Long, long ago, in a village, there lived a young fisherman named Urashima Taro. He was a kind-hearted man.
One day, while walking along the beach, Urashima Taro saw some children teasing a small turtle. He quickly ran over and said, “Don’t be mean to the turtle,” and saved it. The children ran away.
The turtle was very grateful and said, “Thank you so much. I am a turtle from the Dragon Palace. As a thank you, I will take you to the Dragon Palace.” Urashima Taro was surprised but decided to ride on the turtle’s back.
The turtle took Urashima Taro deep into the sea. At the bottom of the ocean, there was a beautiful palace called the Dragon Palace. The princess, Otohime, welcomed Urashima Taro. “Welcome, Urashima Taro. Please stay and enjoy yourself,” she said.
In the Dragon Palace, there was delicious food and fun dances every day. Urashima Taro had a wonderful time. But after a while, he started to worry about his village and said, “I need to go back to my village soon.”
Otohime looked a little sad but said, “I understand. Please take this with you. This is a special box called a ‘tamatebako.’ But you must never open it.” She gave him the box.
Urashima Taro rode the turtle back to his village. But when he returned, everything had changed. He didn’t recognize anyone. Urashima Taro was very surprised.
Not knowing what to do, Urashima Taro opened the tamatebako. Suddenly, white smoke came out, and Urashima Taro turned into an old man.
Urashima Taro was very surprised but couldn’t go back to how he was. Even so, he remained kind-hearted and lived quietly for the rest of his days.