The Great Counselor Ootomo no Miyuki gathered all his household servants and said, “There is a gem on a dragon’s head that emits five-colored brilliance. Whoever obtains it can ask for anything they want from me.”
Upon hearing this, everyone said, “We appreciate our master’s order, but this gem, likely very difficult to obtain. How can we possibly get a gem from a dragon’s head?” They all grumbled in dismay.
The Great Counselor replied, “As servants, it is our duty to fulfill the master’s wishes, even at the cost of our lives! Besides, dragons are not exclusive to foreign lands like China or India; they often roam the mountains near our coasts. Why do you consider it a difficult task?”
The servants responded, “Well, there’s no helping it. No matter how rare the treasure, we will follow your command and search for it.”
Observing their reluctant acceptance, the Great Counselor smiled and said, “That’s more like it. The servants of the Ootomo household are renowned; would you really defy your master’s order?”
Thus, the servants set out in search of the gem on the dragon’s head. The Great Counselor took out all the silk, brocades, and gold from his house and gave them to the servants as travel expenses, saying, “After you leave, I will fast and pray until your return. If you fail to bring back the gem, do not dare come back here!”
Hearing their master’s stern command, the servants left reluctantly. They thought: The master said not to return if we fail to get the gem from the dragon’s head, but it’s impossible to get it anyway. They dispersed as they pleased, each going their own way. The servants cursed their master for his fanciful ideas and distributed the goods he gave them. Some took the items and went back to their hometowns; others went wherever they wished. They all slandered the Great Counselor, saying, “Whether parents or master, such absurd commands make it impossible for us.”
The Great Counselor was unaware of this. He said, “The ordinary house for Princess Kaguya doesn’t seem fitting.” He quickly began constructing a special house: the interior walls were painted and inlaid with Jing-tai porcelain decorations in various colors, and the roof was dyed multicolored and adorned with beautiful ribbons. Every room was draped with splendid tapestries. He even sent away his primary and secondary wives, as nothing mattered to him anymore; he was busy preparing for Princess Kaguya’s arrival all day and night.
Meanwhile, the servants sent to retrieve the gem from the dragon’s head, regardless of the Great Counselor’s nightly prayers and expectations, were unheard from for over a year. Growing anxious, the Great Counselor discreetly took two personal attendants and made his way to Naniwa Port. Seeing a fisherman, he asked, “Have you heard news of the Ootomo Great Counselor’s servants who took a ship to slay a dragon and retrieve a gem from its head?”
The fisherman laughed, “Ha! What a strange question! First of all, no boatman here would set sail for such a foolish task.”
The Great Counselor thought, “These boatmen lack ambition. They don’t know the power of the Ootomo family, so they speak such cowardly words.” He thought further, “Our bows are so strong! If there were a dragon, it could be killed with a single arrow, and getting the gem would be no problem. These servants are indecisive; waiting here is intolerable.” He then hired a boat and sailed across the sea, gradually drifting farther until he reached the coast of Tsukushi.
Suddenly, a great storm arose, darkening the sky, and the boat was tossed about by the wind, its destination unknown. The storm grew fiercer, pushing the boat into the heart of the sea, surrounded by raging waves, with thunder roaring and lightning flashing. At this point, even the Great Counselor was at a loss. He sighed, “Alas! I have never suffered like this in my life. I don’t know what will happen!”
The boatman cried, “I’ve been sailing these seas all my life, and I’ve never encountered such a terrifying situation. Even if the boat doesn’t sink, the lightning above might strike us dead! And if, by some miracle, the gods protect us and the boat doesn’t sink and we don’t die, this storm will surely blow us into the South Sea. Alas! To think I encountered such an odd employer, my fate seems very bleak!”
The Great Counselor responded, “When on a boat, the boatman’s word is most reliable. Why would you say such unreliable things?” As he spoke, he unwittingly spat out greenish water.
The boatman said, “I’m no god
or buddha; what can I do? I’m used to the wind and waves, but this storm with thunder and lightning must be because you wanted to kill the dragon. Surely this storm is brought by the dragon god. You’d better start praying!”
The Great Counselor, hearing this, suddenly realized, “Ah, you’re right.” He then loudly prayed, “Namu Funrei Daimei Bosatsu! Please hear my plea: I, a foolish and ignorant man, dared to plot the killing of a divine dragon, a grave and wicked act! From now on, I dare not harm even a hair of a divine being; I beg for forgiveness with utmost fear and trembling.”
He prayed loudly, sometimes standing, sometimes sitting, sometimes crying, repeating his prayers hundreds of times. Perhaps because of this, the thunder gradually ceased. The sky slowly brightened, but the wind still blew fiercely.
The boatman said, “Ah, it seems the storm just now was indeed brought by the dragon god. Now the wind is favorable, not adverse. We can sail home with this wind.” But the Great Counselor, terrified, no longer believed the boatman’s words.
The wind continued for three or four days, seemingly able to blow the boat back to its original place. But looking towards the shore, they were off the coast of Harima’s Akashi region. However, the Great Counselor still thought they had reached the coast of the South Sea, utterly exhausted, and he collapsed in the boat. His two attendants went ashore to report to the local authorities. The authorities sent people to comfort him. However, the Great Counselor couldn’t get up and lay stiffly in the boat. Helpless, they had to lay a mat under a pine tree on the shore for him to lie on. At this point, the Great Counselor finally realized this wasn’t an island in the South Sea. He managed to sit up. He usually had a bit of a cold, and now his condition changed dramatically: his abdomen swelled, and his eyes puffed up like two plums. The officials sent to assist him laughed when they saw him.
The Great Counselor quickly asked the officials to prepare a palanquin for him, and he rode it home. The servants previously sent to retrieve the gem from the dragon’s head, having somehow heard the news, now returned and said, “We didn’t dare to come back because we couldn’t retrieve the gem from the dragon’s head. Now that you, sir, fully believe it’s difficult to obtain, we thought you wouldn’t punish us, so we returned.”
The Great Counselor stood up and said to them, “It’s no wonder you couldn’t get the gem from the dragon’s head. Apparently, dragons are of the same kind as thunder gods. I sent you to retrieve the gem from its head, almost like sending you, my many servants, to your deaths. If you had caught that dragon, I would have been killed too. Fortunately, you didn’t catch the dragon. This must have been a plot by that wicked Princess Kaguya to kill us. I will never go near her house again. You shouldn’t go there either.” He then distributed the remaining brocades and gold in his house to the servants who couldn’t get the gem from the dragon’s head.
His ex-wives, hearing this news, nearly laughed their guts out. The colorful ribbons hanging from the newly built house’s roof were all taken by hawks and crows to make nests.
Thus, people around the world said, “It’s said that Great Counselor Ootomo went to get the gem from the dragon’s head, didn’t get it, and came back with two plums on his eyes. Ah, unbearable!”
From then on, any unreasonable acts were referred to as “Ah, unbearable!”
