The Diving Woman of Shido Bay

The legend of the diving woman of Shido Bay describes a mother’s sacrifice for her child. A woman diver (ama) fell in love and had a child with a disguised aristocrat, Fujiwara no Fuhito, who had come to her seaside village to retrieve a magical jewel from the ocean-dwelling Dragon King. Fuhito asked the woman to perform the treacherous task. She agreed on the condition that their child would be named heir to his clan if she succeeded. In this drawing, Yoshitoshi captures a heartbreaking moment: the diver’s fight for her life against a massive octopus. Though she did not survive, she managed to recover the jewel by cutting her own breast and tucking it inside her body. Her act of bravery ensured a place for her son in the ranks of the aristocracy.