Princess Otohime

Japanese: 乙姫 - おとひめ

Originally, the term Otohime meant the younger princess, whereas Ehime meant the older sister. Generally, women with such names are perceived as young and beautiful princesses, and are often thought of as living in the Dragon Palace. The name "Otohime of the Dragon Palace" is the most well-known from the Urashima legend. In ancient records, it is repeatedly mentioned that a person named Urashima visited a foreign land under the sea, but in the entry for the 22nd year of Emperor Yuryaku's reign in the Nihon Shoki, he follows a woman who has taken the form of a giant turtle to the underwater land of Horai (Tokoyonokuni), in the Tango no Kuni Fudoki Itsubun, he is led by a woman who has taken the form of a five-colored turtle to the underwater island of Hakuo no Shima, and in Volume 9 of the Manyoshu, he is accompanied by the daughter of the god of the sea, Watatsumi, to the palace of the god of eternity (Tokoyo), but none of these stories refer to him as "Otohime of the Dragon Palace." In the Otogi-zoshi story of Urashima Taro, he is taken by a woman who has taken the form of a turtle to the homeland of the woman, but while the homeland is clearly called "Ryugu-jo Castle," the woman who leads the journey is not directly called "Otohime." Nevertheless, according to current folk tales and legends, a man named Urashima Taro helped the turtle, and was welcomed into the Dragon Palace, where he was treated well by Princess Otohime. In other folk tales, such as "Jellyfish Boneless" or "Monkey's Raw Liver," Princess Otohime of the Dragon Palace fell seriously ill and sought the raw liver of a monkey to treat her condition. In the legend of "Weaving Pool," Princess Otohime of the Dragon Palace was often busy weaving at the bottom of the deep water. According to folklore research, it is believed that she was originally a shrine maiden who served the water god, but gradually came to be seen as the water god herself, and eventually came to be known as Princess Otohime of the Dragon Palace.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

本来は，兄姫 (えひめ) が姉の姫をさすのに対して，妹の姫をさす弟姫 (おとひめ) を意味する言葉であった。一般にそのような名で呼ばれる女は，おおむね若くて美しい姫のように受取られて，しばしば竜宮に住む者とみられている。特に浦島伝説によって「竜宮の乙姫さま」という名が最もよく知られている。古来の記録を通じて，この浦島と称する者が海中の異郷を訪れたことは繰返し取上げられているが，『日本書紀』の雄略天皇二十二年の条では，大亀の化した女に従って海中の蓬莱国 (とこよのくに) にいたったといい，『丹後国風土記逸文』では五色亀の化した女に導かれて海中博大之島にいたったといい，『万葉集』巻九では，海若 (わたつみ) の神の女 (おとめ) と連れ立って，常世 (とこよ) の神の宮にいたったというように，いずれも「竜宮の乙姫さま」という形はとられていない。御伽草子の『浦島太郎』になると，亀の化した女に連れられて，この女の故郷におもむいたというのであるが，この故郷にあたるものが明らかに「竜宮城」と呼ばれながら，その主である女がただちに「乙姫さま」とは呼ばれていない。それにもかかわらず現行の昔話や伝説によると，浦島太郎という者が亀を助けてやったので，竜宮に迎えられて，乙姫さまにもてなされたと伝えられている。そのほかに「海月 (くらげ) 骨なし」または「猿の生肝」という昔話では，竜宮の乙姫さまが重い病気にかかったので，その治療のために猿の生肝を求めた，というように語られている。また，「機織淵 (はたおりぶち) 」の伝説では，しばしば深い水の底で，やはり竜宮の乙姫さまがしきりに機を織っていたとも伝えられる。これまでの民俗学の研究によると，もともと水神に仕える巫女であった者が，次第に水神そのものとみられたために，ついには竜宮の乙姫と呼ばれるようになったと考えられる。

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