Ryūgū-jō (竜宮城, 龍宮城, lit. "Dragon palace castle") or Ryūgū (竜宮, 龍宮, lit. "Dragon palace") is the supernatural undersea palace of Ryūjin or Dragon God in Japanese tradition.
It is best known as the place in fairytale where Urashima Tarō was invited after saving a turtle, where he was entertained by the Dragon God's princess Oto-hime and his minions, but when Urashima returned back to land after what he thought was a few days away, centuries had passed.
Overview
editRyūgū or Ryūgū-jō is the fabulous mythical residence of the Ryūjin (Dragon God) or Sea God, or the princess Otohime.[1] It is also equated with the "fish-scale palace" (iroko no goto tsukureru miya)" which was the Sea God Watatsumi's palace mentioned in the Kojiki (8th century).[1]
The Ryūgū is well-known as the supernatural place in the fisherman's fairytale Urashima Tarō,[1] and most Japanese now consider it to be a place which supposed to lie under the sea.[2][3] Actually, Ryūgū that appears in other narratives and fairytales (otogi banashi) had been considered to be underwater for a long time,[3] but in the particular case of the Urashima legend, its Dragon Palace was not firmly considered to be underwater until quite late in the modern period.[3]
Urashima
editAfloat or undersea
editIn most familiar versions of the Urashima legend nowadays in Japan, the Ryūgū lies undersea,[2][4] but in early and otogizoshi versions,[a] the fisherman traveled to Hōrai (Mount Penglai, the Elysium in Chinese tradition), a floating island.[2] During the Edo era, pictorial depiction of Ryūgū above the waves remained fairly conventional.[7] A work may illustrate Ryūgū above water, yet describe it textually as underwater, as in a burlesque gesaku work of 1782.[8]
In the Meiji era, akahon ehon or "redbook picture books" of the 1880s,[11] as well as Tsukioka Yoshitoshi's (1886) print are examples of Ryūgū illustrated above water, but they are lacking in textual detail on whether it is a sunken city or not.[13] The akahon illustrations were appropriated by Masayuki Kataoka's English translation (1886), which describes the Dragon Palace as visible "far below" the water, to which the man carried by the reptile "descended".[14][15]
Ryūgū was described as a "Dragon Palace beyond the blue sea", in Basil Hall Chamberlain's translation (1886). Here the "Dragon Palace" is illustrated as a complex of buildings atop an island, with fishes clad in kimono walking about the sandy shore.[16] Chamberlain had freely substituted more ancient text material into his retelling of the Urashima fairytale.[17][18] Chamberlain also interchangeably uses "Sea God's Palace", probably with the archaic god-name Watatsumi in mind.[19][b]
Eventually, the Dragon Palace undersea became the standard in modern tellings of the Urashima tale.[20] A canonical example by the Taisho Era, according to one researcher, was the edition by Mori Rintarō (novelist Mori Ōgai) and others, published 1920–1921, whose illustration shows Urashima and the turtle peeing underneath at the palace.[21]
Palace architecture
edit"The walls of the Palace were of coral, the trees had emeralds for leaves and rubies for berries" (Chamberlain),[22][c] roughly coincides with the inner chambers being fashioned with sangoju kin no tagui (珊樹樹金の類, lit. 'treelike coral, gold, and the like') according to Meiji Era akahon ehon ("red book" editions).[27]
The use of materials such as pearl or crystal on the exterior is given in Brauns' translation (Englished by Lang), alongside the interior hall being illuminated by fish scales.[28]
Masayuki Kataoka's English translation (1886)[14] describes a Dragon's Palace with a crystal dome, which a researcher considers a novel, unfamiliar feature.[d][29] Kataoka's translation, upon comparison, differed greatly from the text of the akahon picture books, though he had blatantly appropriated and reworked their illustrations.[30] Here, there is a long distance from the gatekeeper to the palace proper, and Urashima is guided by a pretty glass ball that rolls of is own accord.[31]
Four seasons on four sides
editA notable feature of the Dragon Palace according to the "feudal" (otogizōshi) versions is the view to the "four seasons on four sides",[20][17][e] though this has been eschewed in Chamberlain's translation.[f][17]
However, the view to the four seasons is incorporated in Mrs. Ozaki's translation: cherry blossom in bloom to the east (spring), buzzing cicadas to the south (summer), multi-colored maple leaves to the west (autumn), and snow-covered ground to the north (winter).[34] This is presumably based on a text edited by Iwaya Sazanami ,[35] probably the text of Nihon mukashibanashi (1896),[36] which corresponds roughly with a version from the Otogizōshi.[32] The four seasons also figure in F. Hadland Davis's synopsis (1912).[37] The usual bird which sings in spring is the bush warbler, not actually a nightingale. More precise translations from the otogizōshi text are given elsewhere.[38]
Passage of time
editWhether in the ancient (Nara Period),[g] feudal period or standard modern versions of Urashima, he believes he has spent 3 years at the otherworld or Dragon Palace,[20] but more than 300 years had elapsed in the ancient and standard modern versions (700 years in the feudal period versions).[20] The Mizukagami (1195) gives a more precise reckoning; Urashima supposedly returned in the 2nd year of Tenchō (825 AD), 347 years later. This matches the claim in Nihon shoki that he disappeared in the year of Yuraku 22, conventionally assigned the year 478. But it also means he did not come back until a century after the Nihon shoki was written.[41][42]
Hoderi and Hoori
editIn the mythology concerning the two princes Hoderi ("Fire Flash") and Hoori ("Fire Fade") in the Kojiki, the latter younger brother adventures to the Sea God's palace and emerges triumphant, and sires the line of emperors.[43] The story has been often retold as fairytale, e.g. as "The Princes Fire-flash & Fire-fade".[44]
The Sea-God's palace, a "palace built like fishes' scales",[44] is interpreted to be a metaphor for a silver-colored structure.[45]
Local lore
editIn the Ryukyuan religion, Ryūgū-jō (Okinawan: Ruuguu) is the source of fire for all family and village hearths.[46]
Ryūgū-no-tsukai and Jinjahime
editThe Japanese name for the deep-sea dwelling giant oarfish is ryūgū-no-tsukai (リュウグウノツカイ), literally lit. "messenger/servant of Ryūgū" or "Messenger from the Sea God's Palace".[47]
This real species of fish may have been the origins of the mythical jinjahime , which also claimed to be a "messenger/servant of Ryūgū".[48][49][h] This (神社姫, lit. 'shrine princess'), was a type of the so-called "prophet beast" (yogenjū) during the Edo period, which prophesied bountiful harvest followed by epidemic.[51]
Monuments
editThe Katase-Enoshima Station in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture is a structure built to resemble Ryūgū-jō, as a mock-up.[52][53]
Ryūgū Shrine derives its name from Ryūgū-jō. Located on Cape Nagasakibana (also known as Cape Ryūgū)[54][55] in southern Kagoshima, it is said to be where Urashima Tarō traveled to Ryūgū-jō.[56] Locals honor Ryūjin and turtles as protectors.[57][58]
See also
edit- The Sea King and Vasilisa the Wise
- Eglė the Queen of Serpents
- The Wife from the Dragon Palace
- 162173 Ryugu, an asteroid named after Ryūgū-jō
- Ryugu Planitia, a smooth plain on Triton
Explanatory notes
edit- ^ Tango hudoki or Tango fudoki. Cf. Urashima Tarō#Tango Fudoki
- ^ Ozaki's translation, p. 30, says the palace is also called "Rin Gin", but this seems to be an insertion or substitution where the Japanese text only says "Ryūgū".
- ^ The emeralds would be suigyoku (翠玉) and rubies are kōgyoku (紅玉) in Japanese.[23]
- ^ The researcher Hayashi apparently assumes "crystal" the mineral, but it can also be manufactured glass, of course. And glass (Japanese: hari) does feature in the Dragon Palace in some old narratives or play scripts.
- ^ The standard text is the Shibukawa text, which is given by Yoshida.[32] The Bodleian picture scroll text has also been transcribed by Hayashi.[33]
- ^ Makino remarks that certain minor details from otogizōshi are incorporated in Chamberlain's text.
- ^ Tango fudoki fragment, 3 years had elapsed at Sento (仙都, "immortal city"), and Urashimako upon return is told 300 years had gone by.[39][40]
- ^ The jinjahime is also mentioned in connection with the iconic amabie bearing resemblance to oarfish.[50]
References
editBibliography
edit- Brauns, David [in German], ed. (1885), "Uraschimataro", Japanische Märchen und Sagen (in German), Leipzig: Wilhelm Friedrich, pp. 59–68
- Chamberlain, B. H. (1886), The Fisher-boy Urashima, Japanese Fairy Tale Series 8, Kobayashi Eitaku (illustr.), T. Hasegawa, Kōbunsha; alt copy @ Library of Congress
- Hayakawa, Yoshie (March 2018), "Meiji nenkan no 'Urashima' tachi: shōsetsu to gikyoku to jidōbungaku" 明治年間の「浦島」たち―「小説」と「戯曲」と「児童文学」, Eco-philosophy, 12: 39–47, doi:10.34428/00009813
- Hayashi, Kōhei (2001), "Urashima densetsu ni okeru gazō no mondai" 浦島伝説における画像の諸問題 [Various issues on images in the Urashima legend], Proceedings of the International Conference on Japanese Literature, 24: 41, 43–45, 54
- Hayashi, Kōhei (September 2009), "Okkusufōdo daigaku zō emaki 'Urashima Tarō' no honkoku to kaidai" 片岡政行英訳『うらしま』覚書 [A Note on English Version Urashima Translated by Masayuki Kataoka] (PDF), Bulletin of Tomakomai Komazawa University (4): 73–94, ndldm:4265673, archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-26
- Hayashi, Kōhei (2013), "Okkusufōdo daigaku zō emaki 'Urashima Tarō' no honkoku to kaidai" オックスフォード大学蔵絵巻「浦島太郎」の翻刻と解題 [The Tale of Urashima in the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford] (PDF), Bulletin of Tomakomai Komazawa University (27): 1–31
- Hayashi, Kōhei (2019), "Ehon 'Urashima Tarō' no tenkai: Kindai ni okeru Urashima densetsu no hasssei to hensen" 絵本『浦島太郎』の展開―近代における浦島伝説の発生と変遷― [The Picture Book “URASHIMA TARO” and Its Development] (PDF), Bulletin of Tomakomai Komazawa University (34): 23–104
- James, T. H. (1886). The Princes Fire-flash & Fire-fade. Japanese Fairy Tale Series. Kobayashi Eitaku (illustr.). T. Hasegawa, Kōbunsha.
- Lang, Andrew, ed. (1897). "Uraschimataro and the Turtle". The Pink Fairy Book. Longmans, Green. pp. 25–32. Project Gutenberg text
- McKeon, Midori Yamamoto (1996), The Urashima Legend: Changing Gender Representations in a Japanese Tale, University of California, Berkeley
- Makino, Yoko (牧野陽子) (2011), "Unasaka no fūkei:Hān to Chenbaren sorezore no Urashima densetsu (1)" 海界の風景〜ハーンとチェンバレンそれぞれの浦島伝説〜(一) ["Past the bounds of Ocean" : The Legend of Urashima as told by L. Hearn and B. S. Chamberlain (1)], Seijo University Economic Papers (in Japanese), 191: 138–116
- Miura, Sukeyuki [in Japanese] (1989), Urashima Tarō no bungakushi: Renai shōsetsu no hassei 浦島太郎の文学史: 恋愛小説の発生, Goryū shoin, ISBN 4906010369
- Miyao, Yoshio [in Japanese], ed. (2009). "Urashima". Taiyaku nihon mukashibanashishū 対訳日本昔噺集 [Japanese Fairy Tale Series] (in English and Japanese). Vol. 2. Translated by Chamberlain, Basil Hall. Kobayashi Eitaku (illustr.). Sairyūsha. pp. 25ff, 301ff. ISBN 9784779113710.
- Mori, Rintarō; Suzuki, Miekichi; Matsumura, Takeo [in Japanese]; Mabuchi, Reiyū, eds. (1920–1921). "Urashima Tarō" 浦島太郞. Nihon densetsu: Hyōjun otogi bunko 日本伝説 : 標準於伽文庫. Vol. 1. Hamada Josen 浜田如洗 et al. (illustr.). Baifūkan. pp. 1–30. doi:10.11501/1716320.
- Ozaki, Yei Theodora (1903). "The Story of Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad". Japanese Fairy Tales. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co. pp. 26–43.
- Satomi, Shigemi (2001), "Hān no Urashima densetsu ni taisuru ninshiki :washinton āvingu no sakuhin wo kijiku ni" ハーンの浦島伝説に対する認識―ワシントン.アーヴィングの作品を基軸に― [Hearn's conception of Urashima Legend: with Washington Irving's works as base], Hikaku bungaku, the Journal of Comparative Literature of JCLA (in Japanese), 44: 99–111
- Shimozawa, Kiyoko (1980), "Urashima setsuwa no hensen" 浦島説話の変遷 [Transition of Urashima narrative], Nara University of Education. Kokubun: kenkyū to kyōiku, 4: 27–37, hdl:10105/10481