batch.motif.japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki-gutenberg-l2479-l2525
---
record_id: batch.motif.japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki-gutenberg-l2479-l2525
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
passage_locator:
label: THE STORY OF URASHIMA TARO, THE FISHER LAD / THE FARMER AND THE BADGER /
THE ADVENTURES OF KINTARO, THE GOLDEN BOY / THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO DID NOT WISH
TO DIE; lines 2479-2525
start: '2479'
end: '2525'
translation: Japanese Fairy Tales
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Sentaro falls from a dampened paper crane into the sea and fears a shark,
then wakes before a shrine and learns the adventure was a dream granted by Jofuku.
A bright messenger carrying a book explains that the dream tested Sentaro's desire
to escape death, instructs him to abandon the quest for immortality, and directs
him toward family duties and an industrious life. Sentaro returns home, follows
the book's teachings, and prospers.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A storm dampens and crumples the wonderful paper crane, causing it and Sentaro
to fall into the sea.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Sentaro fears drowning, calls on Jofuku for rescue, and sees no ship nearby.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A monstrous shark swims toward Sentaro with its mouth open as if to devour
him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: Sentaro wakes from his own screams and finds that he had fallen asleep during
a long prayer before the shrine.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The frightening adventures are identified as a dream.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: A bright light appears, and a messenger standing in it holds a book and speaks
to Sentaro.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The messenger says Jofuku sent him and had permitted Sentaro to see the land
of Perpetual Life in a dream.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The messenger says Jofuku tested Sentaro by allowing him to drop into the
sea and sending a shark to swallow him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The messenger tells Sentaro that seeking hermitage or the Elixir of Life is
vain and not suited to him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: The messenger instructs Sentaro to return to his paternal home, live well
and industriously, observe ancestral anniversaries, and provide for his children.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: The messenger gives Sentaro a book containing precepts to guide him.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: The messenger disappears, and Sentaro returns home with the book, gives up
his old wishes, follows its lessons, and prospers.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Sentaro
description: A man who experiences the frightening dream, receives instruction,
and returns home to live usefully.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Jofuku
description: The figure invoked by Sentaro and described by the messenger as the
one who permitted the dream and sent the test.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: messenger
description: A messenger appearing in bright light, holding a book, and speaking
instructions from Jofuku to Sentaro.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: monstrous shark
description: A shark sent in the dream to swallow Sentaro after he falls into the
sea.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: tested dreamer and supplicant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sentaro prays, dreams of danger, calls for help, and is told the ordeal tested
his desire regarding death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: sender of dream-test and messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The messenger says Jofuku permitted the dream, arranged the sea and shark
test, and sent the messenger.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: divine or supernatural instructor
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The messenger appears in bright light, delivers Jofuku's explanation, and
gives moral instructions and a book.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: returned learner
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sentaro takes the lesson to heart, returns home, follows the book's teachings,
and prospers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: threatening test-creature
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The shark threatens Sentaro in the dream and is later described as sent to
swallow him as part of Jofuku's test.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sea water
literal_form: the sea and swallowed sea-water
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: wonderful paper crane
literal_form: a wonderful paper crane used before it becomes damp, crumples, and
falls into the sea
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: shrine
literal_form: the shrine before which Sentaro had fallen asleep during prayer
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: bright light
literal_form: a bright light in which the messenger stands
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: book of precepts
literal_form: a book held and given by the messenger, containing precepts for Sentaro
to study
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: land of Perpetual Life
literal_form: the land of Perpetual Life seen by Sentaro in a dream
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:7
label: Elixir of Life
literal_form: the Elixir of Life named by the messenger as a vain object of desire
for Sentaro
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: fall into the sea and shark threat
summary: During a storm the paper crane fails, Sentaro falls into the sea, fears
drowning, calls on Jofuku, and sees a monstrous shark approaching.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: awakening before the shrine
summary: Sentaro wakes from his screams and discovers that the extraordinary events
occurred while he slept during prayer before the shrine.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: messenger explains the dream-test
summary: A messenger in bright light appears with a book and explains that Jofuku
granted a dream vision of the land of Perpetual Life and tested Sentaro with the
sea and shark.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: instruction to abandon escape from death
summary: The messenger tells Sentaro to abandon hermitage, the Elixir of Life, and
the desire to escape death, and instead to live industriously with family and
ancestral duties.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: return home with the book
summary: The messenger disappears; Sentaro returns home with the book, gives up
vain wishes, follows its lessons, and prospers.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: quest for perpetual life redirected toward ordinary moral life
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
- wisdom
basis: The passage names the land of Perpetual Life and the Elixir of Life, but
the messenger teaches Sentaro to abandon escape from death and follow precepts
for a good life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the quest as vain for Sentaro rather than as a successful
attainment of immortality.
- id: motif:2
label: dream ordeal as moral test
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: Sentaro's frightening adventure is revealed as a dream allowed by Jofuku,
including the sea and shark, to test whether his desire for death was real.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The ordeal is instructional rather than a formal rite explicitly named
as initiation.
- id: motif:3
label: return from visionary journey with instruction
taxonomy_refs:
- return
- wisdom
basis: After waking from the dream and hearing the messenger's instruction, Sentaro
receives a book, returns home, and prospers by following its lessons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The return is from a dream vision and shrine encounter, not from a physically
verified otherworld journey in this passage.
- id: motif:4
label: supernatural messenger bearing a teaching book
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: A messenger appears in bright light, holds and gives a book of precepts,
and explains how Sentaro should live.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage calls the figure a messenger and later an angel, but does
not provide a fuller taxonomy for the being.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2479-2489
quote_or_summary: A storm ruins the paper crane; Sentaro falls into the sea, fears
drowning, calls on Jofuku, and sees a monstrous shark approaching with open mouth.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2491-2495
quote_or_summary: Sentaro wakes from his own screams and finds he had slept during
prayer before the shrine; the adventures were only a wild dream.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2497-2499
quote_or_summary: A bright light comes toward Sentaro; a messenger stands in it
holding a book and speaks to him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2501-2509
quote_or_summary: The messenger says Jofuku sent him, allowed Sentaro to see the
land of Perpetual Life in a dream, and tested him by letting him drop into the
sea and sending a shark to swallow him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2511-2519
quote_or_summary: The messenger says it is vain for Sentaro to seek hermitage or
the Elixir of Life, and instructs him to return home, live industriously, honor
ancestors, provide for children, and give up escaping death.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2521-2523
quote_or_summary: The messenger gives Sentaro a book of precepts intended to guide
him in the advised way of life.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 2524-2525
quote_or_summary: The angel disappears; Sentaro returns home with the book, gives
up vain wishes, follows its lessons, and his household prospers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/japanese/project-gutenberg/japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The passage clearly supports the literal sequence and several motif candidates.
No comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not compare the
episode 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 the supplied passage text and metadata; taxonomy references are limited to the provided lists.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:japanese-fairy-tales-ozaki-gutenberg__l2479-l2525
passage_sha256=8963e9dc1b9bfdf999079b7de243553c7cc2aa2cff6d50cb94babbd2b6a4039b