The Story of Owatatsumi - Episode 3: The Cradle of the Ocean Floor and the Sound of Waves of Intersecting Destinies

This is a completely original KAMIYO special episode that fills the “void” left unrecorded in the history books of Japanese mythology.

We weave the hidden, true tale of the gods here.

Welcome to the abyssal world of Japanese mythology.

Prologue: The Culmination of the Ocean’s Glory and the Twin Jewel Princess Gods

Countless years and months had passed since Owatatsumi-no-Kami built “Watatsumi-no-Miya” (The Palace of the Sea God) at the bottom of the deep sea where even light could not reach.

The coral pillars had grown thicker and sturdier, and the pearl walls illuminated the deep sea as bright as midday.

The entirety of the ocean surrounding Oyashima (The Great Eight Islands) circulated regularly with this palace as its origin, and absolute, perfect tranquility was maintained in the water realm, devoid of conflict or hunger.

At the center of that bountiful paradise were the pride of Owatatsumi-no-Kami and the supreme treasures of the sea: two beautiful princess gods.

The eldest daughter, Toyotama-bime-no-Mikoto, and the second daughter, Tamayori-bime-no-Mikoto.

Toyotama-bime’s glossy black hair swayed elegantly like the ebb and flow of the tide, and her beauty captivated all living creatures of the sea.

When she walked through the palace, fluttering her silvery-white robes, the flowers of the ocean floor opened their buds all at once.

Beside her, Tamayori-bime, always wearing a smile like a gentle water’s surface, stayed close, tenderly enveloping her sister’s majestic aura.

This was the ultimate “perfected form” that the water realm had reached in the history of the gods, which began with the “Birth of the Sea” by Izanagi and Izanami.

“Magnificent... My palace is now welcoming its most beautiful and richly flourishing time in all of heaven and earth.”

In the eyes of Owatatsumi-no-Kami, looking down at that spectacle from his lapis lazuli throne, dwelt a deep satisfaction and the unshakable confidence of a king.

Within the cradle of the deep affection of their father, the Champion of the Sea, the two pure souls simply continued to bloom in sheer beauty, completely unaware of the tremendous intersection of destinies that would soon ripple the water’s surface.

Chapter 1: The Banquet of the Inner Miniature Garden and the Silent Guardians

With the growth of the princess gods, the palace was enveloped in unprecedented bustle and splendor.

“Princess! The coral hair ornament is finished!”

“A rare seashell has arrived from the southern sea!”

Countless handmaidens clad in vibrantly colored robes ran through the temple corridors like a beautiful school of tropical fish.

All manner of fish and turtles dwelling in the sea swam around the gardens as if they owned the place, and the warm waters of the underwater volcano fed an inexhaustible source of life into the palace.

Even if the gods of the surface world might sometimes clash and shed blood, this underwater temple alone would remain an eternally peaceful cradle.

Owatatsumi-no-Kami was certain of this, and deeply loved his children and his people.

And guarding the peace of that splendid palace from the outside was the shiver of “Wani”—the ferocious beasts who had sworn absolute loyalty to Owatatsumi-no-Kami.

The giant sharks, possessing steel scales and sharp fangs, patrolled the ocean trench silently, without uttering a single whisper.

Once, a giant monster crab tainted by the impurities of the land approached the palace, but faster than the handmaidens could scream, a single Wani shot out like a bullet, crushing the monster crab in a single bite and sinking it to the deep sea.

The dance of the lovely handmaidens and the protection of the robust Wani.

That perfect order woven by the soft and the hard solidified the majestic appearance of Watatsumi-no-Miya.

“My King. The Wani are valiantly guarding the boundaries of the sea again today.”

The old man who knew everything of the ebb and flow of the tide, Shiotsuchi-no-Kami, bowed his head respectfully.

“Indeed. As long as their fangs remain, no evil spirit can violate this palace. Shiotsuchi, is there any change in the circulation of the tides?”

“No, my Lord. However... a distant wind from the land is faintly rippling the surface of the sea. Someday, the day may come when those ripples reach down to this very depth.”

Remaining silent, Owatatsumi-no-Kami quietly sensed the “presence of destiny” lying behind Shiotsuchi-no-Kami’s words.

Chapter 2: The Sacred Tree of the Boundary, the Katsura Tree

The gears of destiny will inevitably blow a new wind, no matter how impenetrable the underwater paradise may be.

Outside the sturdy gates of Watatsumi-no-Miya.

There existed a mysterious place, the only one in the deep sea that made one feel the breath of the surface world.

It was the sacred “Katsura Tree.”

Despite being on the ocean floor where light could not reach, the great tree spread its rich branches and leaves, and at its roots was a beautiful “well” from which pure fresh water, devoid of salt, sprang forth.

A mystical land of boundaries connecting sea and land, ocean floor and water surface.

Owatatsumi-no-Kami had purposely left the presence of the land at this entrance.

It was proof that the sea was not a world completely severed from the land, but a vast vessel meant to accept the “commingling” that must eventually come.

One day, Toyotama-bime, accompanied by her handmaidens and holding a beautifully crafted jeweled vessel in her hands, had made her way to the edge of the Katsura tree.

“A beautiful water mirror... No matter how many times I look, the water of this well is mysteriously clear.”

The pearl light of the palace reflected faintly on the water’s surface of the well, beautifully illuminating her translucent white skin.

Chapter 3: The Phantom on the Water’s Surface and the Wind of Premonition

It was when Toyotama-bime gently peered into the water’s surface of the well.

Suddenly, as if caressing the water’s surface, a “wind” that should never have blown in the deep sea softly brushed past her cheek.

“...? That wind just now...”

It was not the circulation of the tide.

It was the scent of earth bathed in plenty of sunlight from somewhere far away, the sensation of a dry wind.

When Toyotama-bime looked up in wonder, the mirror-like surface of the well, which should have been entirely devoid of waves, rippled faintly but surely.

Drip, drop.

“Princess? Is something the matter?”

The handmaiden holding the vessel tilted her head, but to Toyotama-bime’s ears, that voice sounded distant.

Her gaze was glued to the wavering water’s surface.

Reflected there for just an instant, looking unlike any living creature of the sea, appeared the phantom of a strong, fierce “unknown presence of Yang.”

Her eyes captured and refused to let go of the phantom of “someone she had not yet seen” reflected on the water’s surface.

Deep within her chest, a sweet and heart-rending heartbeat she had never felt before struck like a rapid alarm bell.

It was a premonition of the soul that the days of paradise, which were supposed to remain eternally unchanged, were about to announce their end.

“...No. It is nothing. It merely felt as if I heard a mysterious sound of waves.”

Toyotama-bime smiled back at the handmaiden, stood up quietly, and directed her gaze far overhead, to the endlessly distant “sea surface.”

Chapter 4: Preparations for the Coming Intersection

The Throne Room.

The deep wisdom of Owatatsumi-no-Kami could not possibly have missed the faint wavering of his daughter’s heart.

Alone, he set down his pearl cup and looked up beyond the ceiling.

(...The time is drawing near.)

This world, birthed by Izanagi and Izanami.

The sea and the land had been separated, and the respective gods had governed their respective domains.

However, for the history of the gods to show its true swell, different bloodlines must intersect and bring forth a new torrent of life.

“The sea is that which accepts all. No matter who may descend from above, my palace shall not falter.”

In a low, yet majestic voice that echoed to the bottom of the ocean trench, Owatatsumi-no-Kami issued a decree to the Wani guarding the palace and to Shiotsuchi-no-Kami.

“Hear me well, all of you. Before long, an honored guest carrying the ‘Blood of the Heavenly Gods’ (Amatsukami) will visit this deep sea. When that time comes, you must never bare your fangs. As my guest, you shall welcome him into the palace with the utmost hospitality.”

Shiotsuchi-no-Kami prostrated himself deeply, and the Wani quietly wagged their tail fins as a sign of consent.

Chapter 5: The Underwater Paradise, a Stage Awaiting the Curtain’s Rise

The decree of the King of the Sea God reached every corner, and Watatsumi-no-Miya was enveloped in an unprecedented silence and a tense, sacred atmosphere.

In preparation for the coming day, the handmaidens wove beautiful garments of seaweed, and the Wani purified the path of the currents leading to the palace.

By the Katsura tree, Toyotama-bime, her heart yearning for the presence of the surface world she had not yet seen, gently gazed at the water’s surface of the well again today.

Beside her, Tamayori-bime watched over her sister’s profile with a smile of compassion that seemed to envelop everything.

“Watatsumi-no-Miya,” the eternal paradise built upon the ocean floor where even light could not reach.

This world of absolute tranquility, devoid of illness, old age, and conflict, was right now holding its breath, waiting for the arrival of “a young god” who would change its history forever.

Only a little time remained until a young god, seeking a lost fishhook from the distant surface country, would descend into this deep sea riding a small boat of Shiotsuchi-no-Kami.

The beautiful princess of the Sea God, and the brave hunter of the surface world.

Sea and land, heaven and earth.

The time when two destinies that were never meant to cross would bind together as one at the boundary of this Katsura tree well was pressing near—the curtain rising on an epic romance that would greatly move the history of the gods was right now at hand.

The story that follows, of the wind of the surface blowing into this underwater paradise and the two destinies finally intersecting.

The epic swell of mythology beginning with the encounter of the young god and Toyotama-bime will be told in the upcoming main episodes of “KAMIYO”.

The lineage of the gods, finally connecting from the hidden history of the abyss to the main stage.

Please look forward to further developments in the main story.