This week I decided to do Japanese Mythology and wow am I glad I did! This reading really was such a change and a breath of fresh air! My favorite story from this section was The Rescue of the Princess. This story was not at all what I was expecting! It starts out pretty basic - Yamato is taking a bath when he stumbles upon a beautiful mermaid (what is it with these stories and beautiful bathing women?) But then it turns out Yamato's getting married and his bride has been stolen from right under his nose by some bandits. In order to get her back he dresses as a women and basically seduces the bandits leader before killing him. Like what??? This story was great because it really subverted my expectations. Up until this point most of the stories I've read have had a pretty negative view on women so it was interesting to have the hero of the story not just dress like one, but actually use his beauty to distract the bandits. I would think that an Emperor, as historians suspect Yamato was, would not want to dress like a women and certainly not dance as one in order to seduce his enemies! Pretty different ending which I really enjoyed!
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