Long ago, in a faraway village along the coast of the sea of Japan lived a young fisherman named Urashima Taro. He lived with his old mother. One morning, he went down to the shore for fishing. He saw three boys torturing a turtle with heavy sticks. Taro screamed at the children, “Hey, get away from it; stop hurting the turtle.” Scared, the boys left the turtle and ran away. Taro released the turtle back into the sea. The next day, Taro went again to the shore. He saw the turtle’s head poking out of the waves. The grateful turtle said, “I am the turtle you saved yesterday, I owe you my life. I want to thank you for saving a turtle’s life and want you to come with me to see the Dragon Palace.” Taro was shocked to know that there was a Dragon Palace deep into the sea.
The Dragon Palace
Taro was excited but felt that he could not leave his mother alone at home. He said, “I cannot leave my mother alone.” Hearing that the turtle assured Taro, “We won’t be long there; you will return here again.” Taro was happy and accepted the invitation. Thereafter, he quickly climbed onto the turtle’s back. Then, the turtle dived deep into the sea. They journeyed for a while and reached a castle that glittered with gold and silver. It was the Dragon Palace. The attendants welcomed him. A beautiful Princess came out of the palace. She was accompanied by her ladies and a host of fish. She was Princess Otohime. She said to Taro, “Yesterday you saved a turtle’s life. Please enjoy your stay here as long as you wish.”
The Gift
The Princess took Urashima Taro into the palace. A huge banquet was laid for him to eat, drink and enjoy. He dined and drank. The fish entertained him. Taro was captivated and forgot the life he had before arriving at the palace. Years passed away. Finally, he came out of his spell and suddenly remembered his old mother. He decided to return home. As a goodbye gift, the Princess gave him a Tamate-Bako (jewelled hand box) and said, “This precious box will help you whenever you will be in trouble. Open it up when you are in trouble.” He took the box, bade farewell to the Princess and climbed onto the turtle’s back and returned to the beach. He was puzzled when he arrived back to his village. Rivers and mountains had changed and trees had withered. No one recognised him. He ran towards his home to find his mother. Taro’s mother was nowhere to be seen!
Taro’s Transformation
An old farmer approached him and asked, “Who are you?” Taro replied, “I am Urashima Taro. This is my house. I am looking for my mother.” The old farmer said, “I have heard my grandfather saying that when he was young, a fisherman by this name used to live here with his mother. But that was a hundred years ago. It was believed that he journeyed to the Dragon Palace and never came back. You cannot be Taro.” Taro felt lost and did not know what to do. He carried the box and went back to the sea. He remembered the words of the Princess and opened the box. There was a crane’s feather inside it. Suddenly, white smoke came out and he became a hunched old man with a long white beard. Taro was flabbergasted. At that moment, the crane’s feather blew onto his back. In a flash, he was transformed into a crane and flew away.
