Samébito of Lake Biwa

Overview

Tawaraya Tōtarō encounters the Samébito on the Long Bridge of Séta near Lake Biwa. Hearn describes a manlike, ink-black body, a demonlike face, emerald-green eyes and a dragonlike beard. The stranger says he served the Eight Great Dragon-Kings in the Dragon-Palace until a minor offence brought dismissal and banishment from the sea. Tōtarō gives him food and a deep garden pond to inhabit. Hearn’s note translates the name as shark-person and records Kōjin as another reading; the narrative does not describe a shark’s head, fins or a fish tail.

Nearly half a year later, Tōtarō becomes desperately lovesick because Tamana’s family demands ten thousand jewels as a marriage gift. The Samébito nurses his benefactor. Hearing that Tōtarō expects to die, he weeps bloody tears that harden into precious stones when they fall. Tōtarō’s sudden recovery stops his friend’s genuine sorrow, so the Samébito cannot simply continue weeping on command. Instead, they return to the bridge with wine and fish, where memories of his former home make him cry enough jewels to complete the gift.

Music then sounds over the lake and a sunset-coloured palace rises from the water. The Samébito interprets this as a general amnesty and a summons from the Dragon-Kings. He bids farewell and jumps from the bridge; the ending says no one sees him again and that Tōtarō marries Tamana. Hearn attributes the tale to Kibun-Anbaiyoshi. He also acknowledges that tama is an indefinite word for a gem or precious object and that his later choice of ruby is interpretive. The grateful exile is a sympathetic individual; his stated explanation of the summons is not supplemented by a scene inside the returning palace.

Origins & earliest records

Japanese written tales retold in English by Lafcadio Hearn

Records & interpretation

Complete story, ending and all attached notes read in the identified historical edition.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Shadowings

   Lafcadio Hearn · 1919

   VI, The Gratitude of the Samébito, pp.57–66; Boston, Little, Brown and Company,1919; copyright1900

Family & connections

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Primary records and illustrations

References

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1. Historical literary retellingHearn, Shadowings, VI, The Gratitude of the Samébito, pp.57–66Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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