Urashima Tarou
Welcome to one of the strangest stories you'll ever hear. Not only does the moral appear to be backwards, but it's also very strange. When I've discussed this story with my Japanese friends and students, they've simply said "That's a strange story".
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One day, a long time ago, a fisherman named Urashima Tarou left his home - where he and his aging and sickly mother lived - to go out fishing. While at the beach, he came across some children tormenting a sea turtle. Tarou came and rescued the turtle by getting the children to leave, and was able to get the turtle out to sea. The next day, a giant turtle appeared before him and informed him that the turtle he saved was the daughter of the Emperor of the Sea, Ryuujin. Ryuujin wanted to meet Tarou and so he was invited to come to the Palace of the Dragon. He agreed and was given gills to breathe underwater and a ride on the giant turtle's back down to the Palace of the Dragon God (Ryuuguu Jyou) where he met the Emperor, the small turtle he saved, and the princess Otohime.
Tarou stayed with the group for a few days enjoying feasts, celebrations, and general fun. However, he wished to visit his aging and ailing mother, and asked Otohime permission to return home. She agreed, but insisted on giving him a present: a mysterious box called tamatebako. She explains that the box, when opened, will protect him from harm, but he should never open it.
He hopped on the giant turtle and was taken back to his village. He arrived, but was shocked to discover that everything had changed in the short time that he was in the Palace of the Dragon: the buildings had changed, his home was no longer there, his mother had vanished, and he didn't recognize anyone. He asked a man on the street if he knew a man named Urashima Tarou, to which he was told that "Yes... there was once a man with that name in this village. However, you're out of luck, he vanished a long time ago".
He eventually discovered that he had been in the palace for some 300 years. Grief-struck, realizing that everyone he has ever known - including his mother - has passed away, he remembered that he had tamatebako, the box which will save him from harm. He opened it to try to solve his woes... however, inside is nothing more than a huge quantity of smoke. After the smoke settled, he felt very tired. It was difficult to stand up, move, and do things that he had previously taken for granted. He saw a reflection of himself and realized that he had aged all the years he had missed while in the palace.
A voice came to him - the voice of the princess: "I told you never to open that box. For, in it, was your old age..."
- 終わり -
This story is, indeed, a strange story. As with any folktale, there are countless versions of the story. One story has it that the sudden 300-year aging process killed him. Another version that I frequently came across states that the box had three drawers in it. The top drawer contained a crane feather, the middle drawer contained the smoke, and the bottom drawer contained a mirror, with which he was able to see his new age. However, while the smoke turned him into an old man, the crane's feather flew towards him, and he turned into a crane himself and was able to fly to wherever he wanted.
You might notice a similarity between this story and that of Dragon Ball. For those who are nerdy like myself, you might have been reminded of the first book of Toriyama Akira's Dragon Ball series. A young Son Gokuu comes across a giant sea turtle miles inland while he performs his daily exercise routine. He - without pause - agrees to help the turtle, despite Bulma's insistence that it would be out of their way and nothing more than trouble. Gokuu ventures off with the turtle on his back, and Bulma eventually catches up with them after seeing a giant dinosaur roaming the countryside. When they reach the sea, the turtle asks them to wait so that they can be rewarded. After waiting hours, the turtle reappears with a strange, old man on his back. They eventually are rewarded with a Dragon Ball from Muten Roshii. However, in Dragon Ball, helping the turtle leads to a reward, not a punishment.
Evan's take: Whereas the story appears to be a horrible lesson for children -- "Don't help animals, or else everyone you love will die and you'll turn into an old man" -- you'll notice some actually decent lessons. First and foremost, helping others is its own reward. One shouldn't accept thanks or appreciation for doing a good deed. If Tarou had simply said "you're very welcome" to the turtle, and went about his way, he wouldn't have found himself in such a situation. Another, more Confucius moral would be that he should never have left his mother in the first place. He should have understood the importance of his mother's final years and stayed to help her. He instead chose to go on an adventure. Another moral would point out that he used a gift in a way that he was told not to: an item is a tool that can be used for any purpose. He was instructed to not open the box, and yet he did anyway. It was ultimately his own fault.
Tarou stayed with the group for a few days enjoying feasts, celebrations, and general fun. However, he wished to visit his aging and ailing mother, and asked Otohime permission to return home. She agreed, but insisted on giving him a present: a mysterious box called tamatebako. She explains that the box, when opened, will protect him from harm, but he should never open it.
He hopped on the giant turtle and was taken back to his village. He arrived, but was shocked to discover that everything had changed in the short time that he was in the Palace of the Dragon: the buildings had changed, his home was no longer there, his mother had vanished, and he didn't recognize anyone. He asked a man on the street if he knew a man named Urashima Tarou, to which he was told that "Yes... there was once a man with that name in this village. However, you're out of luck, he vanished a long time ago".
He eventually discovered that he had been in the palace for some 300 years. Grief-struck, realizing that everyone he has ever known - including his mother - has passed away, he remembered that he had tamatebako, the box which will save him from harm. He opened it to try to solve his woes... however, inside is nothing more than a huge quantity of smoke. After the smoke settled, he felt very tired. It was difficult to stand up, move, and do things that he had previously taken for granted. He saw a reflection of himself and realized that he had aged all the years he had missed while in the palace.
A voice came to him - the voice of the princess: "I told you never to open that box. For, in it, was your old age..."
- 終わり -
This story is, indeed, a strange story. As with any folktale, there are countless versions of the story. One story has it that the sudden 300-year aging process killed him. Another version that I frequently came across states that the box had three drawers in it. The top drawer contained a crane feather, the middle drawer contained the smoke, and the bottom drawer contained a mirror, with which he was able to see his new age. However, while the smoke turned him into an old man, the crane's feather flew towards him, and he turned into a crane himself and was able to fly to wherever he wanted.
You might notice a similarity between this story and that of Dragon Ball. For those who are nerdy like myself, you might have been reminded of the first book of Toriyama Akira's Dragon Ball series. A young Son Gokuu comes across a giant sea turtle miles inland while he performs his daily exercise routine. He - without pause - agrees to help the turtle, despite Bulma's insistence that it would be out of their way and nothing more than trouble. Gokuu ventures off with the turtle on his back, and Bulma eventually catches up with them after seeing a giant dinosaur roaming the countryside. When they reach the sea, the turtle asks them to wait so that they can be rewarded. After waiting hours, the turtle reappears with a strange, old man on his back. They eventually are rewarded with a Dragon Ball from Muten Roshii. However, in Dragon Ball, helping the turtle leads to a reward, not a punishment.
Evan's take: Whereas the story appears to be a horrible lesson for children -- "Don't help animals, or else everyone you love will die and you'll turn into an old man" -- you'll notice some actually decent lessons. First and foremost, helping others is its own reward. One shouldn't accept thanks or appreciation for doing a good deed. If Tarou had simply said "you're very welcome" to the turtle, and went about his way, he wouldn't have found himself in such a situation. Another, more Confucius moral would be that he should never have left his mother in the first place. He should have understood the importance of his mother's final years and stayed to help her. He instead chose to go on an adventure. Another moral would point out that he used a gift in a way that he was told not to: an item is a tool that can be used for any purpose. He was instructed to not open the box, and yet he did anyway. It was ultimately his own fault.