Story: The Story of Princess Hase

"Today is the day," Princess Terute said to herself. "My husband has finally taken absence and I can now get rid of the precious princess after all these dreadful years." Princess Terute had waited a long time to get rid of Princess Hase-Hime. She was incredibly jealous of the Princess's beauty, intelligence, and mostly of the affection she received from her father. Princess Terute had gone through many troubles trying to get rid of her step daughter. She even murdered her own son by accident because she had tried to poison Princess Hase-Hime and instead poisoned her son. She had a deep hatred for the girl and it fueled her rage. 

Princess Terute summoned her servant Katoda and told him to take the Princess to the wildest parts of the mountains. "She is a disgrace to this family and the only way to save the family name is to kill her," she told Katoda. So, he did as she asked and took Princess Hase-Hime to the mountains. However, he was kind of heart and instead of killing her, Katoda and his wife built a small cottage and raised the girl. 

When her husband returned, Princess Terute told her husband that the princess had run away. He was heart broken. He spent most of his days in solitude and silence, grieving for his lost daughter. One day he went on a hunt with his companions. They traveled to the wildest parts of the mountains and he got separated from the group. He came across a small cottage and saw a young girl reading in the garden. He listened for awhile, mesmerized by her beautiful voice and intelligence. "This girl reminds me so much of my precious daughter. If only I could see her again," he thought to himself. Then, the young girl turned around and he gasped. It was his beautiful daughter! "Father!" She exclaimed. They ran to each other. Katoda, having heard the commotion ran outside. At the sight of the Prince, Katoda relayed the story of what happened. 

Katoda, Hase-Hime, and her father
Source: Book of Japanese Fairy Tales

They returned to the palace immediately. When Princess Terute heard that they had found the girl, she ran to her father's house out of fear. "That dreadful girl has managed to thwart my plans yet again. She has ruined my life. She has taken my child and has now cost me my husband." Princess Terute was so full of hate that it caused her to age rather quickly. She had once been a beautiful woman. However, as the years passed she became wrinkled and small. Her hair lost its glossy look and her eyes became dim. Her anger and hate eventually made her ill. She spent the remainder of her days sitting in her father's house day dreaming of ways to end Princess Hase-Hime. Since her health was very poor however, she was not able to put any of these plans into action. Princess Hase-Hime died at a young age and full of hate. Her soul never found peace and she wandered the Earth miserably for eternity. 

Author's Note: I didn't change very much of the original story. The only big thing I did was add some dialogue. However, I did add on to the original story. In the original, the ending goes off and basically ends in happily ever after for Princess Hase-Hime and father. The only thing you hear about Princess Terute is that she goes to live at her father's house. I thought it would be interesting to get a little view of what happened to her after everything that had happened. I didn't think she deserved a happy ending and I could just imagine her carrying her hate to the grave. I thought that this could cause problems for her in the afterlife since she was never at peace, so I added that into the story. 

Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki; Mythology and Folklore Untextbook