batch.motif.japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki-gutenberg-l5926-l6019
---
record_id: batch.motif.japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki-gutenberg-l5926-l6019
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
passage_locator:
label: THE JELLY FISH AND THE MONKEY / THE QUARREL OF THE MONKEY AND THE CRAB /
THE WHITE HARE AND THE CROCODILES / THE STORY OF PRINCE YAMATO TAKE; lines 5926-6019
start: '5926'
end: '6019'
translation: Japanese Fairy Tales
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Prince Yamato Take is sent by the King to subjugate rebels in the eastern
provinces. Before leaving, he receives a royal spear and visits Ise, where his
aunt, the Princess of Yamato and High Priestess, gives him the sword Murakumo
and a bag of flints. In Suruga, a governor falsely welcomes him and lures him
into a deer hunt on a grassy plain, then sets the grass on fire around him. Yamato
Take uses the flints to make a counter-fire and the sword to cut the grass. The
wind changes, he escapes unharmed, and the governor is burned by the fire he set.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: News is brought that the Ainu, described in the passage as aborigines who
had rebelled in the eastern provinces, are causing trouble.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Prince Yamato Take offers to lead the military expedition against the rebels.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The King reluctantly agrees to send Yamato Take because no other warrior is
described as so strong or brave.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The King gives Yamato Take the Eight-Arms-Length-Spear of the Holly Tree and
orders him to set out eastward.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The spear is compared in the passage to a regimental standard or banner given
by a king to soldiers departing for war.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: Yamato Take visits the temples of Ise, where his aunt, the Princess of Yamato
and High Priestess, greets him.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The aunt gives Yamato Take a sword and a handmade bag filled with flints for
making fire.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The sword is identified as Murakumo, one of the three sacred treasures and
part of the insignia of the Imperial House of Japan.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The governor of Suruga receives Yamato Take with feigned hospitality and proposes
a deer hunt.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: The governor leads Yamato Take to a grassy plain as part of a trap intended
to cause his death.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Flames and smoke appear around Yamato Take until he is surrounded by fire
on all sides.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Yamato Take recognizes the deer hunt as a trick and calls himself lured into
a trap like a wild beast.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: Yamato Take uses his aunt’s flints to set fire to nearby grass and uses Murakumo
to cut grass around him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:14
text: The wind changes direction, the fire is blown away from Yamato Take, and he
escapes without injury.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:15
text: The governor is burned to death in the flames he had set to kill Yamato Take.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Prince Yamato Take
description: A prince and warrior, son of the King, who leads the eastern expedition
and survives the fire trap.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: The King
description: Yamato Take’s father, who loves him, reluctantly sends him to war,
and gives him the Eight-Arms-Length-Spear of the Holly Tree.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Princess of Yamato and High Priestess
description: Yamato Take’s aunt at Ise, who previously gave him a helpful robe and
now gives him Murakumo and a bag of flints.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Governor of Suruga
description: A host whose cordial welcome is feigned; he lures Yamato Take into
a hunt and sets a fire intended to kill him.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Ainu / Eastern Barbarians
description: A collective group described as rebels in the eastern provinces whom
Yamato Take is sent to subjugate.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Yamato Take’s army
description: The army that marches east under Yamato Take’s command.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: warrior prince and expedition leader
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He offers to lead the expedition, receives royal and sacred objects, marches
east, and survives the trap by using the gifts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: royal father and sender
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The King decides an army is needed, reluctantly sends his son, and gives
him the spear for war.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: priestess aunt and talisman giver
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: At Ise she gives Yamato Take the sword Murakumo and a bag of flints for his
journey.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: treacherous host
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The governor welcomes the prince, proposes a hunt, and secretly lays a fire
trap intended to kill him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: rebellious adversary group
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The passage says they have rebelled and are the target of Yamato Take’s expedition.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: military followers
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The army marches east under the prince’s command.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: royal spear
literal_form: Eight-Arms-Length-Spear of the Holly Tree
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: sacred sword
literal_form: sword of Murakumo
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: fire-making flints
literal_form: bag full of flints used for making fire
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: encircling prairie fire
literal_form: flames and smoke in the high grass surrounding Yamato Take
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: changed wind
literal_form: wind changing direction and rising to a gale
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:6
label: Ise temples
literal_form: temples of Ise visited for worship
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Royal dispatch to the eastern provinces
summary: The King decides to send an army against rebels, and Yamato Take offers
to lead it despite the King’s reluctance.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Gift of the royal spear
summary: The King gives Yamato Take the Eight-Arms-Length-Spear of the Holly Tree
before his departure for war.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Ise visit and sacred gifts
summary: Yamato Take visits Ise, speaks with his aunt, and receives Murakumo and
a bag of fire-making flints from her.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: False hunt in Suruga
summary: The governor of Suruga entertains Yamato Take, proposes a deer hunt, and
leads him to a grassy plain where a trap has been prepared.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Surrounded by fire
summary: Fire breaks out around Yamato Take on the plain, and he recognizes that
the hunt was a trick.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Escape through counter-fire and sword-work
summary: Yamato Take uses the flints to ignite nearby grass and Murakumo to cut
grass, after which the wind changes and he escapes unharmed while the governor
dies in the flames.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: heroic departure on royal military mission
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: Yamato Take leaves the capital at royal command to lead an army east against
rebels.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents a military departure rather than a full quest cycle
by itself.
- id: motif:2
label: protective gifts given before danger
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The King gives a prized spear, and the priestess aunt gives Murakumo and
flints, which later allow Yamato Take to survive.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The exchange is gift-giving rather than reciprocal bargain or payment.
- id: motif:3
label: sacred royal insignia as talisman
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: Murakumo is identified as one of the three sacred treasures and part of the
Imperial House insignia, and it is given to Yamato Take as an auspicious talisman.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage notes imperial insignia and talismanic value, but does not
explicitly make a succession or enthronement claim.
- id: motif:4
label: treacherous host lures hero into deadly trap
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The governor feigns hospitality, proposes a hunt, and uses the hunt to trap
Yamato Take in fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The governor acts by deceit, but the taxonomy label 'trickster_boundary'
is only an approximate fit because he is an enemy rather than a trickster protagonist.
- id: motif:5
label: fire ordeal survived by resourceful hero
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Yamato Take is surrounded by fire, uses the flints and sword to defend himself,
and escapes unharmed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: No explicit taxonomy family for a fire ordeal is supplied beyond the symbol
reference for fire.
- id: motif:6
label: plotter destroyed by his own destructive device
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The governor is burned to death in the flames he had set to kill Yamato Take.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not explicitly frame this as divine punishment.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 5926-5945
quote_or_summary: News arrives of rebellion in the eastern provinces; Yamato Take
offers to lead the army, and the King reluctantly agrees because of the prince’s
exceptional bravery and strength.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 5946-5957
quote_or_summary: The King gives Yamato Take the Eight-Arms-Length-Spear of the
Holly Tree, compared to a royal standard or banner, and the prince departs east
with his army.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 5958-5965
quote_or_summary: Yamato Take visits the temples of Ise, where his aunt, the Princess
of Yamato and High Priestess, greets him; the passage recalls that her earlier
robe helped him defeat western brigands.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 5966-5974
quote_or_summary: The aunt gives him a sword and a handmade bag of flints; the sword
is Murakumo, one of the three sacred treasures and part of the Imperial House
insignia, and she tells him to use it in his greatest need.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 5975-5984
quote_or_summary: Yamato Take marches through Owari to Suruga, where the governor
feigns warm hospitality and proposes a deer hunt.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 5985-6001
quote_or_summary: The governor leads Yamato Take to a high-grass plain as a trap;
fire breaks out around him on all sides, and the prince realizes the hunt was
a trick intended to lure him like a wild beast.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 6002-6012
quote_or_summary: Remembering his aunt’s gifts, Yamato Take opens the flint-bag
to set nearby grass on fire and uses Murakumo to cut grass at his sides, choosing
to fight for his life.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 6013-6019
quote_or_summary: The wind changes direction and blows the fire away from Yamato
Take, who escapes unharmed; the rising gale overtakes the governor, who burns
in the flames he had set.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage clearly supports figures, objects, scenes, and several motif
candidates. Taxonomy mapping is cautious where supplied categories do not exactly
match fire ordeal or poetic justice motifs. No passage-internal comparison claims
were supported.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Only the provided passage and metadata were used. Terms such as 'Eastern Barbarians' are treated as passage language, not analytical endorsement.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki-gutenberg__l5926-l6019
passage_sha256=e6824d90ee0833b1db349257ec14f66877bcbb9ecb084fc52fdb80ea049c2370