Database and Lore

Toyotama Hime (NSFW)

Dragons are the wonder of the world. Each nation and culture all have their own varieties of what they call Dragons. To some, they are gods, to some, they are terrors devoted to wiping out humankind, and to some, they are the basis of ancient stories. Among one of the many stories is that of Toyotama-Hime, but who is she and what does she do? It is best in this case that we learn about the story of Ryujin (Watatsumi), the dragon god of Japan. One cannot talk about Ryujin without learning about Toyotama-Hime. Ryujin dominated the island of Japan being a god of the sea. All seemed to worship or acknowledge his very existence. In the story of Toyotama, Ryujin would give birth to two daughters making them dragons as well. The story of Toyotama is when a fisherman by the name of Hoori would meet and fall in love with a beautiful woman. Their time together was well remembered, and he always enjoyed her company. The two would get married, but Hoori would never know the truth of who she was. It wouldn’t be much longer before she would announce her pregnancy. The husband was excited to learn that he was going to become a father. He would build a hut so she could give birth. However, when she knew she was going to go into labor months later, she would tell her husband that it was essential for him not to be present. He was not allowed to go and see the birth of his child. Of course, Hoori decided to disobey. His curiosity would win out, and he would go and spy on his wife. What he saw was a dragon. Toyotama, his wife, was none other than the daughter of Ryujin. Angered, Toyotama would abandon Hoori and her child. Her sister Tamayori would come to help raise the child to full adulthood. Her former husband would never see her again. In Tales of Heroes, it is even more elaborate being both true and not true. The original story of Ryujin is that of tragedy. Thousands of years ago, he would fall in love with a mortal woman. Here he would take her as his wife and mate. The problem, of course, is that conception between a dragon and a human is not always easy. Fertility magic is often needed to help bridge the gap. This was the case for Ryujin. His wife would be pregnant and give birth to Toyotama. Later on, he would want another baby. His wife agreed, and she would conceive a second child by the name of Tamayori, but at great cost. Fertility magic was not always the best round situation. Early use of it by various deities/mythical characters could result in health issues. Dragons that give birth typically lay eggs, but human women that get pregnant don’t lay eggs in turn. This means that the human woman would have to give birth to a live young from her body. The end result could be dangerous if the magic is not done correctly. While the wife successfully gave birth to Toyotama, her second pregnancy resulted in her death. The tragedy was so hard on Ryujin that he would vow to never fall in love with a mortal woman again. Of course, this was the learning experience of what would become the Coalition of Deities. The organization would ensure that the proper magic-user would use the correct magic to ensure that no future incidents like Ryujin’s story would ever happen again. The story of Toyotama is very much the case. Hoori would spy upon his wife as she laid an egg. He was caught, and she was infuriated and all for a good reason. It was the goal of the members of the Coalition of Deities to ensure that the human mortals would never see their true identities. Hiding in human form was the only way to help ensure human mortals could live in peace and be able to believe in what they want to believe. Hoori had violated that trust, and Toyotama took off. She was both heartbroken and devastated that he broke his word to her. Hoori was devastated. He had no issue with her true identity. Dragons were highly praised being sometimes looked as powerful but protective creatures, especially in places like Asia. Every day he would go to the beach and look out to the sea in hopes of seeing her again. He watched as the egg that she created would hatch. He was left with few options. He had no knowledge of how to raise a dragon, and even Toyotama knew this. She would send her sister in human disguise to monitor and provide help to Hoori. Tamayori had reported the same thing to her every week. He wanted to see her again. Eventually, one day, Hoori would bring his child to the sea. Unlike last time, however, he would let his child bathe in the beach and salty water. Toyotama could feel the wake of her baby even where she was, and she began to cry. No longer could she hold it back, she would return to Hoori. The reunion was a meaningful one. She would return to be the mother and the wife to Hoori, and he would ensure that her secret would remain forever. Seen here is one of the momentous days together. Toyotama is very much like her father. She has three forms that she can take being able to take up human form, an in-between form (Seen above), and her most powerful form of the great sea dragon. Her raven black hair was supposedly passed to her by her human mother. The great family of Ryujin is one that surprisingly remains in the Non-Aligned Movement devoted to helping out the Coalition of Deities in the sidelines whenever possible. Only Ryujin serves the Coalition directly, but perhaps one day, even Toyotama may join the ranks. For now, the dragon wishes for a quiet and peaceful life.