A long, long time ago, on just another ordinary day, something magical happened. At that time, there was no Izu Peninsula—just the ocean stretching far and wide. The god of Mount Fuji, looking out towards the east, had an idea. He thought, "What if I made a beautiful, bountiful land there?"
And so, he did! He made the seabed rise up, and from deep beneath the water, a huge red fire burst out, burning day and night. But eventually, the fire cooled and hardened, turning into the land we see today—the Izu Peninsula.
The land was called Izu no Kuni, which means “The Land That Emerged.” Today, we call it Izu, but the full name is Izu Hanto (伊豆半島), which means the Izu Peninsula.
But, while the land was forming, something else happened. One of the fiery pieces of lava flew off and splashed into the ocean. This fiery piece became the island of Oshima. The god of Mount Fuji, forgetting about that fireball, never put out its heat. That’s why, even now, Oshima’s volcano sometimes erupts, sending fire and smoke high into the sky.
One day, a young boy was walking near Mount Fuji when the god saw him and asked, "Who are you?"
The boy replied, "I am the prince of Tenjiku (India). I made my father angry, so I ran away. I came here because I love this beautiful place. I’d like to have some of it. Can you give me some land?"
The god of Mount Fuji liked the boy, so he gave him the whole Izu Peninsula!
The boy, now the prince of Izu, traveled around his new land but soon thought, "This land is nice, but I think it needs a little more." So he decided to create a few islands. He needed help, and just then, an old man with three daughters appeared.
The old man asked his daughters, Wakamiya, Tsurukinomiya, and Mime (who was very beautiful), to help the prince make more land. Then, the old man left.
The prince told Wakamiya and Tsurukinomiya, "Go to Mount Fuji and ask the god for soil. Take it back here and drop it in the ocean to create new islands."
So they did! They carried the soil in special baskets called mokko, and when they reached the ocean, they dumped the soil in, making islands one by one.
Meanwhile, Mime, the beautiful sister, did something special. She took fire and lava from the volcano on Oshima and tossed it into the ocean. The lava cooled quickly, forming a brand-new island in just one day. That island is called Hatsushima, which means "The First Island."
The three sisters worked hard, and soon, 10 islands were created. Today, we call these the Izu Islands.
Thanks to the sisters’ hard work, the Izu Peninsula and the islands are beautiful places we can enjoy today. And when they were carrying the soil from Mount Fuji to the ocean, they accidentally spilled some, and 
that’s how the mountains and lakes of Hakone were formed!
The Japanese Original
