batch.motif.japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki-gutenberg-l1101-l1205
---
record_id: batch.motif.japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki-gutenberg-l1101-l1205
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
passage_locator:
label: JAPANESE FAIRY TALES / MY LORD BAG OF RICE / THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW / THE
STORY OF URASHIMA TARO, THE FISHER LAD; lines 1101-1205
start: '1101'
end: '1205'
translation: Japanese Fairy Tales
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Urashima returns by tortoise from the Sea King’s realm to his home shore.
He finds the place changed and learns from a villager that Urashima Taro is known
as someone who lived three hundred years earlier. Realizing that his few days
in the Sea King’s palace were hundreds of years at home, he tries to return to
his wife beyond the sea. Unable to find the way, he opens the tamate-bako despite
the Princess’s warning. A purple cloud rises from the box, and Urashima suddenly
ages and dies on the beach. The narrator closes with a moral against disobedience.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A tortoise carries Urashima back into the bay and to the shore from which
he set out, then returns to the Sea King’s realm.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Urashima sees the same shore and hills but people with unfamiliar faces, and
they stare at him.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Urashima goes to the site of his old home, calls for his father, and finds
a strange man there instead.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The man tells Urashima that a man named Urashima Taro lived in the village
three hundred years ago and could not still be alive.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Urashima insists he is alive, not a spirit, and stamps his feet to show the
man.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The man says the story of Urashima Taro is written in the village chronicles.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Urashima understands that the few days he spent in the Sea King’s palace were
hundreds of years in his home village, and that his parents and acquaintances
have died.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Urashima decides to return to his wife beyond the sea but cannot find the
way.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Urashima remembers the Princess’s instruction never to open the box because
it contained something precious.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Urashima opens the tamate-bako after untying its red silk cord and lifting
the lid.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: A small purple cloud rises from the box in three soft wisps, briefly covers
Urashima’s face, and floats away over the sea.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: Urashima changes from a strong young man into a very old man and dies on the
beach.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: The narrator states that Urashima’s disobedience prevents his return to the
Sea King’s realm or the Princess.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: The narrator closes by telling children not to disobey those who are wiser.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Urashima Taro
description: A fisherman who returns from the Sea King’s realm, finds his home changed,
opens the Princess’s box, ages suddenly, and dies.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: tortoise
description: The tortoise carries Urashima back to his home shore and then rides
away to the Sea King’s realm.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: strange man at Urashima’s former home
description: A man living or appearing at the site of Urashima’s old home who tells
Urashima that the known Urashima Taro lived three hundred years earlier.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Princess
description: Urashima’s wife beyond the sea; she had given him the tamate-bako and
warned him not to open it.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Urashima’s parents
description: Urashima’s parents are sought by him after his return, but he later
realizes they have died during the centuries that passed.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Sea King
description: The Sea King is referenced through his realm and palace beyond the
sea.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: village people
description: People on the shore and in the village have unfamiliar faces to Urashima
and look at him in turn.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: returned fisherman and disobedient opener of the box
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Urashima returns to shore, cannot reenter the sea realm, opens the forbidden
box, and dies after aging.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: animal conveyer between realms
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The tortoise transports Urashima from the Sea King’s realm back to his shore.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: local witness to elapsed time
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The man identifies Urashima Taro as a figure from three hundred years earlier
and cites village chronicles.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: beloved beyond the sea and giver of a forbidden box
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Princess is Urashima’s wife beyond the sea and had instructed him never
to open the box she gave him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: lost family of the returned traveler
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Urashima seeks his parents after returning and later realizes they died during
the centuries that passed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: eponymous ruler of the sea realm
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The passage names the Sea King’s realm and palace as the place from which
Urashima has returned.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: changed community after long absence
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The people Urashima sees have different faces from those he knew and are
part of the village changed by time.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sea and shore boundary
literal_form: bay, shore, beach, and sea between Urashima’s village and the Sea
King’s realm
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: sym:2
label: tamate-bako
literal_form: the box given by the Princess, said to contain a precious thing and
not to be opened
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: red silk cord
literal_form: red silk cord tied around the precious box
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: purple cloud from the box
literal_form: a beautiful little purple cloud in three soft wisps rising from the
opened box
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: feet as proof of life
literal_form: Urashima’s feet stamped on the ground to show he is not a ghost
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: village chronicles
literal_form: written village record of Urashima Taro from three hundred years earlier
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Return to the home shore
summary: The tortoise brings Urashima from the Sea King’s realm to the familiar
bay and shore, then leaves.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Unfamiliar village and former home
summary: Urashima finds the shore and hills unchanged but the people and house unfamiliar,
and he meets a strange man at his old home.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Three hundred years revealed
summary: The man says Urashima Taro lived three hundred years ago and is recorded
in the village chronicles; Urashima insists he is alive and not a spirit.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Realization of time displacement
summary: Urashima realizes that his short stay in the Sea King’s palace corresponds
to hundreds of years at home and that his family and acquaintances are gone.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Decision to open the forbidden box
summary: Unable to find the way back to the Princess, Urashima reasons that the
box may help him and opens it despite the Princess’s command.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Cloud, aging, and death
summary: A purple cloud rises from the opened box and drifts away; Urashima rapidly
becomes old and dies on the beach.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:7
label: Narrated moral
summary: The narrator states that disobedience caused Urashima’s loss and tells
children not to disobey the wiser.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: return from otherworld to an altered home
taxonomy_refs:
- return
basis: Urashima returns from the Sea King’s realm to his home shore but finds unfamiliar
people, a changed house, and evidence that three hundred years have passed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives only the return episode, not the full departure or stay
in the other realm.
- id: motif:2
label: different passage of time in an otherworld
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage states that a few days in the Sea King’s palace were hundreds
of years in Urashima’s village.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: No matching taxonomy reference is supplied for time dilation; left unclassified.
- id: motif:3
label: forbidden box opened despite warning
taxonomy_refs:
- forbidden_knowledge
basis: The Princess warned Urashima never to open the tamate-bako; he opens it in
hope of help, releasing a cloud and bringing sudden aging and death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The prohibited act is opening a box rather than explicitly seeking knowledge,
though the action reveals or releases a hidden consequence.
- id: motif:4
label: beloved beyond the sea made unreachable by disobedience
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_beloved
basis: Urashima seeks to return to his wife, the Princess beyond the sea, but after
opening the box the narrator says he can never return to her or the Sea King’s
realm.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage calls her a Princess and wife in a sea realm, but does not
explicitly call her divine.
- id: motif:5
label: conditional gift from otherworldly beloved
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The Princess gives Urashima a precious box under a condition that he must
not open it; breaking the condition results in loss.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not describe the original giving scene, only recalls
the gift and command.
- id: motif:6
label: instant aging after release from a sealed object
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: After Urashima opens the box and the purple cloud escapes, he changes at
once from youthful appearance to extreme old age and dies.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy reference directly names instant aging or life-span
release.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 1101-1104
quote_or_summary: The tortoise brings Urashima into the familiar bay and to the
shore from which he left, then returns to the Sea King’s realm.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 1105-1122
quote_or_summary: Urashima sees the same shore and hills but unfamiliar people;
he goes to the place of his old home, calls for his father, and meets a strange
man.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: 1123-1141
quote_or_summary: "“It is true that once upon a time a man called Urashima Taro
did live in this village, but that is a story three hundred years old.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used for evidence.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 1142-1160
quote_or_summary: The man suggests Urashima might be a spirit; Urashima denies it,
stamps his feet to prove he is living, and the man says the three-hundred-year-old
story is in the village chronicles.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 1161-1173
quote_or_summary: Urashima realizes that the few days in the Sea King’s palace were
hundreds of years at home; his parents and former acquaintances have died, and
he resolves to return to his wife beyond the sea.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 1174-1185
quote_or_summary: On the beach, Urashima cannot find the way back and remembers
the tamate-bako, which the Princess told him never to open because it contained
a precious thing; he decides to open it for help.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 1186-1196
quote_or_summary: Urashima breaks his promise, unties the red silk cord, opens the
box, and a beautiful little purple cloud rises in three wisps, briefly covers
his face, and floats away over the sea.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 1197-1200
quote_or_summary: Urashima, formerly like a strong handsome youth of twenty-four,
suddenly becomes very old, with bent back, white hair, and wrinkled face, and
falls dead on the beach.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 1201-1205
quote_or_summary: The narrator says Urashima’s disobedience prevents his return
to the Sea King’s realm or the Princess, and tells children not to disobey those
who are wiser.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary provided.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The narrative sequence and main objects are explicit in the passage. Motif
taxonomy assignments are cautious where supplied taxonomy terms only partly match
the episode. No comparison claims were made because the passage itself does not
support a comparison to another text or tradition.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Used only supplied passage text and metadata; no external tale-type or motif-index identifiers added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki-gutenberg__l1101-l1205
passage_sha256=7a802f73d1b6ff5ccb1ff082b276594af1c836d37e5b68105351a50f48de6e3b