When I get old, I want to have a relaxing lifestyle. It would be nice to have an easy life, living off my pension benefits, which I have been looking forward to.
Taro Urashima instantly became an old man after he returned to his native village from the Palace of the Dragon King under the Sea. He found that no one knew him; he was a stranger even in his home village; and no one helped him. Unlike Taro Urashima, we will slowly get old, so we should be able to lead a safe and happy life.
The people who read the story from Niigata’s Folk Tale Vol. 2 entitled A Dog, A Cat, and A Treasure Hammer, nanimously expressed their thoughts about this folk tale.
One of them said, “The old man saved a turtle that was being bullied. The turtle brought a treasure hammer to the old man’s bedside in return for his kindness.”
Another commented, “The old couple loved their dog and cat. That was why their pets worked hard to get the stolen treasure hammer back for the old couple.”
One more stated, “If someone shows you kindness, you want to return his or her favor. The old woman, the old man’s wife, seems to be very nice and gentle. She is a happy lady and I want to know more about her.”
Then, I interviewed the old woman who was as gentle as Buddha. Here is her story, the story of the old woman who was born in the Palace of the Dragon King under the Sea.
Around these parts, I am known as an old lady as kind and gentle as Buddha. I was born in the Palace of the Dragon King under the Sea, which you may have heard of. Yes, I was Princess Otohime there.
You must have heard the story of Taro Urashima. Since Taro saved a turtle that came from the palace, the Dragon King of the palace dispatched a servant to welcome Taro to the palace.
Riding on the turtle’s back, Taro arrived at the palace under the sea. What a handsome and nice-looking lad he was! I fell in love with him at first sight.
“Dear Taro, it’s good to have you here in this palace. Enjoy a relaxing time here.”
Taro and I enjoyed having a good time together for quite a while.
Then a couple of days later, Taro started thinking about his mother, whom he had left all alone in his village.
“I have to return to my village because I left my mother there alone.”
“Oh no, dear Taro.”
Taro’s determination was unshakable. I gave Taro the Tamatebako, a special treasure box. He left the palace with it.
The days without Taro were dark. No matter how many tears I shed, the dark hours never brightened.
Then, my father, the Dragon King asked me, “Princess Otohime, what’s wrong? You must cheer up!”
“I want to see Taro. I want to go to the village where Taro is.”
“What is this nonsense you are talking about? Princess Otohime, you are not allowed to do so. You are the princess of this palace. You will find your groom here in the Palace of the Dragon King under the Sea.”
“No, that’s not what I want to…”
I knew that I wouldn’t be able to survive such a miserable life. Yes, that’s right. No matter what my father, the Dragon King said, I decided to go to the village where Taro was. I secretly headed for Taro’s village on the turtle’s back, leaving the palace behind.
“Taro, Taro, where are you?”
Isn’t that Taro in the distance? Yes, it is him. Taro was standing alone on the beach with a blank look on his face staring off into space. Beside him was the Tamatebako Treasure Box that I gave him.
“Hello, dear Taro.”
Taro looked up. “Oh my! Princess Otohime!”
I ran to Taro and jumped into his arms. “Oh, Taro! My dear Taro!”
This was the moment I had been waiting for! I embraced him with my eyes tightly shut.
Time seemed to stop for the two of us. I must have been sobbing.
Then I heard, “Princess Otohime, Princess Otohime.”
“Yes, what’s the matter?”
“Princess Otohime, you look like a …” Taro’s voice had a puzzled tone.
I opened my eyes to find Taro’s face surrounded by smoke.
“Taro, what’s the matter with you? Taro, is that really you? How did you become such an old man?”
“Princess Otohime, Princess Otohime. It’s you who has changed into an old woman. Why are you…?”
“What? I’m an old woman?”
Smoke was all around us. We continued to embrace each other in the smoke, Taro an old man, and myself an old woman. The Tamatebako Treasure Box was lying below us, its lid open.
As Taro was leaving the Palace of the Dragon King under the Sea, I firmly warned him, “You must never open the lid of the Tamatebako Treasure Box.”
Even though I told him not to open the box, I myself must have accidently kicked the box when I leapt onto him. The thick white smoke continued billowing out of the open box.
In the midst of the white smoke, Taro became a white-haired old man and I, a white-haired old woman. Just as I was able to reunite with Taro, who was once a beautiful and handsome young man, he became a white-haired old man. I, myself, who was known as Princess Otohime, the most beautiful princess in the Palace of the Dragon King under the Sea, also became an old woman covered with wrinkles.
When the lid of the Tamatebako Treasure Box opened, the three days Taro had spent in the Palace of the Dragon King under the Sea passed as three hundred years in Taro’s village. Taro’s mother had long since died.
Taro and I, being an old couple, lived on the outskirts of the village. Even though Taro was no longer the handsome young lad he once was, he was as sweet and gentle as ever before.
In the Palace of the Dragon King under the Sea, a multitude of sea creatures attended to my every wish. Up above, Taro had a dog and a cat to serve me. Taro and I lived a pleasant life, attended by the dog and cat. Before long, our backs bent with old age, which made it difficult to work in our vegetable gardens. Food for the four of us was getting scarce. We were facing difficult times.
One day, I heard a disturbance outside.
“What could it be?”
When I opened the door, I saw a turtle from the palace sitting there. It was the very same turtle that Taro had once saved.
“Oh, turtle, it’s you.”
The turtle said, “Princess Otohime, I finally found you! Oh, no! You have completely changed.”
The turtle started crying at the sight of me.
The turtle said, “The smoke from the Tamatebako Treasure Box reached the Dragon King, who realized your hardships here and had me bring this to you.”
The turtle handed me a little treasure hammer.
Upon presenting the little treasure hammer to me, the turtle conveyed the Dragon King’s message.
“The Dragon King said that a gold coin will appear on top of this hammer every morning. Use the gold coins to live in comfort.”
Even though I left the palace selfishly against my father’s will, he was still thinking of me and had the turtle deliver this treasure hammer. I was sincerely grateful for my father’s concern. I dedicated the treasure hammer to the Shinto altar in our house and shared my joy with Taro.
Every morning since then, a gold coin appeared on top of the treasure hammer. Our life with the dog and cat improved. In the village, Taro was called a merciful old man like Buddha and I was called a merciful old woman like Buddha. Even though I had gotten old, I was happy to be able to live with my gentle Taro. The dog and cat also worked very hard for us.
There was someone who spied on our way of life. It was our next-door neighbor, a greedy old man. When Taro and I prayed at our Shinto altar every morning, that old man had been watching us through the windows.
One day, when I got home from shopping, the treasure hammer, which should have been on our Shinto altar, was gone. Taro and I discussed what to do and sent our dog and cat to the greedy old man’s house to search for our treasure hammer.
The cat returned and said, “Meow. Meow. This is bad! This is bad! The greedy old man took the treasure hammer and worships it. Meow. Meow.”
The dog reported, “Bow-wow. Bow-wow. This is strange. Too strange! The greedy old man was chanting spells over the hammer. Bow-wow. Bow-wow.”
The cat added, “The greedy old man is angry because he couldn’t get any gold coins out the hammer.”
Thud, thud, thud. The greedy old man stomped in and asked us, “Well, you merciful and gentle Buddha couple, let me know the incantations for the treasure hammer. What were you reciting every day? What are the spells to get gold coins from the hammer?”
Taro replied, “My neighbor, we were not chanting any spells. We were just saying ‘Good morning. It’s a fine day today, too,’ to the Dragon King.”
The greedy old man was surprised, “You were just saying ‘Good morning, It’s a fine day today too?’ Ok. I got it.”
The greedy old neighbor stomped back to his house. Thud, thud, thud. Soon after, we could clearly hear him saying, “Good morning. It’s a fine day today, too. Good morning. Its’s a fine day today, too.” He repeated the same phrases in a loud voice over and over again.
A short time later, the greedy old man stomped on over to our house again, thud, thud, thud, and said, “Hey, you two, as merciful as Buddha, no matter how many times I chant ‘Good morning. It’s a fine day today, too,’ no gold coins appear. What’s going on?”
Taro replied, “The Dragon King gave that treasure hammer to his daughter, Princess Otohime. Gold coins only appear for Princess Otohime. No one else can get gold coins in that way from the treasure hammer.”
The greedy old man exclaimed, “What?! Did you say Princess Otohime? Where is this Princess Otohime?”
Taro said, “Here. She is right in front of you.”
The greedy old man was surprised, “What? Isn’t that your old wife?”
Taro agreed, “Yes, my old wife is Princess Otohime.”
The greedy old man was angry,
“Huh? What are you saying? This is your old wife, not Princess Otohime. You won’t trick me. You, old fogies as merciful as Buddha, stop babbling and tell me the real spell. If not, I’m taking your old lady.”
Then, the greedy old man tried to haul me away under his arm.
I screamed, “No, no! Help!”
Taro suddenly straightened and shouted at the wild old man, “Stop! Take your hands off my wife!”
The cat also cried out, “Meow, meow, meooow.”
The dog also barked, “Bow-wow, bow-wow, bow-wooow.”
Taro, the dog, and the cat fought against the greedy old man.
I cheered them on, “Taro, dog, cat, get him!”
No matter how strong the old man’s desire was, he had no chance of winning. He dejectedly retreated.
I was so proud of Taro, “Wow! Taro, you were so cool!”
I fell in love with Taro all over again. The dog and cat also fought against the greedy old man with all their might.
I went to the old man’s house with Taro, the dog, and the cat to get our treasure hammer back. When we got to the front of his house, the turtle was snapping at the greedy old man’s feet. The old man cried, “Ouch! That hurts! Alright, alright. I’ll return your treasure hammer. Turtle, please stop biting my feet!”
The greedy old man returned our treasure hammer to us. Finally, we got it back to our Shinto altar.
I thanked the turtle, “I’m glad you came to help us.”
The turtle replied, “The Dragon King sent me to check on you because he was hearing a strange voice instead of your voices.”
Really? The Dragon King was worried about me?
I am grateful for his love and consideration beyond all my expectations. Even the turtle served us well.
Since then, the greedy old neighbor has never spied into our house. Just in case, we had the cat keep an eye on the treasure hammer during the night and the dog during the day.
Protected by the cat and dog, the treasure hammer presented us a gold coin every morning. The turtle also came to check on me from time to time.
I enjoyed living a relaxing life with Taro, the dog, and the cat. I owe everything to my father, the Dragon King, for such a lifestyle. I’m sure I will live longer. How happy I am!
The End
Written by Yoko Tate
April 2021
(On the day when cherry blossom petals started swirling down in the spring breeze)
Translated by Masako Hayakawa
Illustrated by Rino Saito
日本語版
パステーシュ第13弾「竜宮生まれ乙姫ばばさの語り」
朗読動画収録 2021年4月19日
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El4-ibzGbNA
ブログ「竜宮生まれ乙姫ばばさの語り」
令和３年卯月 花吹雪が舞い始めた日
https://yuukyuujyou.hatenablog.com/entry/2021/04/20/163119
種本 新潟のむかし話２「犬と猫と宝槌」
朗読動画収録 2020年6月7日
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEUHOT1MmuY
令和からの紙芝居と語り 悠久城風の間
ホームページ http://yuukyuujyou.starfree.jp/
works旅の声
blog語り部のささやき
