Will the Dragon Palace be Exposed? Lake Biwa at Historic Lows.

There is an ancient tale in Japan, Tawara Toda Monogatari, or "The Tale of Tawara Toda." As is commonly the case in ancient stories (and from what we know, in real life as well), Tawara Toda was an alternate name for actual historic figure Fujiwara no Hidesato, a warrior of the 10th century who helped suppress the uprising of Taira no Masakado. His actual exploits, however, do not compare with his fantastical ones, translated into English by 19th century English Japanologist Basil Hall Chamberlain as "My Lord Bag O' Rice".

Tawara Toda was a traveling swordsman and adventurer, and one day he came across a giant serpent sprawled across Seta Bridge in ōmi Province (present day Shiga prefecture), causing havoc for travelers. The immense twelve-horned snake - dragon, stretching 200 feet in length, was asleep and snoring fire and smoke. Tawara Toda was a brave warrior who would not be troubled by such a trivial thing as a fire-breathing dragon blocking his way, and so he stepped over and on the sleeping dragon to cross to the other side of the bridge. After his fearless crossing, he was approached by a beautiful woman, who he learned was the transformed dragon he had recently walked over.

She approached him and begged him for help.

"I need your help to eliminate my mortal enemy, a centipede living on the mountain beyond. I've lived in this lake for years with my large family. Lately, a monstrous centipede has terrorized us, taking one of my kin each night. Helpless to stop it, it will soon devour my entire family. Desperate, I've waited in the form of a serpent-dragon on the bridge, hoping for a brave soul to pass by. You're the first fearless person I've encountered. Please, have pity and help me by defeating the centipede."

Moved by her plea, Hidesato (Toda) agreed to vanquish the creature and prepared to attack the monster. As the centipede descended from its mountaintop lair, it appeared as though two or three thousand torches were streaming down. Hidesato's first two arrows bounced off the armored exoskeleton of the centipede. He began to despair, but remembered that human saliva was supposed to be toxic to centipedes. He applied spittle to the third arrow and fervently prayed to the God of War, Hachiman. This time, the arrow struck a powerful blow, enabling Hidesato to hack the monster to pieces.

The dragon woman, overjoyed by Hidesato's success, rewarded him with magical gifts: an endless supply of silk, an inexhaustible rice bag, and a crimson copper pan of plenty (or "pot of alloyed gold and copper"). Due to the remarkable rice bag (tawara), Hidesato earned the nickname Tawara Tōda. Grateful, the dragon woman took him to the Dragon-Palace (Ryūgū) under the lake, where he received lavish entertainment and additional gifts from the Dragon King, including armor, a sword, and a crimson copper bell. Eventually, Hidesato donated this bell to Mii-dera temple at the base of Mount Hiei.

If current trends continue, we may be able to see the Palace of the Dragon King. Lake Biwa recently fell to a 78 centimeter deficit for the first time since 2005, and Shiga Prefecture has implemented drought countermeasures. People are encouraged to eliminate unnecessary water usage and to reduce the amount of water they do use.

Shiga Prefectural officials attribute the low water levels to a shortage of rainfall. September saw only half of the average rainfall for the month, and October's rainfall was another 30% below average.

In a statement on January 4th, Shiga Governor Mikazuki Taizo said, "`Even during the year-end and New Year holidays, when there would normally be a recovery trend, there is no recovery trend. We have asked people to restrict water usage in response to this emergency, and I believe that many are already responding, but I would like to ask them to make an even greater effort."