The Luck of the Sea and
The Luck of the Mountains
[Kojiki, XXXIX–XLII]
The “Kojiki,” or “Records of Ancient Matters,” which was presented to the court in 712 A.D., is the oldest surviving Japanese book. The records begin with the creation of the world in the Age of the Gods and continue until the reign of the Empress Suiko (592–628) whose very name—it may be translated “Conjecture of the Past”—indicates perhaps that in this period history first came to be written in Japan.
The literary interest of the “Kojiki” lies mainly in the tales of the legendary period. Some of them, such as the one given here, have considerable charm, but often the intrinsic interest is destroyed by extraneous elements which creep into the story. Poems are interspersed in the tales of the “Kojiki.” Their merits vary greatly, but some of them are of a quality that foreshadows the “Man’yōshū.”
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Fire-shine was a prince who got his luck on the sea, and caught things broad of fin and narrow of fin. Fire-fade was a prince who got his luck on the mountains and caught things rough of hair and soft of hair. One day Fire-fade said to his elder brother Fire-shine, “Let us make a change and use each other’s luck.” But though he made this request three times, his brother would not agree to it, and only with much difficulty could he persuade him to make the exchange. Then Fire-fade angled for fish with the sea-luck, but failed to get a single one, and moreover lost the fishhook in the sea. Thereupon his elder brother asked him for the hook, saying, “A mountain-luck is a luck of its own, and a sea-luck is a luck of its own. Let us now give each other back his own luck.” To which the younger brother replied, “I did not get a single fish by angling with your
