Riko (Ryoko Owari)

Riko was a cunning woman of Ryoko Owari Toshi who married with Okami.

Family
Riko had eight sisters, and her father was sad because he had no sons.

Betrothed
Her father learned that a family who lived in Lion lands had produced only boy children for the last six generations. Hoping to get a grandson before his death, he proposed a marriage and offered a great sum as a dowry. The arrangement was made and Okami, a great warrior who lacked in certain graces of wit and mind. Riko did not know it, because all the letters she received were written properly and fully of passages which pleased her.

Crane suitor
A Crane had an interest in Riko, increased by the vast dowry. She was more pleased with the new suitor, and wrote harsh words to Okami, but he always replied with another love letter. Riko and Okami's parents were rephrasing their letters, Okami's father to hide the lack of social gifts from his son, and Riko's father to assure he would get his grandson.

Meeting place
In due time, it was decided that Riko and Okami should meet at dusk in the Magnificent Bridge. Okami had been nervous because he had heard that Riko was beautiful almost beyond bearing, while Riko was unsure if she wanted to marry anyone. Both Okami and Riko had drunk before they met, and the Crane suitor was also there to fool Okami's date. Following his instructions Okami wore a flower behind each ear and another clutched in his mouth, as supposedly courting latest fashion demanded. The three blossom fell to the river before Riko appeared, and Okami drank a tiny bottle of sake to forget.

Bridge of Drunken Lovers
Both suitors met completely drank. Followed his father's instructions Okami took Riko and kissed her. The two fathers, who had been sneaking, proclaimed a match blessed by love at first sight, and arranged the wedding before Riko and Okami had even said their first words to each other. The Magnificient bridge was known from this day as the Bridge of Drunken Lovers.

Porridge Stick Day
Riko came to realize that Okami was far from her equal in matters of cunning. She sent her husband to find a left-handed widdershins porridge stick to replace a supposed broken one. Riko had sent her husband in a nonsense errand. A porridge stick was simply a rod the length of a forearm and as thick as a finger, which could be used in either hand.

Getting the stick
Okami eventually got one, crafted by a smart sailor who had heard of his quest and had put an abusive price for it. When Okami returned he found a Riko's Crane suitor and threw him away of his home. His wife was impressed by how honorable her husband had been, and confessed her deceitfulness. The punishment for her actions Riko should be publicly beat with a staff. Okami did it, but with the purchased porridge stick, and doing it once in a slender way. With that, they went home and nine months later, they had their first son. Since that time, women of Ryoko Owari have celebrated the Porridge Stick Day.