The Happy Hunter and the Skillful Fisher

In the mythic past of this tale, when Japan was ruled by descendants of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, the throne belonged to Hohodemi, fourth Mikoto (or Augustness) in her line. He was as handsome as his great ancestress was beautiful, strong and fearless too, and no one in the country could match him with a bow. People called him Yama-sachi-hiko, the Happy Hunter of the Mountains.

His elder brother was just as gifted in his own way. No fisherman anywhere could rival him, and so he was known as Umi-sachi-hiko, the Skillful Fisher of the Sea. For a long while the two lived contentedly, each enjoying his own craft, one chasing game across the hills, the other pulling fish from the waves.

Then one day the Happy Hunter went to his brother with an idea. “Every morning you go off to the sea with your rod,” he said, “and every evening you come back loaded with fish. I, for my part, love to roam the mountains and valleys with my bow, hunting wild beasts. We have each done the same thing for so long that we must both be weary of it. Why don’t we change places for a while? You hunt in the mountains, and I will fish in the sea.”

The Skillful Fisher thought about it in silence for a moment. “Why not?” he said at last. “It’s not a bad plan. Hand me your bow and arrows, and I’ll be off to the hills.”

So it was settled, and neither brother had the least idea what would come of it. They exchanged their tools without learning how to use them: the Happy Hunter knew nothing about fishing, and the Skillful Fisher knew just as little about hunting.

The Happy Hunter carried his brother’s treasured rod and hook down to the shore, sat on the rocks, baited the hook and flung it awkwardly into the water. He watched the little float rise and fall and wished with all his heart for a fish to bite. Each time the float stirred he jerked up the rod, but nothing ever hung from the line except the hook and the bait. The greatest hunter in the land turned out to be the clumsiest of fishermen.

The whole day went by like this. Dusk came on and still he had not caught a single fish. When he pulled in his line for the last time before going home, he saw that the hook was gone. He had no idea when it had fallen off.

Now he grew very uneasy. The hook was his brother’s only one, and the Skillful Fisher prized it above everything he owned. The Happy Hunter began hunting among the rocks and over the sand, and while he was still poking about, his brother came striding along the beach. He had found no game all day, and he was in a vile mood. One look at the Happy Hunter bent over the sand told him something was wrong.

“What are you doing there, brother?” he demanded.

The Happy Hunter came forward nervously, for he dreaded his brother’s temper. “Oh, brother, I have done a very bad thing.”

“What is it? What have you done?”

“I have lost your precious hook—”

His brother cut him short with a furious shout. “Lost my hook! Just as I expected! I never liked your plan of swapping our work, but you were so set on it that I gave way. Now you see what comes of meddling with things you don’t understand. You’ll not get your bow and arrows back until you find my hook. See that you bring it to me, and quickly.”

The Happy Hunter knew the fault was his, so he bore the scolding meekly. He searched everywhere, as hard as he could, but there was no sign of the hook, and at last he had to give up. He went home and, in despair, broke his own beloved sword into pieces and forged five hundred fish-hooks from the metal.

He carried them to his brother, begged his pardon, and asked him to take them in place of the hook he had lost. It was no good. The Skillful Fisher would not even listen.

So the Happy Hunter made five hundred more and brought those too, pleading to be forgiven.

“You could make a million hooks,” said the Skillful Fisher, shaking his head, “and they would be worthless to me. I will not forgive you until you give me back my own.”

Nothing would soften him. He had a wicked nature and had always hated his younger brother for his goodness, and now he meant to use the lost hook as an excuse to kill him and seize the rule of Japan for himself. The Happy Hunter understood this perfectly well, but he felt bound by the obedience expected of a younger brother and said nothing. Back he went to the shore to search once more, though by now he had little hope.

As he stood on the sand, wondering what in the world to do, an old man with a staff was suddenly walking toward him. Afterward the Happy Hunter could never say where he had come from; he simply glanced up and there the stranger was.

“You are Hohodemi, the Augustness, whom some call the Happy Hunter, are you not?” said the old man. “What brings you to this lonely place by yourself?”

“I am,” the young man answered sadly. “I was fishing and lost my brother’s precious hook. I have combed this whole shore and cannot find it, and my brother will not forgive me until I give it back. But who are you?”

“My name is Shiwozuchino Okina, and I live close by on this coast. I am sorry for your trouble. But if you want my opinion, the hook is not here at all. Either it lies on the sea bed or some fish has swallowed it, and you could spend your whole life searching this beach without finding it.”

“Then what am I to do?”

“Go down to Ryn Gu and tell Ryn Jin, the Dragon King of the Sea, about your trouble. Ask him to find the hook for you. That is my advice.”

“A wonderful idea,” said the Happy Hunter, “but how could I ever reach the Sea King’s country? They say it lies at the very bottom of the ocean.”

“That need not worry you. I can quickly make you something to carry you through the water.”

“I’d be most grateful,” said the Happy Hunter.

The old man set to work at once and soon had a basket ready. The Happy Hunter took it joyfully down to the water and climbed in. Before he left he thanked his kind helper and promised to reward him when he had found the hook and could come home without fearing his brother’s rage. The old man showed him which way to go and how to reach Ryn Gu, and watched as he floated out to sea in the basket, which looked rather like a little boat.

The strange craft seemed to move through the water all by itself, and the journey was far shorter than the Happy Hunter had expected. Within a few hours he could see the gate and roofs of the Sea King’s Palace. What a vast place it was, with roof upon sloping roof, mighty gateways and walls of gray stone! He came ashore, left the basket on the beach and walked up to the great gate. Its pillars were of lovely red coral, and the gate itself sparkled with jewels of every sort, with tall katsura trees spreading their shade over it. He had heard many tales of the wonders under the sea, but none of them came close to what he now saw with his own eyes.

He would have gone straight in, but the gate was shut tight and there was nobody about to open it, so he stopped to think. Under the trees in front of the gate was a well of clear spring water. Sooner or later, he thought, someone is sure to come out for water. So he climbed the tree that leaned over the well, settled himself on a branch and waited.

Before long the great gate swung open and out came two beautiful women. The Happy Hunter had always supposed that the realm of the Dragon King would be full of dragons and other fearsome beasts, so the sight of two princesses lovelier than any he had seen on earth astonished him. He kept perfectly still and watched them through the leaves. Each carried a golden bucket, and they moved slowly and gracefully toward the well in their trailing robes, never guessing that a stranger was hidden in the branches above.

As they bent over the edge to lower their buckets, as they did every day, they saw in the still, deep water the reflection of a handsome young man looking down at them from the tree. Never in their lives had they seen a mortal man’s face. They started back in fright, clutching their golden buckets. But curiosity soon got the better of fear, and they peeped shyly upward to find the cause of the strange reflection. There sat the Happy Hunter, gazing at them in wonder and admiration. They stared back at him, too amazed to speak.

Seeing that he was found out, the Mikoto sprang lightly to the ground. “I am a traveler,” he said, “and I came to this well very thirsty, but I had no bucket to draw water with. So I climbed the tree, quite put out, to wait for someone to come along. And then, just when I needed you most, you noble ladies appeared. Please be merciful and give a thirsty traveler in a strange land something to drink.”

His dignified, gracious manner overcame their shyness. Bowing without a word, they went to the well, drew up water in their golden buckets, poured it into a jeweled cup and offered it to him.

He took the cup in both hands and lifted it to his forehead as a mark of deep respect, then drank thirstily. When he had finished, he set the cup on the rim of the well, drew his short sword and cut one of the curved jewels, called magatama, from the necklace that hung across his breast. He dropped the jewel into the cup, handed it back to them and bowed low. “Please take this as a sign of my thanks.”

The ladies looked into the cup to see what he had put there, and gave a start, for a beautiful gem lay at the bottom.

“No ordinary man would give away a jewel so freely,” said the elder. “Will you do us the honor of telling us who you are?”

“Gladly. I am Hohodemi, fourth Mikoto, known in Japan as the Happy Hunter.”

“Are you really Hohodemi, grandson of Amaterasu the Sun Goddess?” she asked. “I am Princess Tayotama, eldest daughter of Ryn Jin, King of the Sea.”

“And I,” said the younger, who had at last found her voice, “am her sister, Princess Tamayori.”

“The daughters of the Sea King himself! I can’t tell you how happy I am to meet you,” said the Happy Hunter, and without waiting for an answer he poured out his story. “Not long ago I went fishing with my brother’s hook and lost it, though I couldn’t tell you how. My brother treasures that hook more than anything else he owns, so this is the worst misfortune that could have happened to me. He is very angry, and unless I get it back he will never forgive me. I have looked for it over and over without success. While I was hunting for it in great distress, a wise old man told me my best hope was to come to Ryn Gu and ask Ryn Jin, the Dragon King, for help, and he showed me the way. That is why I am here. I want to ask your father whether he knows where the hook is. Would you kindly take me to him? Do you think he will receive me?”

Princess Tayotama heard him out. “Seeing my father will be easy,” she said, “and he will be delighted to meet you. I am certain he will count it great good fortune that someone so noble, the grandson of Amaterasu, has come down to the bottom of the sea. Don’t you agree, Tamayori?”

“Yes, indeed,” said Princess Tamayori sweetly. “There could be no greater honor for us than welcoming the Mikoto to our home.”

“Then please lead the way.”

“Be pleased to enter, Augustness,” said the sisters together, and bowing low they took him in through the gate.

The younger princess left her sister to bring their guest and hurried ahead to the palace. She ran to her father’s room and told him everything that had happened at the well, and that Tayotama was on her way with the Augustness. The Dragon King was amazed, for a mortal came to the Sea Palace only very rarely, perhaps once in several hundred years.

Ryn Jin clapped his hands to summon all his courtiers, the palace servants and the chief fish of the sea. He told them solemnly that the grandson of the Sun Goddess was coming and that they must serve him with the greatest ceremony and courtesy, and he sent them all to the palace entrance to greet him.

Then the Sea King put on his robes of state and went out himself. Presently Princess Tayotama and the Happy Hunter arrived, and the Sea King and his wife bowed to the ground and thanked him for honoring them with a visit. Ryn Jin led him to the guest room, seated him in the place of honor and bowed respectfully before him. “I am Ryn Jin, Dragon King of the Sea, and this is my wife. We beg you to keep us always in your thoughts.”

“So you are the famous Ryn Jin, King of the Sea, of whom I have heard so much!” the Happy Hunter replied, greeting him with great ceremony. “I must ask your pardon for the trouble my sudden visit is causing.”

“There is nothing to pardon,” said Ryn Jin. “It is I who should thank you for coming. The Sea Palace is a humble place, as you can see, but I would be greatly honored if you would stay with us a long time.”

The two talked happily together for a long while. At last the Sea King clapped his hands, and in came a great procession of fishes in ceremonial dress, carrying trays of every sea delicacy in their fins. A splendid feast was laid before the King and his royal guest, and all the fishes who waited at table had been chosen from the finest in the ocean. Everyone in the palace did their utmost to make the visitor feel honored. The meal went on for hours, and Ryn Jin had his daughters play for them. The two princesses came in with their koto, a stringed instrument, and took turns singing and dancing. The time flew by so pleasantly that the Happy Hunter almost forgot his trouble and the reason for his journey, and gave himself up to the delights of this enchanted land of fishes.

Before long, though, he remembered his errand. “Perhaps your daughters have told you, King Ryn Jin,” he said, “that I have come to look for my brother’s fish-hook, which I lost while fishing a few days ago. Would you be good enough to ask all your subjects whether any of them have seen it?”

“Certainly,” said the obliging Sea King. “I will call them here at once and ask.”

At his command in came the octopus, the cuttlefish, the bonito, the oxtail fish, the eel, the jellyfish, the shrimp, the plaice and a host of other fish, who seated themselves before their King with their fins neatly arranged. Then Ryn Jin spoke gravely.

“The guest you see before you is the august grandson of Amaterasu, Hohodemi, fourth Augustness, also called the Happy Hunter of the Mountains. A few days ago, while he was fishing off the coast of Japan, someone took his brother’s hook from him. He has come all the way down to our kingdom because he thinks one of you may have taken it in mischief. If any of you did so, return it at once. If you know who the thief is, tell us his name and where he is.”

The fish were so taken aback that for some time none of them could speak. They sat looking at one another and at the Dragon King. At last the cuttlefish came forward. “I believe the tai, the red bream, must be the culprit.”

“What proof have you?” asked the King.

“Since yesterday evening the tai hasn’t been able to eat a thing, and he seems to have something wrong with his throat. That’s why I think the hook may be stuck there. You should send for him straight away.”

All the other fish agreed. “It certainly is odd that the tai is the only one who hasn’t answered your call. Please send for him and get to the bottom of it, and then everyone will see that the rest of us are innocent.”

“Yes,” said the Sea King, “it is strange that he hasn’t come, when he should have been the first here. Fetch him!”

The cuttlefish had not waited for the order. He had set off for the tai’s home already, and now he came back with the tai and led him before the King.

The poor tai looked frightened and sick. His face, usually so red, was pale, and his eyes were nearly shut, hardly half their proper size.

“Answer me, tai!” cried the Sea King. “Why did you not come when I called?”

“I have been ill since yesterday,” said the tai. “That is why I couldn’t come.”

“Not another word!” said Ryn Jin angrily. “Your illness is the gods’ punishment for stealing the Mikoto’s hook.”

“It’s all too true,” said the tai. “The hook is still in my throat, and nothing I do will get it out. I can’t eat, I can hardly breathe, every moment I think it will choke me, and sometimes it hurts terribly. But I never meant to steal it. I snapped at the bait without thinking, and the hook broke off and stuck in my throat. I beg you to forgive me.”

The cuttlefish stepped forward. “You see I was right. The hook is still in his throat. I hope to pull it out here in front of the Mikoto, so that we can give it back to him safe and sound.”

“Oh, please hurry and pull it out!” cried the tai pitifully, feeling the pain coming on again. “I do so want to give the Mikoto back his hook.”

“All right, Tai San,” said his friend the cuttlefish. He opened the tai’s mouth as wide as it would go, slipped one of his feelers down its throat and drew the hook out quickly and easily. Then he washed it and brought it to the King.

Ryn Jin took the hook and respectfully handed it to the Happy Hunter, who was overjoyed. He thanked the Sea King again and again, his face shining with gratitude, and said it was Ryn Jin’s wise rule and kindness that had brought his search to such a happy end.

The Sea King now wanted to punish the tai, but the Happy Hunter begged him not to. He had his hook, and he had no wish to bring more trouble on the poor fish. True, the tai had taken it, but he had suffered enough already, if it could even be called a fault, since he had done it carelessly and not on purpose. The Happy Hunter said the blame was really his own: if he had known how to fish properly he would never have lost the hook, and all this trouble had come from his trying something he did not understand. So he asked the King to forgive his subject.

Who could refuse so wise and gentle a judge? Ryn Jin pardoned the tai at once at his guest’s request. The tai was so happy that he waggled his fins with joy, and he and all the other fish left the hall singing the praises of the Happy Hunter.

Now that the hook was found, nothing kept the Happy Hunter in Ryn Gu, and he longed to go home to his kingdom and make peace with his angry brother. But the Sea King had grown to love him and would gladly have kept him as a son. He begged him not to hurry away but to make the Sea Palace his home for as long as he pleased. While the Happy Hunter hesitated, the two lovely princesses, Tayotama and Tamayori, came in and, with the sweetest bows and voices, joined their father in urging him to stay. He could not refuse without seeming rude, so he remained for a while.

Time ran the same in the sea realm as on earth, and in that delightful country three years slipped quickly by, as years do when one is truly happy. Yet although the wonders of the place seemed fresh every day, and the Sea King grew kinder rather than less kind, the Happy Hunter became more and more homesick. He could not stop worrying about what had become of his home, his country and his brother while he was away.

At last he went to the Sea King. “I have been very happy here,” he said, “and I am deeply grateful for all your kindness. But I am the ruler of Japan, and however charming this place is, I cannot stay away from my country forever. I must also give the hook back to my brother and ask him to forgive me for keeping it from him so long. I am truly sorry to leave you, but this time it cannot be helped. With your kind permission, I will take my leave today, and I hope to visit you some other time. Please don’t ask me to stay longer now.”

King Ryn Jin was full of grief at losing the friend who had brought so much pleasure to the Sea Palace, and his tears flowed as he answered. “We are very sorry to see you go, Mikoto. We have loved having you, and you have been a most noble and honored guest. I understand that, as ruler of Japan, your place is there and not here, and that it is useless to try to keep you, much as we wish we could. Do not forget us. Strange events have made us friends, and I hope the friendship that has begun between the Land and the Sea will last and grow stronger than it has ever been.”

Then the Sea King told his daughters to bring him the two Tide-Jewels of the Sea. The princesses bowed, rose and glided from the hall, and in a few minutes they came back, each holding a flashing gem that lit up the whole room. The Happy Hunter wondered what they could be. The Sea King took them and said, “These two precious talismans have been handed down in our family since time beyond memory. We give them to you as a parting gift, as a token of our great love for you. They are called the nanjiu and the kanjiu.”

The Happy Hunter bowed to the ground. “I can never thank you enough for all your kindness. Will you do me one more favor and tell me what these jewels are and how I should use them?”

“The nanjiu,” said the Sea King, “is also called the Jewel of the Flood Tide. Whoever holds it can make the sea roll in and flood the land whenever he chooses. The kanjiu, the Jewel of the Ebbing Tide, rules the sea and its waves and can make even a tidal wave draw back.”

Ryn Jin showed him how to use each talisman and then gave them to him. The Happy Hunter was very glad to take home the Jewel of the Flood Tide and the Jewel of the Ebbing Tide, for he felt they would protect him if enemies ever threatened him. He thanked his kind host many times and got ready to leave. The Sea King, the two princesses and everyone in the palace came out to bid him farewell, and before the last goodbye had faded he passed out under the gateway, past the well beneath the great katsura trees where his adventure in Ryn Gu had begun, and down to the beach.

There, in place of the odd basket that had brought him, a huge crocodile lay waiting. He had never seen such an enormous creature: it was eight fathoms long from the tip of its tail to the end of its snout. The Sea King had ordered it to carry the Happy Hunter home to Japan. Like the wonderful basket Shiwozuchino Okina had made, it could travel faster than any steamboat, and so, riding on a crocodile’s back, the Happy Hunter came home to his own land.

As soon as he was ashore, he hurried to let the Skillful Fisher know he was safe. He handed him the hook that had been found in the tai’s mouth, the hook that had caused so much trouble between them, and earnestly begged his forgiveness, telling him all about his stay in the Sea King’s Palace and the marvelous adventures that had led to finding it.

But the Skillful Fisher had only used the lost hook as an excuse to drive his brother out of the country. When the Happy Hunter left that day three years before and did not come home, his wicked brother had been delighted and had promptly seized his place as ruler, growing rich and powerful. Now, while he was enjoying what was not his and hoping his brother would never come back to claim it, there suddenly stood the Happy Hunter before him.

The Skillful Fisher pretended to forgive him, since he had no more excuses for sending him away. But in his heart he was furious and hated his brother more and more, until he could not bear to see him day after day, and he began to watch for a chance to kill him.

One day, as the Happy Hunter was walking through the rice fields, his brother crept after him with a dagger. The Happy Hunter knew he was being followed and why, and he felt that this moment of great danger was the time to try the Tide-Jewels and see whether the Sea King had told him the truth.

He drew the Jewel of the Flood Tide from the folds of his robe and raised it to his forehead. At once the sea came pouring in, wave after wave, over the fields and farms, until it reached the place where his brother stood. The Skillful Fisher stared in terror. A minute later he was floundering in the water, crying to his brother to save him from drowning.

The Happy Hunter was too kind-hearted to watch his brother suffer. He put away the Jewel of the Flood Tide and took out the Jewel of the Ebbing Tide, and the instant he lifted it to his forehead the water ran back and back, until the tossing flood was gone and the fields, farms and dry land lay open as they had been.

The Skillful Fisher was badly shaken by his narrow escape and deeply impressed by the marvels his brother could work. He saw now how fatal it would be to make an enemy of a younger brother who had become so mighty that the sea rose and fell at his command. So he humbled himself in front of the Happy Hunter and asked forgiveness for all the wrong he had done. He promised to give back his brother’s rightful place, and he swore that although by birth the Happy Hunter was the younger and owed him loyalty, he would honor him as his superior and bow to him as Lord of all Japan.

The Happy Hunter said he would forgive him if he would cast all his wicked ways into the ebbing tide. The Skillful Fisher promised, and peace was made between the brothers. From that day he kept his word and became a good man and a loving brother.

Now the Happy Hunter ruled his kingdom undisturbed by any family quarrel, and Japan enjoyed peace for a long, long time. Of all the treasures in his house, he valued most the wonderful Tide-Jewels given to him by Ryn Jin, the Dragon King of the Sea.

About this story

“The Happy Hunter and the Skillful Fisher” is the thirteenth tale in Yei Theodora Ozaki’s Japanese Fairy Tales. Ozaki opens it by naming the hero, Hohodemi, as the fourth Mikoto descended from Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, placing the story in a legendary royal genealogy rather than a verified account of early government.

The brothers’ nicknames carry the whole plot: Yama-sachi-hiko, the Happy Hunter of the Mountains, and Umi-sachi-hiko, the Skillful Fisher of the Sea. Ozaki ends with a formal closing line calling this “the congratulatory ending” of the story.

Read the original: Japanese Fairy Tales (Project Gutenberg)

Reading guidance: older children with adult discussion. A brother threatens murder, a fish suffers from a swallowed hook, and a magical flood nearly drowns an attacker.

Responsibility without endless punishment

The hunter acknowledges losing the hook and offers replacements. His brother refuses because his purpose has shifted from recovering property to excluding a rival. The red bream later suffers a different accident: it swallows bait and cannot remove the hook. The hunter asks the Sea King to distinguish that accident from deliberate theft, offering the fairness his brother withheld from him.

The ending adds a complication. The hunter stops a murderous attack with the flood jewel, then uses the ebb jewel to stop the danger he has created. His brother’s apology follows a demonstration of power, so fear and remorse are initially difficult to separate. Only the statement that he keeps his promise supports lasting reconciliation.

Compare the proposed responses to the lost hook, the swallowed hook and the dagger attack. Which responses repair damage, which prevent danger, and which seek revenge? Point to an action in each scene rather than judging the brothers by their nicknames.

Questions to ask

• What could the brothers have taught each other before exchanging their tools?
• Why did the Happy Hunter ask the Sea King not to punish the tai?
• The Happy Hunter could have let the flood sweep his brother away. Why do you think he didn’t?

You may also like

• The Story of Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad — another visit to Ryn Jin’s palace under the sea
• The Jelly Fish and the Monkey — more adventures in the Dragon King’s court
• My Lord Bag of Rice — a hero rewarded with wonders by the Dragon King