Urashima Taro
Long ago, in the province of Tango, in the village of Mizunoue, there lived a fisherman named Urashima Taro.Every morning, he would go out to sea to catch fish, and every evening, he would return home.
One evening, as he was walking along the shore, he noticed a group of children gathered near the water. "What are they up to?" thought Urashima. He approached them and saw that they had caught a young turtle and were chasing it around on the sand. At first, they were just playing, but then they started tormenting the poor creature: throwing stones at it, poking it with sticks. Urashima felt sorry for the turtle.
"Hey, kids!" he called out to them. "Let the turtle go! You're going to kill it!" But the children just laughed.
"So what? It's ours—we can do whatever we want with it."
"Then give it to me," Urashima pleaded.
"Oh, sure! Catch one yourself!"
"But I’m not asking for free. I’ll pay you for it."
"Well, if you’re paying, that’s different. Give us the money!" Urashima handed them a few small coins, and in return, he received the turtle.
The children, satisfied, ran off somewhere, and Urashima was left alone with the turtle. He stroked its shell and said:
"Poor thing! You’ve really been through it, haven’t you? I’ve heard that a crane lives a thousand years, and a turtle even longer, yet you nearly died today. Good thing I showed up in time! It seems you’re truly destined for a long life. Now, swim away, and be careful not to fall into the hands of children again."
With those words, Urashima released the turtle into the sea and went home.
The next day, as usual, Urashima went out to sea to fish. Suddenly, he heard someone calling him:
"Urashima-san! Urashima-san!" Startled, Urashima looked around at the waves and thought:
"Who could that be? There’s no one around—no boats, no people in sight." But then, right next to him, a turtle emerged from the water.
"Was it you who called me?" Urashima asked in amazement.
"Yes, it was me," the turtle replied with a respectful bow. "You saved me from great trouble yesterday, you saved my life. So I’ve come to thank you. As a token of my deep gratitude, I invite you to visit the palace of the Dragon King of the Sea. Have you ever seen it?"
"No," Urashima shook his head. "They say it’s somewhere very far from here!"
"Well, distance means nothing to us. Would you like me to take you to the palace?"
"Thank you for the kind invitation, but I could never keep up with you."
"You won’t need to swim yourself. Just sit on my back, and we’ll get there easily."
"But how will I fit on your small back?"
"Don’t worry, you’ll fit."
And right before the fisherman’s eyes, the turtle’s shell began to grow. It became so large that a person could easily sit on it.
Urashima climbed onto the turtle’s back, and they set off across the turbulent waves of the ocean toward the Dragon King’s palace.
They swam and swam until, finally, red gates appeared in the distance.
"What’s that up ahead?" Urashima asked the turtle.
"That’s the Dragon King’s palace. Do you see the tall roof over there?"
"So we’ve arrived?"
"Yes, I told you we’d get there quickly. Now, step onto the shore. We’ll walk from here."
The turtle led Urashima to the palace gates, where guards stood watch.
"Hey, gatekeepers!" the turtle called out loudly. "Announce that a guest from Japan has arrived—the generous fisherman Urashima Taro."
The gatekeepers did as they were told. Court officials—Tai, Hirame, Karei, and other highly respected fish—came out to greet Urashima. They bowed ceremoniously and welcomed him:
"Welcome, honorable Urashima Taro! You have done us a great honor by coming here to the underwater kingdom. And thank you, noble turtle, for bringing our esteemed guest."
They led Urashima into the inner chambers, where he was greeted by the mistress of the palace herself—the beautiful daughter of the Dragon King, Otohime, accompanied by a large retinue of courtiers. She seated Urashima in a place of honor and spoke:
"We thank you, noble Urashima, for gracing us with your presence. You have done a great service to our kingdom by saving the turtle’s life. That is why we have invited you here, to repay you in any way we can. Make yourself at home in this palace and rest."
Urashima realized that he was a welcome guest, and his heart filled with joy and ease.
"Thank you for the invitation!" he said. "I’ve never been in such a marvelous palace before."
A feast was then served: various delicacies and wine. Afterward, there were songs and lively dances, and the celebration continued.
When the festivities subsided, they went to tour the palace. Otohime led the guest and showed him the palace halls: everything was made of precious coral, pearls, and lapis lazuli. Urashima couldn’t take his eyes off the splendor—it was so beautifully decorated that words could not describe it.
But the true wonder was the palace garden! On the eastern side, delicate cherry and plum blossoms bloomed as if it were spring, and the song of nightingales filled the air. On the southern side, it was summer: lush grasses grew, and cicadas and grasshoppers chirped. On the western side, crimson maple leaves rustled softly, and chrysanthemums bloomed in abundance—it was a golden autumn. And on the northern side, it was winter: trees were buried in snow, and rivers and streams were frozen with clear, ringing ice.
Urashima Taro gazed at all this in awe, forgetting everything else in the world. Time flowed by like a magical dream. But soon, Urashima came to his senses. He remembered that he had left his parents at home and quickly prepared to leave. He went to bid farewell to Otohime.
"I’ve spent more than a day under your hospitable roof. It’s been wonderful here, but I must go now. Farewell!"
"Don’t leave us, stay a little longer!" Otohime pleaded. But Urashima was resolute.
"Very well, I won’t keep you," Otohime agreed. "But I can’t let you go empty-handed. Here, take this as a parting gift!" With those words, she handed him a beautiful box.
Urashima tried to refuse, but the palace mistress wouldn’t hear of it. He took the box, and Otohime warned him:
"Listen, no matter what happens, never open it, or disaster will strike!"
Urashima bid farewell to the beautiful Otohime and, holding the box in his hands, climbed back onto the turtle’s back.
The turtle brought him to the seashore, said goodbye, and swam away.
Urashima looked around. Everything seemed the same, but strangely, he didn’t recognize any of the people!
"What could this mean?" Urashima wondered. In a state of uneasy anxiety, he hurried home. But at home, he was met by strangers. "Perhaps my parents moved somewhere while I was away," he thought.
"I’m Urashima Taro, and I lived in this house," he said to the people. "Can you tell me where my family has moved?"
"You’re Urashima Taro?" they asked in surprise.
"Yes, that’s me!"
"Ha-ha-ha! You must be a joker! There was indeed a fisherman named Urashima who lived here once, but that was seven hundred years ago. How could you suddenly appear alive?.."
Urashima was confused and didn’t believe them:
"Seven hundred years? I was here with my father and mother just two or three days ago. Why are you laughing at me? Just tell me the truth!"
"We’re telling the truth," the villagers replied. "There’s a legend that a young fisherman named Urashima once lived here. One day, he went out to sea to fish and never returned. His parents waited and waited for him, but they never saw him again—they passed away. That was a very long time ago. Are you some kind of ghost who’s come to visit his old home?"
Urashima looked around helplessly. Indeed, everything seemed different from before. "Could they be right?" Urashima thought, but he was afraid to believe them.
As if in a dream, not knowing why, he wandered back to the seashore. He no longer had a home or family. His heart grew heavy and dark.
And then, suddenly, Urashima remembered the box he was holding. "Why did the Dragon King’s daughter give me this marvelous box? And why did she warn me never to open it? Maybe the answer to this mystery lies inside. I’ll open it!"
Urashima untied the cords of the box, lifted the lid, and just as he was about to look inside, a purple cloud of smoke rose from it. It touched his face, and in that instant, the blooming youth turned into a frail, wrinkled old man. His hair turned gray, his back bent, his legs trembled, and in a single moment, a lifetime passed over him. His breath faltered, and his life came to an end.
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