Urashima Tarō facts for kids

Urashima Tarō, ukiyo-e painting by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1852

Urashima Tarō (浦島太郎) is a Japanese fairy tale about a fisherman who rescues a turtle and is rewarded with a visit to the Ryūgū-jō, the Dragon Palace. There are many different versions of this story.

Story

One day, a fisherman named Urashima Taro was fishing when he noticed a turtle, which appeared to be in trouble. Taro saved the turtle and in return the turtle magically gave Taro gills and brought Taro to the Dragon Palace (Ryūgū-jō), deep underwater. The turtle turned out to be the daughter of Ryūgū-jō, a lovely princess. He stayed there with her for a few days, and received a mysterious box from her when he was leaving, which she told him never to open. What he did not realize that time in the Dragon Palace moves an awful lot slower than on land and when he returned 700 years had passed. When he got home he found that all of his family had died long ago. In grief, he opened the box. It revealed itself in a cloud of white smoke, it was his true age, and Urashima Taro aged and died.

Related pages

• Rip van Winkle

Japanese Mythology & Folklore

Mythic Texts and Folktales: Kojiki | Nihon Shoki | Otogizōshi | Yotsuya Kaidan Urashima Tarō | Kintarō | Momotarō | Tamamo-no-Mae Divinities: Izanami | Izanagi | Amaterasu Susanoo | Ama-no-Uzume | Inari List of divinities | Kami | Seven Lucky Gods Legendary Creatures: Oni | Kappa | Tengu | Tanuki | Fox | Yōkai | Dragon Mythical and Sacred Places: Mt. Hiei | Mt. Fuji | Izumo | Ryūgū-jō | Takamagahara | Yomi

Images for kids

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  Urashima Tarō and princess of Horai, by Matsuki Heikichi (1899)

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  Keiun-ji, the stellae that reads "Ryūgū denrai Urashima Kanzeon Urashima-tera", which used to be at Kampuku-ji.

See also

In Spanish: Urashima Tarō para niños