Hare of Inaba

White Hare of Inaba
The hare leaping across the crocodiles/sharks
General Information
Cultural origin	Japanese
Moral alignment	Neutral Good
Type	Talking Animal

The White Hare of Inaba is a famous Japanese tale, as well as an intelligent animal character.

The Myth

In the land of Izumo there lived 81 princes, all competing with each other. Hearing of the beautiful princess in the land of Inaba, every one of the brothers decided to try and woo her. They mistreated youngest brother, who was only brought along to carry the baggage, soon lagged behind.

On the way to Inaba, the large group of brothers eventually reached Cape Keta and saw a fur-less hare. Deciding to play a cruel prank, they advised it to bathe in seawater, then stand on top of a high peak and let the winds and sun dry it, and that this would allow the hare to recover quickly. Believing the words of the princes, the hare did as was told, but the winds and sun dried out and cracked its skin, causing it even worse pain. Afterwards came the eighty-first brother staggering under the weight of the luggage, who heard the pitiful cries of the rabbit. questioned the hare what had happened, and then listened to its story.

Originally from the island of Oki, the hare had wanted to travel to the mainland but was unable to do so on his own. So coming up with an idea, he challenged the crocodiles surrounding the island. He told them "Let’s see which there are more of, you crocodiles or us rabbits. Have all your fellow crocodiles line up one by one from here to Cape Keta, and I’ll count you. Then we’ll know for sure which group is bigger." As the crocodiles lined up, the hare jumped from crocodile to crocodile, counting each one. Just before it leapt to the mainland, it boasted about tricking the crocodiles so the final crocodile bit off the rabbit's fur. Lying on the ground, that was where he met the large group of princes whose advice had made things worse.

After hearing the tale, the eighty-first prince first reprimanded the hare for its trickery. Then, being a kind young man, the prince Ōkuninushi, gave it instructions that would actually heal its wounds. He told the hare to wash itself in the nearby fresh water river, then lay out fluff from the cattails and roll in it. Doing so, the rabbit's pain was soothed and and it soon completely healed. In gratitude the hare gave a prophecy that the princess would chose the youngest prince over all of his brothers. When he finally arrived where his brother's were, the princess told the elder brothers that she would have nothing to do with any of them, but would only marry the kind Okuninushi. Though the older princes were angry, the youngest had happily obtained the heart of the princess and the country.

Alternate Details

In some versions of the story, there are minor changes in details:

• The crocodiles are instead sharks
• In one version of the story the hare transforms into the dwarf god Sukunabiko
• Okuninushi not only gives good advice, but also personally helps wash and sooth the hare

In Popular Culture

Games

• It is a monster card in Cardfight!! Vanguard
• The White Hare of Inaba shows up as a girl Daemon with rabbit ears in both Ayakashi: Ghost Guild, and Otogi: Secret Spirit Agents

References

1. https://www.japanpowered.com/folklore-and-urban-legends/white-hare-inaba
2. https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-hare-of-inaba-1892/
3. http://www.japanesemythology.jp/okuninushi/