Later References
The history of the kanju and manju tide jewels continues into the present day, long after the myths about Hoori's lost fishhook and Jingō's invented conquest.
Jewels, pearls, moons, and tides are common motifs among Indian, Chinese, and Japanese dragons (Ingersoll 1928, de Visser 1913:13-14, 71, 88, 107). The Japanese word for "pearl", shinju 真珠 lit. "true jewel", compares with kanju 干珠 "tide-ebbing jewel" and manju 満珠 "tide-flowing jewel". This kanji 珠 is also pronounced tama, cognate with tama 玉 "jewel; gem; jade" seen above in the name Toyotama-hime and below in the next.
The fable of Tamatori-hime 玉取姫 "Princess Jewel Taker", which was a favorite ukiyo-e subject of Utagawa Kuniyoshi, is a variation of the Hoori and Toyatama-hime love story. Tamatori was supposedly an ama diver who married Fujiwara no Fuhito and recovered a precious jewel that the Sea God stole.
The legend of Princess Tamatori (Tamatorihime), or Ama, developed around the historical figure Fujiwara no Kamatari (614-69), who was the founder of the powerful Fujiwara clan. Upon Kamatari’s death, the Tang dynasty emperor, who had received Kamatari’s beautiful daughter as a consort, sent three priceless treasures to Japan in order to comfort his grieving lover by honoring her father. One of the treasures, a pearl, was stolen by the dragon king during a storm on its way to Japan in the inlet of Fusazaki. Kamatari’s son Fujiwara no Fuhito (659-720) went in search of the pearl to the isolated area where he met and married a beautiful pearl diver named Ama, who bore him a son. Ama, full of love for their son, vowed to help recover the stolen pearl. After many failed attempts, Ama was finally successful when the dragon and grotesque creatures guarding it were lulled to sleep by music. Upon reclaiming the treasure, she came under pursuit by the awakened sea creatures. She cut open her breast to place the pearl inside for safekeeping the resulting flow of blood clouded the water and aided her escape. She died from the resulting wound but is revered for her selfless act of sacrifice for her husband Fuhito and their son. (Miller 2007:137)
Manju Shima 満珠島 "tide-flowing jewel island" and Kanju Shima 干珠島 "tide-ebbing jewel island" are uninhabited islets in the Kanmon Straits near Chōfu 長府 in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi. In the 1185 CE Battle of Dan-no-ura during the Genpei War, the Minamoto (Genji) fleet defeated the Taira (Heike) fleet by taking advantage of the tides around these two islands. In 1943, the Manju maru 満珠丸 and Kanju maru 干珠丸 Etorofu class coastal defense ships were named after the tide-jewel islands.
Several Shinto shrines were allegedly repositories for the ancient tide jewels. The ca. 1335 CE Usa hachiman no miya engi 宇佐八幡宮縁起 "History of the Hachiman Shrine at Usa" notes (tr. Wheeler 2006:521, cf. de Visser 1913:143), "The two jewels are kept in the Kawakami-no Miya of Saga District, in Hizen Province. The jewel-of-ebb-tide is white, but the jewel-of-flood-tide is blue. Each is five sun in length." Wheeler (2005:521) cites records that the tide jewels were preserved in the Uda Shrine around 1185 CE and the Kagoshima Shrine in 1916. In addition, the Ōwatatsumi-jinja 大海神社 in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka and the Mekari-jinja 和布刈神社 in Moji-ku, Kitakyūshū purportedly housed the original tide jewels. The Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto annually holds the Gion Matsuri celebrating the legend of Jingū using the tide jewels to defeat the Koreans.
De Visser (1913:141) found strong similarities between Indonesian myths from the Kei Islands and Minahassa Peninsula and the Japanese Hoori-Hoderi legend. However, instead of the tide-flowing jewel, "the hero of the Minahassa legend by his prayers caused the rain to come down in torrents upon his evil friend. "Several stories from the Pacific islands", adds Andrews (2000:205), "involved controlling the tides with jewels owned by the dragon-king who guarded them in his palace under the waves."
Japanese tide-jewels are well known in the West both as a legend (Pfoundes 1878, Davis and Paul 1992:330-331) and an artistic motif (Ball 2004:6-7).
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