Episode 59: Urashima Tarō and Other Stories
Detail from a late 16th century or early 17th century scroll depicting the story of Urashima Tarō, depicting him entering the undersea palace in the Land of the Immortals. The original is from the The Bodleian Library, Oxford and is used here under CC BY 4.0.
Three Stories…
This episode focuses on three stories in the Nihon Shoki—fantastical stories about ghosts, shapeshifting bandits, and the famous Rip van WInkle of Japan: Urashima Tarō.
The write-up here is going to be pretty short, but we hope that you enjoy these more lighthearted tales. I’m sure I’m not the only one who could use a distraction given everything going on as this comes out at the start of March, 2022.
References
Kishimoto, Naofumi (2013). Dual Kingship in the Kofun Period as Seen from the Keyhole Tombs. UrbanScope: e-Journal of the Urban-Culture Research Center, OCU. http://urbanscope.lit.osaka-cu.ac.jp/journal/pdf/vol004/01-kishimoto.pdf
Aston, W. G. (1972). Nihongi, chronicles of Japan from the earliest times to A.D. 697. London: Allen & Unwin. ISBN0-80480984-4