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Tamatebako
A "jeweled hand box", "jewel box", "jeweled box", "treasure box", "casket", etc., is the name of a mysterious box that in the Japanese folk tale "Urashima Tarō", is a parting gift that the fisherman Urashima Tarō receives from mistress of the sea (Otohime), after his stay at the Dragon Palace (or Hōrai), to which he was invited after saving a turtle. ''Katami no hako'' "memento box" is another name by which the box is referred to in the tale. ''Tamakushige'' "comb box" is the name that occurs in earlier precursors, such as the anecdote of Ura-no-Shimako (Urashima-no-ko) in the ''Fudoki'' of Tango Province and the '' Manyōshū'' (8th century). The term ''tamatebako'' was first employed in reference to the tale in a quoted poem in ''Otogizōshi''. Etymology and aliases ''Tamatebako'' is literally rendered "jewel-hand-box" but sometimes it is seen as not imparting any special meaning and translated as "casket". It was glossed as meaning a "beautiful box" by McKeon. The fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Urashima Tarō
is the protagonist of a Japanese fairy tale (''otogi banashi''), who in a typical modern version is a fisherman rewarded for rescuing a turtle, and carried on its back to the Dragon Palace (Ryūgū-jō) beneath the sea. There he is entertained by the princess Otohime as a reward. He spends what he believes to be several days with the princess, but when he returns to his home village, he discovers he has been gone for at least 100 years. When he opens the forbidden jewelled box (tamatebako), given to him by Otohime on his departure, he turns into an old man. The tale originates from the legend of Urashimako (Urashima no ko or Ura no Shimako) recorded in various pieces of literature dating to the 8th century, such as the ''Fudoki'' for Tango Province, '' Nihon Shoki'', and the '' Man'yōshū''. During the Muromachi to Edo periods, versions of ''Urashima Tarō'' appeared in storybook form called the '' Otogizōshi'', made into finely painted picture scrolls and picture books or m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
