traditional Japanese folk stories: Urashima

Long, long ago a skillful fisherman called Urashima Taro rescued a turtle from the clutches of a group of boys who were bullying her. A few days later, the turtle, grown-up now, returned to invite the fisherman to the Deep-Sea Palace of the Dragon King. Riding on the turtle's back, Taro arrived at the palace and was greeted by a beautiful princess. Deep below the sea Taro enjoyed a life of luxury and pleasure, but it was not to last forever... The tale of Urashima or Urashima Taro, was first written down in the early 8th century. It tells of how the fisherman Urashima journeys beneath the sea with a turtle who transforms into a princess called Otohime. In the original version, they don't visit the Dragon's Palace, but instead journey to a land named Horai, where mountain hermits dwell. This is the land of the immortals in the Chinese tradition and clearly reflects exchange with Chinese culture. In a book written around 1700, a turtle saved by Urashima reappears in the form of a woman, and they become man and wife. It is a story of gratitude and reward. But when Urashima opens a forbidden box, he suddenly grows old, transforms into a crane and then into a god, and is reunited with the turtle. This story was published in school textbooks in 1910, and has since been recognized as a standard Japanese folktale. Perhaps with a young readership in mind, Urashima no longer gets married, and the turtle and Otohime are depicted as separate characters. Stories of underwater worlds where time flows differently are also found in Europe. It is thought that Urashima may have inspired modern time-travel fantasies.