Two heroes become one?
May 17th, 2009
In my travels I ran across this magnificent wood cut by Kuniyashi. It is of the legend of Tametomo. In the legend he is attacked by a large sea serpent and rescued by spirits. It’s a wonderful story and it immediately made me think about the legend of Beowulf and how he faced sea serpents. I just think that it is kind of interesting how there is a similiar tale across very different cultures. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise to me if the stories, with different names, are actually based on the same person oh so many centuries ago.
It’s kind of like the Noahs ark thing. It is said that just about every culture in the world has a story of a big flood and of a man who built an ark to save the creatures of the earth. Even though they have different names they must be the same person. I wonder if Beowulf and Tametomo are the same person?
I really fell in love with this piece of art. The blue is just stunning. It was about $5oo so I balked. But, thinking about it now I really should have bought it.
