Japanese Fairy Tales
“What you say is true,” said Urashima, “but I do not ask you to give it
to me for nothing. I will give you some money for it—in other words,
the Ojisan (Uncle) will buy it of you. Won’t that do for you, my boys?”
He held up the money to them, strung on a piece of string through a
hole in the center of each coin. “Look, boys, you can buy anything you
like with this money. You can do much more with this money than you can
with that poor tortoise. See what good boys you are to listen to me.”
The boys were not bad boys at all, they were only mischievous, and as
Urashima spoke they were won by his kind smile and gentle words and
began “to be of his spirit,” as they say in Japan. Gradually they all
came up to him, the ringleader of the little band holding out the
tortoise to him.
“Very well, Ojisan, we will give you the tortoise if you will give us
the money!” And Urashima took the tortoise and gave the money to the
boys, who, calling to each other, scampered away and were soon out of
sight.
Then Urashima stroked the tortoise’s back, saying as he did so:
“Oh, you poor thing! Poor thing!—there, there! you are safe now! They
say that a stork lives for a thousand years, but the tortoise for ten
thousand years. You have the longest life of any creature in this
world, and you were in great danger of having that precious life cut
short by those cruel boys. Luckily I was passing by and saved you, and
so life is still yours. Now I am going to take you back to your home,
the sea, at once. Do not let yourself be caught again, for there might
be no one to save you next time!”
All the time that the kind fisherman was speaking he was walking
quickly to the shore and out upon the rocks; then putting the tortoise
into the water he watched the animal disappear, and turned homewards
himself, for he was tired and the sun had set.
The next morning Urashima went out as usual in his boat. The weather
was fine and the sea and sky were both blue and soft in the tender haze
of the summer morning. Urashima got into his boat and dreamily pushed
out to sea, throwing his line as he did so. He soon passed the other
fishing boats and left them behind him till they were lost to sight in
the distance, and his boat drifted further and further out upon the
blue waters. Somehow, he knew not why, he felt unusually happy that
morning; and he could not help wishing that, like the tortoise he set
free the day before, he had thousands of years to live instead of his
own short span of human life.
He was suddenly startled from his reverie by hearing his own name
called:
“Urashima, Urashima!”
Clear as a bell and soft as the summer wind the name floated over the
sea.
He stood up and looked in every direction, thinking that one of the
other boats had overtaken him, but gaze as he might over the wide
expanse of water, near or far there was no sign of a boat, so the voice
could not have come from any human being.
Startled, and wondering who or what it was that had called him so
clearly, he looked in all directions round about him and saw that
without his knowing it a tortoise had come to the side of the boat.
Urashima saw with surprise that it was the very tortoise he had rescued
the day before.
“Well, Mr. Tortoise,” said Urashima, “was it you who called my name
just now?”
The tortoise nodded its head several times and said:
“Yes, it was I. Yesterday in your honorable shadow (o kage sama de) my
life was saved, and I have come to offer you my thanks and to tell you
how grateful I am for your kindness to me.”
“Indeed,” said Urashima, “that is very polite of you. Come up into the
boat. I would offer you a smoke, but as you are a tortoise doubtless
you do not smoke,” and the fisherman laughed at the joke.
“He-he-he-he!” laughed the tortoise; “sake (rice wine) is my favorite
refreshment, but I do not care for tobacco.”
“Indeed,” said Urashima, “I regret very much that I have no “sake” in
my boat to offer you, but come up and dry your back in the
sun—tortoises always love to do that.”
So the tortoise climbed into the boat, the fisherman helping him, and
after an exchange of complimentary speeches the tortoise said:
“Have you ever seen Rin Gin, the Palace of the Dragon King of the Sea,
Urashima?”
The fisherman shook his head and replied; “No; year after year the sea
has been my home, but though I have often heard of the Dragon King’s
realm under the sea I have never yet set eyes on that wonderful place.
It must be very far away, if it exists at all!”
“Is that really so? You have never seen the Sea King’s Palace? Then you
have missed seeing one of the most wonderful sights in the whole
universe. It is far away at the bottom of the sea, but if I take you
there we shall soon reach the place. If you would like to see the Sea
King’s land I will be your guide.”
“I should like to go there, certainly, and you are very kind to think
of taking me, but you must remember that I am only a poor mortal and
have not the power of swimming like a sea creature such as you are—”
Before the fisherman could say more the tortoise stopped him, saying:
“What? You need not swim yourself. If you will ride on my back I will
take you without any trouble on your part.”
“But,” said Urashima, “how is it possible for me to ride on your small
back?”
“It may seem absurd to you, but I assure you that you can do so. Try at
once! Just come and get on my back, and see if it is as impossible as
you think!”
As the tortoise finished speaking, Urashima looked at its shell, and
strange to say he saw that the creature had suddenly grown so big that
a man could easily sit on its back.
“This is strange indeed!” said Urashima; “then. Mr. Tortoise, with your
kind permission I will get on your back. Dokoisho!”[2] he exclaimed as
he jumped on.
[2] “All right” (only used by lower classes).
The tortoise, with an unmoved face, as if this strange proceeding were
quite an ordinary event, said:
“Now we will set out at our leisure,” and with these words he leapt
into the sea with Urashima on his back. Down through the water the
tortoise dived. For a long time these two strange companions rode
through the sea. Urashima never grew tired, nor his clothes moist with
the water. At last, far away in the distance a magnificent gate
appeared, and behind the gate, the long, sloping roofs of a palace on
the horizon.
“Ya,” exclaimed Urashima. “That looks like the gate of some large
palace just appearing! Mr. Tortoise, can you tell what that place is we
can now see?”
“That is the great gate of the Rin Gin Palace, the large roof that you
see behind the gate is the Sea King’s Palace itself.”
“Then we have at last come to the realm of the Sea King and to his
Palace,” said Urashima.
“Yes, indeed,” answered the tortoise, “and don’t you think we have come
very quickly?” And while he was speaking the tortoise reached the side
of the gate. “And here we are, and you must please walk from here.”
The tortoise now went in front, and speaking to the gatekeeper, said:
“This is Urashima Taro, from the country of Japan. I have had the honor
of bringing him as a visitor to this kingdom. Please show him the way.”
Then the gatekeeper, who was a fish, at once led the way through the
gate before them.
The red bream, the flounder, the sole, the cuttlefish, and all the
chief vassals of the Dragon King of the Sea now came out with courtly
bows to welcome the stranger.
“Urashima Sama, Urashima Sama! welcome to the Sea Palace, the home of
the Dragon King of the Sea. Thrice welcome are you, having come from
such a distant country. And you, Mr. Tortoise, we are greatly indebted
to you for all your trouble in bringing Urashima here.” Then, turning
again to Urashima, they said, “Please follow us this way,” and from
here the whole band of fishes became his guides.
Urashima, being only a poor fisher lad, did not know how to behave in a
palace; but, strange though it was all to him, he did not feel ashamed
or embarrassed, but followed his kind guides quite calmly where they
led to the inner palace. When he reached the portals a beautiful
Princess with her attendant maidens came out to welcome him. She was
more beautiful than any human being, and was robed in flowing garments
of red and soft green like the under side of a wave, and golden threads
glimmered through the folds of her gown. Her lovely black hair streamed
over her shoulders in the fashion of a king’s daughter many hundreds of
years ago, and when she spoke her voice sounded like music over the
water. Urashima was lost in wonder while he looked upon her, and he
could not speak. Then he remembered that he ought to bow, but before he
could make a low obeisance the Princess took him by the hand and led
him to a beautiful hall, and to the seat of honor at the upper end, and
bade him be seated.
“Urashima Taro, it gives me the highest pleasure to welcome you to my
father’s kingdom,” said the Princess. “Yesterday you set free a
tortoise, and I have sent for you to thank you for saving my life, for
I was that tortoise. Now if you like you shall live here forever in the
land of eternal youth, where summer never dies and where sorrow never
comes, and I will be your bride if you will, and we will live together
happily forever afterwards!”
And as Urashima listened to her sweet words and gazed upon her lovely
face his heart was filled with a great wonder and joy, and he answered
her, wondering if it was not all a dream:
“Thank you a thousand times for your kind speech. There is nothing I
could wish for more than to be permitted to stay here with you in this
beautiful land, of which I have often heard, but have never seen to
this day. Beyond all words, this is the most wonderful place I have
ever seen.”
While he was speaking a train of fishes appeared, all dressed in
ceremonial, trailing garments. One by one, silently and with stately
steps, they entered the hall, bearing on coral trays delicacies of fish
and seaweed, such as no one can dream of, and this wondrous feast was
set before the bride and bridegroom. The bridal was celebrated with
dazzling splendor, and in the Sea King’s realm there was great
rejoicing. As soon as the young pair had pledged themselves in the
wedding cup of wine, three times three, music was played, and songs
were sung, and fishes with silver scales and golden tails stepped in
from the waves and danced. Urashima enjoyed himself with all his heart.
Never in his whole life had he sat down to such a marvelous feast.
When the feast was over the Princes asked the bridegroom if he would
like to walk through the palace and see all there was to be seen. Then
the happy fisherman, following his bride, the Sea King’s daughter, was
shown all the wonders of that enchanted land where youth and joy go
hand in hand and neither time nor age can touch them. The palace was
built of coral and adorned with pearls, and the beauties and wonders of
the place were so great that the tongue fails to describe them.
But, to Urashima, more wonderful than the palace was the garden that
surrounded it. Here was to be seen at one time the scenery of the four
different seasons; the beauties of summer and winter, spring and
autumn, were displayed to the wondering visitor at once.
First, when he looked to the east, the plum and cherry trees were seen
in full bloom, the nightingales sang in the pink avenues, and
butterflies flitted from flower to flower.
Looking to the south all the trees were green in the fullness of
summer, and the day cicala and the night cricket chirruped loudly.
Looking to the west the autumn maples were ablaze like a sunset sky,
and the chrysanthemums were in perfection.
Looking to the north the change made Urashima start, for the ground was