Inoki

Once upon a time in Japan, Emperor Yamashito sent a precious crystal ball to Emperor Sasaki. The crystal ball could heal Emperor Sasaki’s son, Prince Hiro, from a strange illness. Unfortunately, the ship carrying the crystal ball was caught in a terrible storm. The ship sank to the bottom of the sea. When Emperor Yamashito heard the news, he announced that anyone who could find the crystal ball would be richly rewarded.

In a small village, Inoki, a young widow heard about the missing crystal ball. She was very poor and had to raise her young son, Katamari, all by herself. She wanted her son to have a better life. Inoki made a long journey to the palace and asked the Emperor if she could try and find the crystal ball. The Emperor doubted that she could succeed but Inoki was very determined. Seeing that she would not give up, the Emperor finally allowed her to try. She was taken to the place where the ship sank. Inoki, armed with only a small dagger, tied a rope around her waist and dived into the sea.

The journey to the bottom of the sea was a dangerous one. She had to travel one thousand metres to get to the bottom. She swam as quickly as she could and there at the bottom was the dragon’s palace. She went inside the palace and searched for the crystal ball. Inoki found it. Before she could take it, she was stopped by the evil monsters. They took her to the dragon. The dragon promised to give her the crystal ball if she completed three tasks. She had to collect fifty pink pearls and string them into a necklace. Then, she had to find another one hundred white pearls and make white powder from them. For the last task, the young widow had to gather thirty sea creatures to sing before the dragon. She had to finish the three tasks in thirty minutes.

The kind sea creatures that were swimming nearby heard the dragon’s demands. They decided to help the young woman. With their help, she completed all the tasks on time. The dragon had no choice but to hand over the crystal ball to her.

Then, as she began her journey back, she was attacked by the dragon’s evil monsters. With her dagger, she fought them all. Despite the many wounds, she refused to let the crystal ball out of her hand. Finally, she got to the surface and was pulled onto the ship. She was badly injured but she held on to the crystal ball.

The Emperor heard of the woman’s courage and bravery. He kept his promise. The Emperor gave the heroic mother a comfortable home to raise her son. When Katamari grew up, he became a brave samurai and served the Emperor.