Okinawan Folktake: Iejima Handu-gwa

To the West of Okinawa Island

 

 

During the 18^th Century, a prince from Iejima arrived in Hentona Village, Okinawa.

He met a beautiful girl with long black hair and, they fell in love.

One day, he informed her that, he had to travel north, to Japan, on official business.

He promised, he would return, to the love of his life, Handu-gwa but, never did.

After a long wait, she became anxious and decided to travel by boat, to Iejima.

She spoke with the captain about, going to find out what happened to her prince.

Captain Tamaki, warned her, not to visit the residence of the royal family.

She ignored his advice and, went anyway.

She would discover, her charming prince, had a wife and a child.

In despair, Handu-gwa climbed the only hill on the island, where she committed suicide.

She hung herself from a tree, using her long hair to strangle herself.

Sketch by Atsushi Maezato

Her Spirit Would Return

 

  The lord of Iejima and prince would soon die early deaths, from undetermined causes.

The royal family lost their fame and fortunes.

The Tamaki family became successful, wealthy and lived long, happy lives.

At times, the ghost of Handu-gwa, would appear outside the homes of the prince's descendants.

When she showed, on the occasion of childbirth, the babies would be stillborn.

There would be black marks of strangulation on the child's neck.




See the statue of Handu-gwa on Ie-jima



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Okinawa Folktale: Umiyakara and Dondon Gama

It Started in a Cave

 

 

A stranger arrived in the fishing village of Itoman a long time ago.

No one was sure where he came from but, they knew he lived in Dondon Gama.

It was a cave, on the hill, overlooking the town and fishing port.

A very successful fisherman, he became known as, Umiyakara (うみやから).

Roughly translated, his name meant: hard-working man of the ocean.

The prettiest girl in town, moved into the cave to live with him.

The beauty's name was Chiru.

Plot to Kill

 

 

The rest of the young fishermen envied Umiyakara.

If he was eliminated, Chiru would stop ignoring them and, move back into town.

They invited Umiyakara to go on a boat trip with them.

They brought along plenty of sake and, got him drunk, planning to drown him.

They threw him overboard and whacked him on the head with boat oars.

When he tried to get back in the boat, they smacked him on the head, again and again.

Finally he went under and, never came back up.

Believe in Magic ?

 

 

The next day, Umiyakara showed up at the port with his usual, record catch of fish.

It was as if the events of the prior evening never took place.

Umiyakara, didn't mention anything about it and, went about his business, selling fish.

Evil Buddies Devise a New Plan

 

 

The rest of the young fishermen figured Umiyakara was impossible to kill. 

They decided to write a song about him, Chiru and, their relationship.

Thinking the song would make the villagers ridicule them, it would break them up.

This plan backfired, too. People were delighted singing about the two lovers.

The song, "Umiyakara" became popular and is still sung, to this day:

REFERENCES:

Okinawan Folk Stories ISBN978-4-99009-146-0 P.90

Condensed from: Umiyakara Dondon

Okinawa Prefecture PDF



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Travel Photos: Statue of Maririn the Dog on Zamami Island

Maririn would be pronounced Marilyn in English.

The statue represents the female half of two dogs who really liked each other.

The dogs, liked each other so much, they had three litters of puppies.

The male dog, named Shiro (white) lived on another island.

Shiro, used to swim from Aka Island to hook up with Maririn over at Zamami.

The story of the two dogs was made into a movie in 1988.

There are a few places, you can find books, DVDs or download the movie, in Japanese only.

Maririn ni aitai, meaning I want to see Marilyn would be the title.

A short clip from the movie may be found on YouTube. 

And, an interesting tale from some ocean scientist, about the dogs may be seen here.

Travel Photo: Hajiusui (恥うすい坂) the Stone of Shame in Nago

Tragedy in the Mountains

 

 

This stone is a monument to a story Shakespeare could have written.

Two young lovers, ended their lives in this area.

It's another one of those tales about a girl who is in love.

And, she catches her guy, with another woman.

So, she goes up the trail and kills herself.

He went up and did the same thing.

Now I'm Hearing They Were Found Naked

 

 

They probably would have gotten this rock carving, anyhow.

So, I'm wondering.  What possessed them to take their clothes off ?

The inscription on the stone warns travelers.  Be careful, going up that trail.

Something told me, "Don't go in there."

So, I stayed on the road and shot butterflies, instead.

Nago City Website Convinced Me 

If you go up that trail, you better sprinkle the path with leaves.

Because, if you don't, you will be misled by some evil spirits !

Use your Google Translate on the Nago Website

Directions and more at Map It Okinawa 

In Japan It's Tanabata---Tonight Is a Special Night !

Call it the Star Festival

 

It almost slipped my mind, this year.  July 7th, is Tanabata.

On Okinawa it isn't one of those festivals where everyone goes to celebrate and party.

Only one house, that I know of, goes hog wild decorating for the event.

A sweetheart of a gal named, Nakamoto, in Nanjo City, hangs up all these decorations.

She has been decorating her yard with all these bright colors for over 20 years.

The star festival comes from a Chinese legend.

It seems, this young couple (We'll call them stars) fell in love.

 They got fooling around, too much and forgot to do their jobs.

 So, the big guy in the sky separated them.

He stuck them on opposite ends of the Milky Way, astronomically speaking.

That way, they could only get to see each other, once a year.

Some people decorate for the event, others, just look up at the stars.

Tanabata, meaning the night of the seventh, you should look up there.

Tonight is the only night of the year those two wayward stars get together.

See if you can catch them fooling around !

MORE ABOUT TANABATA


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