A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
During a storm, Kai Riu O sends sea monsters and immense fishes to help Jingu’s fleet. Some support the ships and push their sterns with their snouts. The text then names the shachihoko, glossing them as dragon-fishes: they take the ships’ cables in their mouths and tow the vessels onward. When the storm ends they plunge beneath the sea and disappear.
The towing action is their specific contribution to this supernatural rescue. Griffis supplies no tiger head, armour, scale pattern or fixed dimensions for them in this passage, so none is added from roof ornaments or other sources. They are presented as living marine helpers in a legendary naval episode, not merely as architectural images. The retelling’s claims about the subsequent invasion and conquest remain unverified historical assertions.
Origins & earliest records
Japanese narrative in an English literary collection
Records & interpretation
Complete relevant chapters, endings and collection preface read.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Japanese Fairy World: Stories from the Wonder-Lore of Japan
XXXI, The Jewels of the Ebbing and the Flowing Tide, pp.273–281, especially278–279
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
William Elliot Griffis, Japanese Fairy World (1887 edition)
English literary collection. XXXI, The Jewels of the Ebbing and the Flowing Tide, pp.273–281, especially278–279
Full relevant chapters and preface read. The towing action is their specific contribution to this supernatural rescue. Griffis supplies no tiger head, armour, scale pattern or fixed dimensions for them in this passage, so none is added from roof ornaments or other sources. They are presented as living marine helpers in a legendary naval episode, not merely as architectural images. The retelling’s claims about the subsequent invasion and conquest remain unverified historical assertions.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical English literary retellingGriffis, Japanese Fairy World (1887), XXXI, The Jewels of the Ebbing and the Flowing Tide, pp.273–281, especially278–279Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
