Japanese mythology, Davis retelling
Palace of the Sea God
The Palace of the Sea God is the underwater court reached by Hoori after he loses his brother's fish-hook. Davis describes a descent in a basket, a seaweed-covered shore, and a palace with towers, a gate-side well and a cassia-tree. There Hoori finds the missing hook and marries Toyo-tama, remaining under the sea for three years before longing for home.
Also known as Sea God's Palace · Palace of the Sea King
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In the sources
A descent to a fortified palace
TraditionalShiko-tsutsu no Oji lowers Hoori into the sea in a basket. Hoori reaches a strand covered in seaweed and then a palace described with battlements, turrets, towers, a well and a cassia-tree.
A sea court and a new household
TraditionalThe Sea God gathers the fishes to find the lost hook, which is discovered in the mouth of the Red-woman fish. Hoori marries the Sea God's daughter Toyo-tama and lives with her in the underwater palace for three years.
Hospitality across the shore's boundary
InterpretationThe descent turns Hoori's trouble on land into an encounter with a welcoming court beneath the water. The palace can be read as a setting where unfamiliar beings become hosts and family, while his later homesickness keeps the two worlds distinct.
Context & interpretation
This entry covers Hoori's visit in Davis's Chapter I and Evelyn Paul's accompanying illustration. It does not combine this episode with Urashima's later visit to a Sea-King's palace, or assume that every Japanese underwater-palace story describes the same place. The architectural description belongs to this retelling and supplies no physical location or archaeological identification.
Original passages
Source 1
Myths and Legends of Japan
It had battlements and turrets and stately towers.Open this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Chapter I, In the Palace of the Sea God, printed p. 35
Read directly from the active prepared scan; line breaks and spacing normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0052-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0052-E001-P0039
- Original scan leaf
- 47
- Recorded leaf number
- 47
- Current Reader position
- 38
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Myths and Legends of Japan
they dwelt together in the palace under the seaOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Chapter I, In the Palace of the Sea God, printed p. 36
Read directly from the active prepared scan; line breaks and spacing normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0052-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0052-E001-P0040
- Original scan leaf
- 48
- Recorded leaf number
- 48
- Current Reader position
- 39
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
