Tamatori-hime 玉取り姫

Medium humanoid (human), neutral

Armor Class 15 (nimble footwork)

Hit Points 45 (7d8 + 14)

Speed 30 ft., swim 40 ft.

STR 12 (+1) · DEX 16 (+3) · CON 14 (+2) · INT 10 (+0) · WIS 14 (+2) · CHA 13 (+1)

Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +4

Skills Acrobatics +5, Athletics +3, Perception +4, Survival +4

Damage Resistances cold

Senses passive Perception 14

Languages Common (Japanese), Aquan

Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Traits

Pressure Diver. Tamatori-hime ignores difficult terrain while swimming and has advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks made to swim or hold her breath.

Actions

Multiattack. Tamatori-hime makes two Ama Knife attacks.

Ama Knife. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d4 + 3 slashing) plus 3 (1d4) cold damage.

Pearl Flash (Recharge 5–6). The stolen pearl flares with dazzling light. Creatures of Tamatori-hime’s choice in a 15-foot cone must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, taking 13 (3d8) radiant damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature that fails the save is also blinded until the start of Tamatori-hime’s next turn.

Reactions

Parry. Tamatori-hime adds +2 to her AC against one melee attack that would hit her. To do so, she must see the attacker and be wielding her knife.

Lore

The pearl-stealing princess who defeated a sea dragon to save her beloved.

Tamatori-hime is a heroine, an ordinary free-diver named Tamamo whose craft was gathering shellfish and pearls off the coast of Shido—remembered in legend as the princess who stole a priceless jewel. According to the tale, in the fishing village of Shido-no-ura (in today’s Kagawa Prefecture) lived Fujiwara-no-Fuhito, son of the founder of the mighty Fujiwara clan. There he took a wife from among the local ama (women divers who harvest seafood), loving her with all his heart. At first he concealed his noble birth, wanting to be loved for who he truly was rather than for his titles and wealth. But after a time he revealed his lineage to his beloved Tamamo and shared a family secret. During his father Fujiwara-no-Kamatari’s lifetime, a sea storm had carried off the clan’s relic, the Menko-fuhai-no-tama—a pearl said to ensure its bearer would never lose a single blow in combat. Elders maintained that after the storm the pearl had come to rest in Ryugu-jo, the undersea palace of the sea god Ryujin, and that until it was returned the clan could not prove its divine favor or its rightful claim to rule. Tamamo volunteered to retrieve the pearl on one condition: if she succeeded, their son Fusasaki must be formally recognized as the legitimate heir with full rights as head of the clan.

In ukiyo-e prints and miniatures Tamatori-hime is always portrayed as belonging to the sea: a strong, resilient body clad only in a hipcloth, a short knife in hand—the everyday tool ama use to pry oysters from rock. Her hair hangs long and loose past her shoulders like seaweed, heightening her bond with the ocean. In most versions of the legend she dives alone, without magical charms or talismans, relying solely on her strength and the ama gift for holding their breath up to five minutes. The undersea palace is described as a coral hall shimmering red and white, its walls inlaid with shells and gems, and possessing a peculiarity of time: one day for Ryujin equals years on the surface.

From Yokai Bestiary 5E, Book Two, p. 94 · Fern Flower Press