Week 9 Story Telling: The Crystal of Hearts Desire

 The Crystal of Hearts Desire

Here is an orb that looks like what I imagine the Jewel of Hearts Desire to look like.
Source

    Once there was an Emperor and Empress named Chiuai and Jingu. Jingu had an Amazonian stature about her. She loved sports and hunting and was a fine warrior. One day, while hanging out in his beach house, Chiuai was playing his lute and watching Jingu sport about when she spoke to him,

"If you really are the son of the great Yamato, how come nothing great has been accomplished in your reign?"

"Well, my father did just about everything so there isn't much for me to do but enjoy my life" answered the Emperor. 

Jingu confided, "I had a dream where the Sun Goddess came to me and said west lies the Land Morning Calm where hidden is the Crystal of Heart's Desire, the Jewel that I am about to give you. Maybe that could be your accomplishment."

Taking no concern Chiuai repied, "Dreams are a bunch of nonsense. There is nothing beyond the western sea. Don't read into this"

As he spoke the sky thundered and the room flooded with blinding light. Amaterasu the Sun Goddess appeared before the royals and warned Chiuai,

"You do not believe I could have spoken to your wife through dream? For questioning my power, you will die shortly and Jingu will carry out the mission instead. She will bring glory to your nation where you could not." Then she disappeared.

Immediately Chiuai fell back as his eyes rolled into the back of his skull. Jingu rushed to him saddened but knowing what she must do. She placed his lute back in his hands, 

"Please, please play again for me. Tell of anything at all."

His fingers strummed as he sang, "Let us set sail to the Land of Morning Calm" as he finished the lute clattered to the ground.

    Jingu placed a candle to his lips to check for breath. The flame didn't waver. He was gone. Immediately Jingu began planning for the quest. However, because she was a woman, she was not allowed to fall into the position of power unless authorized by the Emperor. Since he was dead, Takeuchi, the Prime Minister, hid the death of the Emperor and claimed that he instructed Empress Jingu to rule and carry out this quest. Meanwhile, Jingu gathered troops and huntsman to accompany her. Before departing, she knelt in prayer beside a pond and sought help from the gods through an omen since they put her in this position. She took her needle and thread and crafted a hook and line then prayed to the Sun Goddess. She baited it with a cherry blossom then cast the faux hook and immediately a shark came forth. Again Jingu prayed, asking this time for armor. In seconds a fleet of handmaids appeared out of thin air and disrobed her of all her queenly vestments and jewels. They were replaced with a golden steel chest plate, dragon crested helmet, an 8 foot spear, and the Sacred Sword used by Yamato himself. Before departing to the ship, Jingu fashioned her hair in a more androgynous style better suited for the quest.

    Jingu, Takeuchi, and their crew sailed for days with the Land of Morning Calm seemingly no where in sight. One day they approached a beautiful land with mountains and green valleys and a beautiful bay. As they approached the bay, they noticed the harbor was chained and entry was impossible. Suddenly, Jingu remembered she had with her the Jewel of Prince Fire-Fade. She held the stone up to the sky and the waters lifted the ship over the city walls and flooded the city. As the water started to disperse, the ship approached the temple. There, the king was waiting outside with a white flag believing the arrival of Jingu to be the fulfillment of a dire prophecy. He knelt at Jingu's feet,

"Myself and my kingdom pledge eternal loyalty to you, just please do not allow the sea to continue to swallow us."

"I seek the Jewel of Hearts Desire." Empress Jingu replied. 

The king had his men fetch it and when they returned they had a smooth round orb that gleamed in the light.

 "When danger is present the orb will turn into a fiery ball of light. However, in times of peace it glimmers like moonlight" explained the King.

"Thank you," Jingu replied taking the orb, "put this somewhere you deem fit Takeuchi" ordered the Empress as she passed the Jewel to Takeuchi.

    Takeuchi placed the glowing Jewel at the mast of the ship so that the light may guide them home. This seemed like a solid plan. Immediately after setting sail homeward, the orb burst into flames as Futen the Wind God created a typhoon. Suddenly, Benten, the daughter of the Sea Dragon and goddess of deathless love, burst from the sea and snatched away the Jewel. 

"You absolute idiot!" Jingu scolded Takeuchi, "You are not to be in my presence or on my court until the Jewel of Hearts Desire is returned."

Upon arriving home, Takeuchi resigned from the court. That night he made his way to the edge of a cliff to commit ritual suicide out of shame. Little did he know,  a fishermaid, Tamatori, was madly in love with him. She never revealed this because only a princess could be with a man of such status. She took this chance to follow Takeuchi. 

"Stop! Don't jump! I beg you. You do not know, but I love you and cannot see you depart." cried Tamatori.

"But I have shamed my Empress and lost the Jewel of Hearts Desire" argued Takeuchi.

As Tamatori held Takeuchi from the cliff, they both noticed an eery blue glow coming from the waters below them. 

"It looks like Benten's palace, and atop sits the Jewel!" exclaimed Takeuchi.

"See? Problem solved. I will prove my heart's desire to you by retrieving the Jewel for you. After all, I am a phenomenal diver." responded Tamatori.

    She dove gracefully into the water below and quickly reached the orb. She picked up the jewel and not moments later she was caught by Benten's father, the Sea Dragon. He called upon all of the near sea monsters and they surrounded her. Tamatori knew there was no way out but needed to prove her devotion to Takeuchi. She knew a dragon wouldn't touch dead meat so she took her fishing dagger and plunged it into her chest. As she did so she wedged the Jewel into the gash. The monsters fled and her body floated to the surface. Takeuchi was saddened by the loss but proud of her success. He took the Jewel back to Jingu and explained the events. Jingu promoted him to a psuedo Emperor and awarded the body of Tamatori the award of Loyalty to the Nation. She then named her Princess of Hearts Desire. Tamatori was now a princess worthy of a Prime Minister, but it was too little too late.

Author's Note: 

    I decided to retell the Japanese mythology of The Jewel of Hearts Desire. I did not put any twist on it. However, I retold the story in my language so that I, and hopefully others, could understand it better. I tried to explain the gods that appeared in the story but some references require reading The Labors of Yamato. Yamato is the father-in-law of Jingu and legendary Japanese mythological hero he used the Sacred Sword in a number of his adventures with the Goddess Benten and her father the Sea Dragon at the forefront of his struggles. 

Bibliography

Romance of Old Japan Part 1: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917). Text Source