Long ago, in Japan, there lived two brothers. Hoori was generous and a happy hunter. He hunted to feed the family. Hoderi was greedy. He spent his days fishing only for himself. There was always a silent competition between them. One day, their deity parents gave a magical hook to Hoderi and a magical bow to Hoori. Hoderi was very proud and thought that he could also hunt like Hoori. So, he asked Hoori to swap their gifts for a day. Hoori did as his brother said. Hoori headed to the sea to catch fish and Hoderi went to hunt. Hoderi couldn’t hunt with Hoori’s bow. Hoori also fished for many hours but had no luck. Moreover, he also lost Hoderi’s hook in the sea. He tried to find it, but he failed. Hoderi was angry, “You must find my fishing hook and you may not come back home until you have.”
The Lost Hook
Disappointed, Hoori walked back to the edge of the sea. He jumped into the water. Down and down he went. At last, he reached the bottom. He saw the beautiful maiden Toyotama-hime, the princess of the sea. They fell in love with each other and got married. The King of the Sea ordered all the fish to look for the hook, which they found easily. The King of the Sea also gave him a magical shell to control the sea. Hoori rode up to the shore to return the hook to his brother. Hoderi was sitting at the horizon waiting for him. He was furious because he had hoped that Hoori would never come back. Hoderi tried to kill him. Hoori took out his shell and whispered, “Bring up the sea.’ The waves engulfed Hoderi and he started getting drowned in the middle of the sea. Hoderi asked for forgiveness and promised never to be too competitive. Hoori ordered the waves to take Hoderi to the shore.
