Comparative Mythology, Volume 2

A lost fishhook leads a Japanese prince to the sea god’s palace. A fisherman returns from an immortal realm to discover that his own world has vanished. A hero wins his bride by enduring impossible trials. For Takagi Toshio, such stories open questions about belief, custom, culture, and the relationships between peoples.

This second volume of Comparative Mythology continues the discussion of Chinese cosmogony and examines myths of sin, death, fire, floods, heroic achievement, divine marriage, and journeys to other worlds. Japanese accounts from the Kojiki, Nihon Shoki, provincial gazetteers, and Man’yōshū appear beside Chinese tales of immortals, Greek myths, European legends, and other narrative traditions.

First published in 1904, Takagi’s study belongs to an early stage of Japanese comparative scholarship. Its explanations remain open to debate, and its historical assumptions form part of the reading experience. This complete translation of the supplied second-volume portion preserves extended quotations, poems, and the author’s arguments, with notes on references and uncertain printed wording. AI-assisted translation, prepared and edited by Valentin Sarić.