Spendor of Okinawa Bonus: A story from the Ryukyu Kingdom (Sunday: 3de23)
The Legend of the Toori Ponds Stepchild On Shimoji Island in the Miyako chain, there are two round ponds shaped just like a pair of eye-glasses. The pair are called the Toori (Passage) Ponds because one of them is connected to the sea by a passage at its very bottom. (Toori Ponds: http://www.rg-youkai.com/tales/ja/47_okinawa/14_mamakoiwa.html ) A long time ago, a fisherman whose wife had died of sickness lived with his remaining young son on this island. Feeling somewhat lonely living like that, after a suitable time, the fisherman remarried. The stepmother got along with her stepson and the two of them seemed like they were truly mother and child. However, as soon as she and the fisherman had their own child, the wife doted over her own son while bullying her stepson. She was still carrying her own son on her back like a baby even after he had turned three years old. On the other hand, she worked her stepson like a beaver, having him fetch water and gather firewood. ...