Katsushika Hokusai: Urashima Tarô Visits the Dragon Palace (1780s)

(Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA)

A woodblock print made by the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849). This piece shows a scene from the story of Urashima Tarô. According to the story, Urashima Tarô was a fisherman who rescued a young turtle. The next day a large turtle came and told Urashima Tarô that the young turtle he saved is the daughter of the Emperor of the Sea, Ryūjin, who wants to thank him. Urashima Tarô is taken to Ryūgū-jō, the undersea palace of Ryūjin, the dragon god of the sea. There Urashima 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 given to him by Otohime on his departure, he turns into an old man. Woodblock from the 1780s.