as I still live in Kakashi-sensei’s vague memory realm, you will never remember this..]

Kakashi : Then has this become a problem with the realm inside my head?

Sai : How academic..

Naruto : [Then I said, “Then I will definitely unlock that memory. If there are memories with the Fourth Hokage, I will hold it tightly! I will never give up!!”]

Kakashi : Who are you?

Naruto : [“MY NAME IS UZUMAKI NARUTO!!”]

Kakashi : That’s not me anymore!

Naruto : [When I came back to my senses, I was already chasing the toad again. Yes, the place it goes has my memories with the Fourth Hokage, for some reason I so sure about it! The Fourth Hokage exists in that place! Fourth Hokage!]

Kakashi : Woah, this has become your story…

Naruto : [I ran with all my might. While I was running, a prison suddenly appeared in front of me.]

*Beastly roar*

Naruto : [That’s… The fox-demon Kyuubi!]

Sakura : This is bad!

Kakashi : Now this has became a problem in a realm inside Naruto’s head

Naruto : [The fox-demon said, “if you want to see the Fourth Hokage so much, little boy, I will lend you my power”]

*Bubbling sound*

Naruto : [I… I am..!]

Sai : This is bad, Naruto has grown tails!

Sakura : All four...!

Kakashi : Why did my diary cause all of this…

Teuchi : Please stop going rampage inside my store!

*Beastly roar with Naruto*

Sakura : Naruto!

Yamato : Wood Style!

Sakura : Captain Yamato!

Kakashi : Oh Tenzou! I mean, Yamato

Yamato : Thank goodness, that’s so dangerous, Naruto. Fortunately I have been hiding behind the curtain and listening to everyone’s talking.

Sakura : Captain Yamato, you eavesdropped?

Yamato : Well yeah...

Naruto : Gaah! Aah… that was close, I was almost being taken over by that fox-demon bastard. Although I already swore not to borrow that guy’s power again

Sai : That shows how much you want to meet the Fourth Hokage

Naruto : You’re right-ttebayo! But I really envy Kakashi-sensei, you can go to missions with the Fourth Hokage, you also can be near him and receive his teaching. After all, the Fourth Hokage is someone that I admire so much

Kakashi : Naruto… Yeah, he’s also someone I admire forever. However, although it’s only a day, I managed to forget the memories with Minato-sensei…

Naruto : That’s right-ttebayo! While I’ve never even see the Fourth Hokage…

Kakashi : I am a failure as a student…

Yamato : Seriously, Kakashi-senpai, as your kohai I feel embarrassed for you

Kakashi : Wh-what do you say?! In that case, you should also think of something that can fill my forgotten memory!

Yamato : Why me..

Kakashi : Just hurry think of something! The explanation that I can accept!

Yamato : Uhmm this is troublesome… So how about I summarize the best parts of what everyone said?

Kakashi : The best parts?

Yamato : That’s right, I mean those keywords that Kakashi-senpai said. For example, about the shadow that moved in the desert, just as Sakura said, it was indeed a human being.

Sakura : Hm!

Yamato : The smell of wood comes from that person. In other words, that’s the smell of Wood Style, meaning the one who collapsed in the desert is me, Yamato.

Naruto : But how is Captain Yamato there?

Yamato : That was the idea that I took from Sai’s story, ‘time-slip’ occurred in Rouran.

Sai : I see…

Kakashi : Oh, then?

Yamato : I fell down and was saved by the kid Kakashi-senpai. Then after I heard what happened, it was like what Naruto said, I went to Rouran in order to go to the Fourth Hokage’s side.

Naruto : Oh, my idea is also used-ttebayo!

Kakashi : Hm hm, then what? Then what?

Yamato : Then I used Wood Release Ninjutsu to defeat the swarming enemies. But the little Kakashi-senpai who has yet got his Sharingan held me back, which made me unable to reach the Fourth Hokage quickly. I rescued Kakashi-senpai from crises many times, but little Kakashi-senpai was still so arrogant. The two of us finally reached the Fourth Hokage, saved them all from trouble, resolved the incident! I accept the Queen’s kiss! But because I was too angry with the bratty Kakashi-senpai, so I hit him in the head with my fist. How about that?

Kakashi : Ah! That’s it!

Naruto : Eeh??

Sai : Hm hm

Sakura : Is that so?!

Kakashi : Obviously that’s not possible!

Yamato : Ow!

Kakashi : Stop talking nonsense!

Yamato : We can only talk nonsense about this kind of thing, right?

Kakashi : Somehow that makes me mad. Nnnn-somehow, looking at you feel like a nasty memory has awaken! You did something to the kid me, aren’t you?

Yamato : I did nothing! Senpai also now talks nonsense!

Kakashi : Because of you! Ah, the tingling feeling in my head is back. Oi Yamato! Let me smack you in the head!

Yamato : *bonking ensues* W-wait, wait, why, why did you hit my head!

Kakashi : Revenge for that timee!

Yamato : What revenge?!

Kakashi : I don’t know! Aargh!

Naruto : Ah, ah, what are you guys doing?

Sakura : Really stop it both of you

Sai : Really immature

Kakashi : Although I don’t quite understand, by hitting Yamato’s head my vague memory feels resolved. Now it doesn’t matter if I can’t remember it.

Yamato : Huhu why this happen to me?

Teuchi : Speaking of which..

All : huh?

Teuchi : About two days after the event of new menu, the Fourth Hokage walked around then came to our store alone.

Kakashi : Heh? Minato-sensei did?

Naruto : Really? Do you have a signature? Doesn't that often happen with ramen shops?

Sakura : Naruto shut up!

Teuchi : He ate the new Tonkotsu Miso Char Shiu Ramen. Then he said this softly, “That mission was successful thanks to a certain boy.”

Kakashi : A certain boy?

Sakura : Of course that refers to Kakashi-sensei, right?

Sai : That’s probably it

Yamato : Well, since it’s Kakashi-senpai, that’s really possible

Kakashi : Heh? Really? I did it? I managed to show my skill in my first important mission, and then got praised by Minato-sensei. Hooray! I feel so happy! Haah, but how can I forget this important milestone of my life? I am really a failure…

Naruto : No, you are indeed awesome, Kakashi’sensei! You can be praised by that Fourth Hokage, really makes me envy, you, you..

Kakashi : Hehe, is that so? Then I will be prideful for a while~

Naruto : Haha, then let’s we eat the rest of ramen

Teuchi : Hoo, you also ate the Naruto roll at the very end

Naruto : Yeah, of course the most delicious food should be saved for last

Teuchi : The Fourth Hokage also had that habit

Naruto : Hehehe

[kami-no-kao]

Ryujin is known as the God of the ocean and rainfall. Responsible for causing tsunamis, it also helped and saved people. Ryujin is often depicted as a great dragon, or sea snake, that can even change its form to various animals and even as a human. The people of ancient Japan, mainly fisherman and farmers, worshiped the god for bountiful rain, clam seas and successful fishing. Shrines dedicated to Ryujin were found all over Japan, but its home was considered to be where rainfall and fishing were most essential. The most famous location in Kyoto, beneath the depths of lake Biwa was believed to be an underwater castle, Ryūgū-jō, where Ryujin lived. 

[twsted-princess]

"That's Princess Kin-hime to you peasants!!!"

(picrew linked here)

Bio

Name: Kin-hime Kuzuryū

Nicknames: Kin, Goldilocks, Little Dragon Princess

Voice Actor: Rumi Ookubo

Gender: Female (She/Her)

Age: 14

Sexuality: She's a baby

Height: 4'10

Race: Dragon fae

Homeland: The Island of Ryūgū-jō

Birthday: 5/31

Starsign: Gemini

Family: Mother, Father, Otohime, (oldest sister) Himiko, (older sister) Daido, (bother in-law) Kimi (nephew)

Occupation: Student, Princess, Brat

Based off: King Ghidorah

Professional Status

Dorm: Gracery (@forestwispocs)

School Year: First

Class: 1-B

Best Subject: Art

Club: None

Dominant Hand: Right

Favorite Food: Mochi

Hated Food: Overcooked steak

Likes: Attention, Jewels, Shopping, Being better then others, Tropical places, Her sisters

Dislikes: Daido, Most people in her dorm, Being small, Carrots

Hobbies: Acting like she owns Gracery, Counting how many jewels she has

Talents: Owning more then a thousand dresses

Unique Magic: Kintsugi

Able to transmute anything into pure solid gold, including herself. She can do this via touch.

Backstory

Oh joy a runt. She's the youngest princess of the Island of Ryūgū-jō, a civilization that worships a mighty golden dragon that was said to rule the heavens. Her family has the dragon's blood in their veins and she's the most prideful of it. Mocking anyone she deems lowly but since she's a baby you can scruff her easily. She acts haughty and snooty but given she has two older sisters who will murder whoever makes her sad she's got a little bit of right to brag.

[periwinklmoon]

Inazuma Lore: A Series Part 2/?

Part 1 was about historic setting, part 2 will be very long, about one of my favorite characters and her beautiful lore.

As we all know, Kokomi is the Head-Priestess of Sangonomiya Shrine and, I haven’t actually seen anyone saying this but, the people of Watatsumi Island are supposed descendants of the people from the Enkanomiya following Orobashi’s purpose of creating human-like serpent, so she should be descendant of Orobashi and the serpent creatures/vishaps.

“ The ancient people of Enkanomiya co-worshipped Orobashi, the coral serpent, with Ouroboros, the scaleless imaginary serpent. Its influence led to the end of the worship of the Dainichi Mikoshi and many of the corrupt practices established by the Sunchildren regime. Orobashi brought with its newfound rule drastic changes to Enkanomiya society, including changing from the ancient Watatsumi language to the Narukami-style language. Following a certain prophecy, it prepared the people of Enkanomiya to return to the surface world and had them become acclimated with Narukami and Inazuman conventions.“ [source]

Enkanomiya’s story is way more elaborated but I’ll focus exclusively on Orobashi first. 

He is a serpent, he gets addressed as Orobashi no Mikoto (オロバシノミコト), like Gods are usually addressed, and his name comes from the word “orochi”, which means serpent.

In Japanese Mythology different type of serpents exist, one of them is called  Yamata no Orochi (ヤマタノオロチ, also 八岐大蛇), or simply Orochi (大蛇), who’s a eight-headed and eight-tailed Japanese dragon/serpent. (besides the ancient orochi reading,  大蛇  is read daija, "big snake; large serpent").

Japanese Myths can be founded in two books, Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, the first two ancient books in Japanese language, which tell the stories of the Japanese Gods and creation of Japan.

In both versions of the Orochi myth, the Shinto storm god Susanoo, God of Thunder, is expelled from Heaven for tricking his sister Amaterasu, the sun goddess.  After the expulsion from Heaven, Susanoo encounters two "Earthly Deities" weeping because they were forced to give Orochi one of their daughters every year for seven years. When time came for Orochi to get the eight daughter, Susanoo helped them by getting Orochi drunk, intoxicated by the drinking all his heads lay down and slept and Susanoo killed him with his sword.

The parallel in-game for this myth would be Raiden Shogun killing Orobashi,  just like Susanoo kills Orochi, during the Archon War, creating the Musoujin Gorge on Yashiori Island, and Serpent’s Head being Orobashi remains.

In the Myth, Susanoo makes Orochi intoxicated with a rice wine (sake) called Yashiori no Sake (八塩折之酒/八醞酒 "eight-fold refined liquor").

This being said, Orobashi can be linked to another dragon/serpent God because of his purpose of creating a human-like serpent creature and dream of living above surface.

Ryūjin (龍神), which in some traditions is equivalent to Ōwatatsumi (大海神 “great sea god”), was the tutelary deity of the sea in Japanese mythology. In many versions Ryūjin had the ability to transform into a human shape. Many believed the god had knowledge on medicine and many considered him as the bringer of rain and thunder.

Ryūjin lived in his palace under the sea built out of red and white coral, pearls, crystal, and sea creatures like jellyfish, turtles, fishes are his servants.

There’s several Shrines dedicated to this particular god in Japan, the model for the  Sangonomiya Shrine (珊瑚宮 "Coral Palace") whose Kokomi is Head-Priestess, is located in Okinawa, Shuri Castle.

The Ryūgū-jō (竜宮城 "Dragon palace castle") in myths, is also palace of princess Otohime (乙姫), second daughter of the Dragon King (Ryū-ō). [see folktale of Urashima Tarō for the story]

In conclusion, all of this is what brings me to believe Kokomi is a descedant in human form, of Orobashi. 

1 / ?

[ladyloveandjustice]

Looked up the story of Urashima Tarou, and here it is according to Wikipedia:

---

One day a young fisherman named Urashima Tarō is fishing when he notices a group of children torturing a small turtle. Tarō saves it and lets it go back to the sea. The next day, a huge turtle approaches him and tells him that the small turtle he had saved is the daughter of the Emperor of the Sea, Ryūjin, who wants to see him to thank him. The turtle magically gives Tarō gills and brings him to the bottom of the sea, to the Palace of the Dragon God (Ryūgū-jō). There he meets the Emperor and the small turtle, who was now a lovely princess, Otohime.[a] The palace had a view to the four seasons, a different one on each side. Tarō stays there with Otohime for three days, but soon wants to go back to his village and see his aging mother, so he requests permission to leave. The princess says she is sorry to see him go, but wishes him well and gives him a mysterious box called tamatebako which will protect him from harm but which she tells him never to open. Tarō grabs the box, jumps on the back of the same turtle that had brought him there, and soon is at the seashore.

When he goes home, everything has changed. His home is gone, his mother has vanished, and the people he knew are nowhere to be seen. He asks if anybody knows a man called Urashima Tarō. They answer that they had heard someone of that name had vanished at sea long ago. He discovers that 300 years have passed since the day he left for the bottom of the sea. Struck by grief, he absent-mindedly opens the box the princess had given him, from which bursts forth a cloud of white smoke. He is suddenly aged, his beard long and white, and his back bent. From the sea comes the sad, sweet voice of the princess: "I told you not to open that box. In it was your old age ...".

---

That's pretty tragic! It would have made me afraid of the ocean as a kid, not want to work at an aquarium. What the hell is Karou doing reading this with a huge smile on her face, I'm with Kuuya in the background.

[legend-collection]

Japanese Dragon

Japanese dragons are diverse legendary creatures in Japanese mythology and folklore. Japanese dragon myths amalgamate native legends with imported stories about dragons from China, Korea and the Indian subcontinent. The style of the dragon was heavily influenced by the Chinese dragon. Like these other East Asian dragons, most Japanese ones are water deities associated with rainfall and bodies of water, and are typically depicted as large, wingless, serpentine creatures with clawed feet. The modern Japanese language has numerous "dragon" words, including indigenous Tatsu from Old Japanese ta-tu, Sino-Japanese ryū or ryō from Chinese lóng, nāga from Sanskrit, and doragon from English "dragon" (the latter being used almost exclusively to refer to the European dragon and derived fictional creatures).

The c. 680 AD Kojiki and the c. 720 AD Nihongi mytho-histories have the first Japanese textual references to dragons. "In the oldest annals the dragons are mentioned in various ways," explains de Visser, "but mostly as water-gods, serpent- or dragon-shaped."  The Kojiki and Nihongi mention several ancient dragons:

Yamata no Orochi "8-branched giant snake" was an 8-headed and 8-tailed dragon slain by the god of wind and sea Susanoo, who discovered the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (legendary sword of the Imperial Regalia of Japan) in one of its tails.

Watatsumi "sea god" or Ryūjin "dragon god" was the ruler of seas and oceans, and described as a dragon capable of changing into human form. He lived in the undersea Ryūgū-jō "dragon palace castle", where he kept the magical tide jewels.

Toyotama-hime "Luminous Pearl Princess" was Ryūjin's daughter. She purportedly was an ancestress of Emperor Jimmu, Japan's legendary first emperor.

Wani was a sea monster that is translated as both "shark" and "crocodile". Kuma-wani "bear (i.e., giant or strong) shark/crocodile" are mentioned in two ancient legends. One says the sea god Kotoshiro-nushi-no-kami transformed into an "8-fathom kuma-wani" and fathered Toyotama-hime, the other says a kuma-wani piloted the ships of Emperor Chūai and his Empress Jingū.

Mizuchi or was a river dragon and water deity. The Nihongi records legendary Emperor Nintoku offering human sacrifices to mizuchi angered by his river engineering projects.

Raiju is Raijin's animal companion and messenger that commonly take form of a dragon.

Kiyohime "Purity Princess" was a teahouse waitress who fell in love with a young Buddhist priest. After he spurned her, she studied magic, transformed into a dragon, and killed him.

Nure-onna "Wet Woman" was a dragon with a woman's head and a snake's body. She was typically seen while washing her hair on a riverbank and would sometimes kill humans when angered.

Zennyo Ryūō "goodness-like dragon king" was a rain-god depicted either as a dragon with a snake on its head or as a human with a snake's tail.

In the fairy tale "My Lord Bag of Rice", the Ryūō "dragon king" of Lake Biwa asks the hero Tawara Tōda to kill a giant centipede.

Urashima Tarō rescued a turtle which took him to Ryūgū-jō and turned into the attractive daughter of the ocean god Ryūjin.

Known for its great longevity, this reptile mainly lives in aquatic environments, which explains why it is often portrayed in water through Japanese artworks.

According to the Japanese mythology, this creature has the supreme power to metamorphose, to lengthen its body or even to become invisible. It may also take on human appearance.

Although this creature can fly, this is not its main power as it is more of a snake than a bird. We are thus quite far from the stereotype of the European dragon, hovering in the air, with its gigantic wings, and spitting fire.

The Japanese dragon takes its origin in the legends of the genesis of universe. Shortly after the creation of heaven and earth, 7 generations of kami (Japanese gods) were born. The dragons would have appeared together with other creatures in order to protect them as the guardians of the celestial gods.

In Japanese mythology, it is said that they reign over the oceans and fight to defend the gods.

There are 5 types of dragons:

The celestial dragon, guardian of the kamis

The spiritual dragon, god of wind and rain

The land dragon, guardian of rivers and oceans

The treasure-defending dragon that guards over precious stones

The imperial dragon, symbol of the Chinese dynasty

Just like nature, of which it embodies the strength, power and unpredictability, this reptile may prove to be dangerous to the common man.

However, the dragon is, above all, a sign of good fortune and generally shows itself to be benevolent. In addition, it brings happiness, wealth  and success and symbolizes wisdom, perseverance and immortality in the Japanese people's mind.

In Japan, the dragon is implored to attract rain, which nourishes the land.

Ancient Legend of Yamata no Orochi:

Yamata no Orochi also nicknamed Orochi was an evil creature of eight tails and eight heads which roamed near the Hi River in the Izumo City. Each one of his heads represented natural elements such as water, earth, wind, fire, lightning, light, darkness and venom. This creature and its red eyes the color of blood, its long body that stretched over 8 hills and 8 mountains.  Cypresses and moss grew upon its back and rivers of blood flowed on its belly. According to the legend, this dragon used to devour a young girl once a year.

"One day, when the king of Izumo was about to offer his eighth and last daughter as a sacrifice, to calm the beast, Susanoo, god of storms, proposed a covenant: fight the dragon in exchange for the girl's hand.

In order to vanquish Orochi, Susanoo had to offer 8 barrels of sake. Yamata no Orochi drank until the very last drop before falling asleep.

At that moment, Susanoo threw himself on the monster to kill it by cutting one by one its 8 heads. While slaughtering his rival, Susanoo found a sacred sword called Kusanagi no Tsurugi inside the monster, a sword he later offered to his sister Amaterasu, goddess of the sun.”

The story of Watatsumi, Dragon king and God of the sea:

Watatsumi, also called Ryujin, is the dragon king and great god of the sea and oceans. This dragon is recognizable by his gigantic size and long moustache. As the master of the tides, Watatsumi governs all aquatic species. The generous king welcomes shipwrecked people in his magnificent underwater palace.

"One day, one of his beautiful daughters named Otohime met Hoori, a human being who was roaming the sea looking for his brother’s fishhook. After falling in love with each other, they decided to live together in Watatsumi Palace.

After several years, Hoori, who suffered from boredom, wanted to return to the land, but was afraid of his brother's reaction once he discovered that he hadn't found his fishhook. Caring, the king decided to summon the servants of his kingdom and ask them if they had seen the object he was looking for. By chance, a fish had just swallowed it.

Hoori then returned to his beloved land accompanied by his wife the dragon goddess."

According to the legend, their grandson became the first emperor of Japan. For this reason it is said that emperors are descendants of kamis.

The myth of Ryujin and the jellyfish:

There is another legend involving Ryujin, the god of the sea.

"While his daughter was suffering from an incurable disease, Ryujin asked the jellyfish to bring him a monkey liver. At that time the jellyfish still had bones and legs.

The jellyfish complied and went in search of the mammal. Once found the monkey, the monkey told the jellyfish that its liver had been stolen. The jellyfish returned empty-handed to its king.

Ryujin promptly realized that the monkey had been making fun of them and, in a state of anger, he flattened the jellyfish with his full weight."

Pic by Ogata Gekko