Uploaded February 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Urashima is a Japanese folk tale / fairy story that tells of a fisherman who spends the night with an undersea princess and awakes to find the world not as he left it.
I present a radio show where I sometimes read Japanese folk tales. This is one of them. There's not much to look at, but I've added some notes that may interest you.
Notably, the translation of this story is quite old. I mostly kept to the archaic language because I find it more fitting for an ancient tale. I did change some bits though where the language proved too opaque for modern listeners.
The picture of the otohime is the one that hangs on my bathroom wall. You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find one. They're really only sold in Japan and most Japanese companies don't have websites and don't post to anywhere outside of Japan.
Music:
Chan Wai Fat: Children of Soul Mountain
freemusicarchive.org/music/Chan_Wai_Fat/Children_of_Soul_Mountain
Read the story here:
gutenberg.org/files/35853/35853-h/35853-h.htm#URASHIMA
Urashima is a Japanese folk tale / fairy story that tells of a fisherman who spends the night with an undersea princess and awakes to find the world not as he left it.
I present a radio show where I sometimes read Japanese folk tales. This is one of them. There's not much to look at, but I've added some notes that may interest you.
Notably, the translation of this story is quite old. I mostly kept to the archaic language because I find it more fitting for an ancient tale. I did change some bits though where the language proved too opaque for modern listeners.
The picture of the otohime is the one that hangs on my bathroom wall. You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find one. They're really only sold in Japan and most Japanese companies don't have websites and don't post to anywhere outside of Japan.
Music:
Chan Wai Fat: Children of Soul Mountain
freemusicarchive.org/music/Chan_Wai_Fat/Children_of_Soul_Mountain
Read the story here:
gutenberg.org/files/35853/35853-h/35853-h.htm#URASHIMA
