Tides of the Abyssal Sovereign (Ryūjin / Ōwatatsumi)

The deep lungs draw the ocean down, the sunken kingdom wakes,
A shudder through the coral crown before the breaker breaks!

Within his talons gleam the twin dominions of the deep,
Two relics forged of salt and mist that bid the currents leap.
He casts the Kanju to the void—the ocean bed lies dry,
Then swings the Manju through the dark to lift the waters high,
A mountain crushing down to drown the continental floor.

THE CURRENTS BEND TO HEAVEN'S LAW!
THE SALT COLLAPSES IN HIS CLAW!
NO FLEET CAN STAND, NO TRENCH TOO DEEP,
WHEN VATSU-NO-KAMI STIRS FROM SLEEP!

When Empress Jingū steered her fleet across the northern foam,
She called the Abyssal King to shield her sacred island home.
The Kanju trapped the hostile ships in banks of drying silt,
Till soldiers marched on barren mud where ancient waves were spilt,
Before the Manju surged to crush their ranks beneath the spray.

Cast out the second orb across the sound!
Let not an iron keel touch sovereign ground!

Across the turning centuries the hunter prince dove down,
To seek his brother's lost fishhook beside the coral crown.
There Toyotama-hime smiled beside the jade-rimmed spring,
And led the son of heaven to the feast before the King,
Who bound the blood of land and tide in one enduring vow.

THE SUN-PRINCE FINDS THE DAUGHTER’S HAND!
THE PALACE WEAVES THE FOAM AND LAND!
AN UNBROKEN BLOODLINE NOW UNROLLED,
MORE SACRED THAN THE EMPIRE’S GOLD!

Upon the gravel shore she thatched a solitary shed,
With cormorant feathers bound across the timbers overhead.
"Turn back your eyes," she begged the prince, "nor look upon my frame,"
Yet Hoori watched her secret form and broke the sacred name:
A wild wani thrashing at the dawn, in sorrow taking flight.

The dragon-mother leaves the newborn son,
And dives beneath the trenches of the sun!

She left the child upon the foam and closed the ocean gate,
Yet through that dragon blood arose the first imperial state.
Great Jimmu took the sovereign seat beneath the island skies,
While Ryūjin rests in Marianas where the sun-rays die,
Still clutching tide-gems in his claws to rule the world below.

THE LINE OF JIMMU WALKS THE SHORE!
THE GATES ARE SEALED FOR EVERMORE!
THE DRAGON SLEEPS WITH LIDLESS EYE,
WHERE AGELESS WATERS RISE AND DIE!

2546/7500

Beneath the sunlit reaches where the mortal daylight dies, A palace carved of red and white coral begins to rise. In Ryūgū-jō the currents yield, the ocean creatures kneel, Before Ōwatatsumi's coils of ancient, living steel— With stag-horns crowned, he listens where the pelagic shadows fall. The deep lungs draw the ocean down, the sunken kingdom wakes, A shudder through the coral crown before the breaker breaks! Within his talons gleam the twin dominions of the deep, Two relics forged of salt and mist that bid the currents leap. He casts the Kanju to the void—the ocean bed lies dry, Then swings the Manju through the dark to lift the waters high, A mountain crushing down to drown the continental floor. THE CURRENTS BEND TO HEAVEN'S LAW! THE SALT COLLAPSES IN HIS CLAW! NO FLEET CAN STAND, NO TRENCH TOO DEEP, WHEN VATSU-NO-KAMI STIRS FROM SLEEP! When Empress Jingū steered her fleet across the northern foam, She called the Abyssal King to shield her sacred island home. The Kanju trapped the hostile ships in banks of drying silt, Till soldiers marched on barren mud where ancient waves were spilt, Before the Manju surged to crush their ranks beneath the spray. Cast out the second orb across the sound! Let not an iron keel touch sovereign ground! Across the turning centuries the hunter prince dove down, To seek his brother's lost fishhook beside the coral crown. There Toyotama-hime smiled beside the jade-rimmed spring, And led the son of heaven to the feast before the King, Who bound the blood of land and tide in one enduring vow. THE SUN-PRINCE FINDS THE DAUGHTER’S HAND! THE PALACE WEAVES THE FOAM AND LAND! AN UNBROKEN BLOODLINE NOW UNROLLED, MORE SACRED THAN THE EMPIRE’S GOLD! Upon the gravel shore she thatched a solitary shed, With cormorant feathers bound across the timbers overhead. "Turn back your eyes," she begged the prince, "nor look upon my frame," Yet Hoori watched her secret form and broke the sacred name: A wild wani thrashing at the dawn, in sorrow taking flight. The dragon-mother leaves the newborn son, And dives beneath the trenches of the sun! She left the child upon the foam and closed the ocean gate, Yet through that dragon blood arose the first imperial state. Great Jimmu took the sovereign seat beneath the island skies, While Ryūjin rests in Marianas where the sun-rays die, Still clutching tide-gems in his claws to rule the world below. THE LINE OF JIMMU WALKS THE SHORE! THE GATES ARE SEALED FOR EVERMORE! THE DRAGON SLEEPS WITH LIDLESS EYE, WHERE AGELESS WATERS RISE AND DIE!

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