Urashima Tarō

thumb|upright=2|Urashima Tarō and princess of Horai, by Matsuki Heikichi (1899)

is the protagonist of a Japanese fairy tale (otogi banashi), who, in a typical modern version, is a fisherman rewarded for rescuing a sea turtle, and carried on its back to the Dragon Palace (Ryūgū-jō) beneath the sea. There, he is entertained by the princess Otohime as a reward. He spends what he believes to be several days with the princess. But when he returns to his home village, he discovers he has been gone for at least 100 years. When he opens the forbidden jewelled box (tamatebako), given to him by Otohime on his departure, he turns into an old man.

The tale originates from the legend of Urashimako (Urashima no ko or Ura no Shimako) recorded in various pieces of literature dating to the 8th century, such as the Fudoki for Tango Province, Nihon Shoki, and the Man'yōshū.

During the Muromachi to Edo periods, versions of Urashima Tarō appeared in storybook form called the Otogizōshi, made into finely painted picture scrolls and picture books or mass-printed copies. These texts vary considerably, and in some, the story ends with Urashima Tarō transforming into a crane.

Some iconic elements in the modern version are relatively recent. The portrayal of him riding a turtle dates only to the early 18th century, and while he is carried underwater to the Dragon Palace in modern tellings, he rides a boat to the princess's world; a place called Hōrai in older versions.

Folktale or fairy tale

The Urashima Tarō tale familiar to most Japanese follows the storyline of children's tale author in the Meiji period. A condensed version of Sazanami's retelling then appeared in , Japan's nationally designated textbook for elementary school, and became widely read by schoolchildren of the populace. Modern versions of Urashima Tarō, which are generally similar, are demonstrably based on the story from this nationally designated textbook series.

Plot

One day, a young fisherman named Urashima Tarō is fishing when he notices a group of children torturing a small turtle. Tarō saves it and releases it back to the sea. The next day, a huge turtle approaches him and tells him that the small turtle he saved is the daughter of the Emperor of the Sea, Ryūjin, who wants to see him to thank him.

The turtle magically gives Tarō gills and brings him to the bottom of the sea, to the Palace of the Dragon God (Ryūgū-jō). There, he meets the Emperor and the small turtle, who is now a lovely princess, Otohime. The palace has a view to the four seasons, one on each side. Tarō stays there with Otohime for three days, but he wants to return to his village and see his aging mother, so he requests permission to leave. The princess says that she is sorry to see him go, but she wishes him well and gives him a mysterious box called tamatebako, which will protect him from harm, but which he must never open. Tarō grabs the box, jumps on the back of the same turtle that had brought him there, and soon is at the seashore.

When he returns to his village, everything has changed. His home is gone, his mother has vanished, and the people whom he knew are nowhere to be found. He asks whether anyone knows a man called Urashima Tarō. They answer that they had heard someone of that name had vanished at sea long ago. He discovers that 300 years have passed since the day he left for the bottom of the sea. Struck by grief, he absent-mindedly opens the box. A cloud of white smoke bursts forth. He is suddenly aged, his beard long and white, and his back bent. From the sea comes the sad, sweet voice of the princess: "I told you not to open that box. In it was your old age ...".

Commonly known version

thumb|360px|Urashima Taro encounters children on the beach who are "toying with" a turtle.

A summary of the Urashima tale from one of the nationalized textbooks () will be given below. The base text used will be Urashima Tarō (うらしま太郎), from the 3rd edition of the or "national language reader", a widely familiar textbook used during the 1918–1932 period. An English translation has been provided in Yoshiko Holmes's thesis.

He arrives in his hometown to find it desolate, and discovers 700 years have passed since he last left it. He cannot restrain his temptation to open the box which he was cautioned not to open, and his wife reverting to the form of a turtle, the two thereafter revered as myōjin (Shinto deities).

Variants and groups

There are over 50 texts of the Urashima Tarō otogi-zōshi extant. These variants fall into four broad groups, clustered by their similarity. The Otogi Bunko text belongs to Group IV.

Group closest to modern version

thumbnail|right|480px|Urashima saves the turtle.

The Otogi Bunko version, despite its conventional status as the type text, differs considerably from the typical children's storybook published in the modern day: the protagonist neither purchases the turtle from others to save it, nor rides the turtle.

Group I texts are more similar to the modern version, as it contains the element of Urashima purchasing the turtle to save it. Additionally, this group explicitly gives the princess's name as Otomime (or "Kame-no-Otohime") whereas she remains unnamed in the Otogi Bunko group. And the expression tamatebako or "jeweled hand-box" familiar to modern readers is also seen in the main text of Group I, and not the other groups (the interpolated poem excepted).

The picture scroll in the collection of the Bodleian Library, Oxford University also belongs to Group I.

Hayashi Kouhei has highlighted the characteristics of the Group I texts as follows: 1) Urashima purchases a turtle caught by others, 2) Boat arrives to convey him to Horai, 3) The four seasons assuage rather than provoke his homesickness, 4) The villagers in recognition of his longevity give him proper cremation, 5) Smoke from the tamatebako reaches Horai and Princess Otohime is grief-stricken.

Other modern versions

Seki's version in English

The tale of "Urashima Taro" in Keigo Seki's anthology (translated into English 1963), was a version told in Nakatado District, Kagawa. In this variant, Urashima is localized as being from "Kitamae Oshima". It incorporates both the motif of the turtle being caught while fishing, and that of Urashima transforming into a crane at the end, which are found in the Otogizōshi.

Here, it was a , that is to say, a stacked box that was given to Urashima. When he opened the lid, the first box (on the top) contained a crane's feather, and the second a puff of white smoke that turned him into an old man, and the third a mirror, which made him see for himself that he had suddenly grown old. The feather from the first box then attached itself to his back, and Urashima flew up to the sky, encircling his mother's grave.

Versions retold in English

The story entitled "The Fisher-boy Urashima" (1886) retold by Basil Hall Chamberlain, was number 8 in the "Japanese Fairy Tale Series", The ending by death concurs with older tradition, and not the otogi-zōshi storybook.

Lafcadio Hearn, who lived in Japan and translated or adapted many ghost stories from the country, rewrote the Urashima tale under the title "The Dream of a Summer Day" in the late 19th century, working off of a copy of Chamberlain's "Japanese Fairy Tale Series" version.

Variations

As always with folklore, there are many different versions of this story.

There are other versions that add a further epilogue explaining the subsequent fate of Urashima Tarō after he turns into an old man. In one, he falls to dust and dies, in another, he transforms into a crane and flies up to the sky. In another, he grows gills and leaps into the sea, whereby he regains his youth.

In another version Urashima ate a magic pill that gave him the ability to breathe underwater. In another version, he is swept away by a storm before he can rescue the turtle.

In another version, Urashima does stay with Otohime and they conceive a child. [https://yokai.com/otohime/]

History

The full name Urashima Tarō was not given to the character until the 15th century (the Muromachi period), first appearing in a genre of illustrated popular fiction known as otogizōshi,

Local legend also claims native ties to Urashima Tarō, claiming that his father Urashima Tayū was originally from somewhere not far from Yokohama, in Miura District, Kanagawa in Sagami Province. But the father moved to

Tango Province. This legend adds that when Urashima Tarō returned from the Dragon Place, he was guided to seek his parents' grave in "Shirahata, Musashi Province" (in today's Yokohama).

He finally found the grave, thanks to Princess Oto-hime who lit up an illuminating light on a pine branch.