Inspired by our Featured Work of Art for August, we thought it a good opportunity to share another one of our favourite Japanese folk stories, The Tale of Urashima Taro.

As always with our short-stories, you can click on any of the images for a closer look at the featured piece.

One evening, a kindly fisherman by the name of Urashima Taro was making his way home from a day at Sea, when he came across a group of boys cruelly abusing a tortoise at the water’s edge.

He urged them to stop but they wouldn’t. He persisted and offered to purchase the tortoise from the boys if it meant they would cease their cruelty. They struck a deal and after the boys left, Urashima Taro waded into the Ocean and gently placed the tortoise in the water and watched it swim away.

The next morning, he went out fishing as he did every day and after a while, he heard his name being called out across the water. He looked down to find the tortoise, now considerably larger in size, in the water beside his boat. Urashima Taro invited the tortoise on board the boat to dry off and they struck up a conversation. (Being a Japanese folk-story, of course this tortoise could talk.)

The tortoise asked the gentle fisherman if he had ever visited the Dragon Kings Palace in the Sea.

Urashima had not, so the Tortoise gifted him a pair of magic gills as the fisherman climbed on the back of the creature and the two set off for the Palace.

When they arrived, he was welcomed as a hero and only then did the tortoise reveal herself to be Otohime Sama, the Daughter of Ryujin, the Dragon God of the Sea.

Because of his heroics, Urashima was invited to marry Otohime Saha and would live a life of luxury in the Palace with his new bride.

After a few days, Urashima, missing his elderly parents dearly, announced that he had to return home to land in order to care for his family.

Otohime Saha urged him to stay but was unable to change his mind. As a gift for the noble fisherman, she handed him a beautiful, tassled, lacquered box named  “Tamata-bako” but she warned him that he must never open it.

Urashima made the long journey back to land and when he returned to the shore, he noticed that while the landscape was familiar, he didn’t recognise any of the people in his village.

He approached a stranger and was told that some 300 years had passed in what had seemed to be just a few short days at the Dragon Kings Palace. His parents and all his friends had been dead for nearly three Centuries.

Full of grief, Urashima returned to the waters edge, and thinking that he would be reunited with his wife, he opened the Tamate-bako (Box of the Jewel Hand.) However, instead of being transported back to the underwater Palace, a toxic purple cloud exploded from the box causing Urashima to age 300 years. He died immediately.

Unfortunately, Japanese folk-tales don’t always have a traditional, western happy ending. We do hope you enjoyed this story. Our featured work of art for August is this stunning pair of Bronze vases by Chomin and depicting Minogame and Geese.

You can browse over 100 articles inspired by our collection of Chinese and Japanese Fine Art and Antiques by clicking here.