Reading Notes: Japanese Mythology Part B

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Urashima

The story of Urashima tells of his quest past the sea for seven long days without rest. He did not return to Suminoye nor to his home but after a fruitless quest, he pulled a great tortoise from the sea. Tortoises are a holy symbol of long life so he returned it to the water. Urashima slept and started dreaming when a vision of a fair maiden came, the daughter of the dragon. She whispered to him that for having speared the tortoise's life he could join her in her castle underneath the sea, and take princess Otohime as his wife, where they would be ever young and free, never to die. But after being in the palace with his wife, he began to long for his home and family, so he decided to go see his parents and then return. His wife then entrusted him with a talismanic casket to take with him but instructed him not to open it. Urashima sailed to his home, Suminoye, but when he reached it there were no huts and no people, thus realizing that he had stayed in the palace for hundreds of years. He wondered if the village would appear again if he opened the magic casket, but when he did he turned into an old man and quickly passed away. 

Story source: Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E. W. Champney and F. Champney (1917).

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