Tokoyo
From the stock heroic figures of Russian folklore, we now travel to legendary Japan and our only female dragon slayer. Tokoyo lived in the Shima Province in the early 14th century. Her father was a famous samurai named Oribe Shima, who taught his daughter great skills in jujitsu and fencing. She was also adept at swimming and fishing. Oribe Shima was the envy of many because of his superlative martial skills, and when Tokoyo was 18 the samurai was framed for making Emperor Hojo Takatoki fall sick. Oribe Shima was banished to the Oki Islands, far away from poor Tokoyo.
Tokoyo could not bear living apart from her father, and determined to be reunited with him in the Oki Islands. She sold all of the family’s possessions to pay for the long and arduous journey across Japan. Reaching the coast, she could see the islands, but her money was running low and she was unable to bribe local fishermen to ferry her across. Undaunted, Tokoyo found a leaky old vessel, and made the perilous crossing herself. She was unable to find Oribe Shima on the island, but as she lay disconsolate, she overheard the sobbing of a young girl.
The girl was being sacrificed to a dragon by a priest. Like many dragons, this one blackmailed locals into feeding it by threatening violence against them, its price a single virgin girl each year. Convinced she would not find her father, Tokoyo valiantly took the girl’s place. Quickly praying to Buddha for help and clamping a dagger between her teeth, Tokoyo dived into the sea, and found the dragon’s cave. Oddly, a statue of the emperor lay outside the cave, which she forbore from smashing in anger at his foolishness, tying it to her belt instead. Suddenly, the dragon appeared.
The dragon, Yofune-Nushi, tried to seize Tokoyo, but she parried the attack, and stabbed the dragon in the eye. Yofune-Nushi retreated to his cave in agony, but Tokoyo followed and killed him after a prolonged struggle. Tokoyo returned with the dead dragon to the shore, and the locals who nursed her back to health spread the great news. The emperor, who had recovered from his illness, heard the tale, and realised that he had been cursed by the dragon (hence the statue). He recalled Oribe Shima, rewarding him handsomely, and made the brave Tokoyo a samurai at his court.
