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Added citation for Katase-Enoshima Station's Ryugū-jō design influence.
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Rewrote "inhabitants" sentence and added source. Rewrote paragraph describing the palace interior from multiple versions of Urashima Taro in a separate paragraph. Added sources.
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[[Image:KataseEnoshimaStation.jpg|thumb|[[Katase-Enoshima Station]]]]
[[Image:KataseEnoshimaStation.jpg|thumb|[[Katase-Enoshima Station]]]]


In [[Japanese folklore]], {{nihongo|'''Ryūgū-jō'''|竜宮城, 龍宮城||"Dragon palace castle"}} is the undersea palace of [[Ryūjin]], the dragon [[kami]] of the sea. Depending on the version of the legend, it is built from red and white [[coral]], or from solid [[crystal]]. The inhabitants of the palace were Ryūjin's families and servants, who were [[denization|denizens]] of the sea. In some legends, on each of the four sides of the palace it is a different [[season]], and one day in the palace is equal to a century outside its boundaries. The most famous legend about the palace concerns [[Urashima Tarō]]'s visit to Ryūgū-jō for three days.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kawai|first=Hayao|title=Dreams, Myths and Fairy Tales in Japan|year=1995|publisher=Daimon|isbn=3-85630-544-0|pages=107|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dZQ4zqV88V4C&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason="three days" is not in several of the famous ancient and medieval texts, and three years SEEMS to be more common. This source refers to its account as "[the story's] present form" as though the story had only one form now, which is nonsense as all versions included in extant texts are widely available in print.|date=December 2017}}
In [[Japanese folklore]], {{nihongo|'''Ryūgū-jō'''|竜宮城, 龍宮城||"Dragon palace castle"}} is the undersea palace of [[Ryūjin]], the dragon [[kami]] of the sea. [[Oto-hime | Princess Otohime]], her maidens, and Ryūjin's vassals reside in the palace, as well.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=F. Hadland |title=Myths and Legends of Japan |date=1912 |publisher=George G. Harrap & Company |location=London |page=325 |url=https://www.globalgreyebooks.com/content/books/ebooks/myths-and-legends-of-japan.pdf |accessdate=12 April 2020}}</ref>

Ryūgū-jō is described in [[Urashima Tarō]] as located a several-day swim beneath the sea. A marvelous gate appears before it. Different versions describe the palace made of gold, crystal, coral, and pearl with sloping roofs that can be seen over the gate. The large hall within is illuminated by fish scales. A garden surrounds the palace, each of the four sides corresponding to a different season: [[sakura]] 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).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lang |first1=Andrew (ed.) |title=The Pink Fairy Book |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5615/5615-h/5615-h.htm#link2H_4_0006 |website=Project Gutenberg |publisher=Project Gutenberg |accessdate=12 April 2020 |location=Urbana, Illinois |date=17 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ozaki |first1=Yei Theodora |title=The Story of Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad |url=https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/72/japanese-fairy-tales/4881/the-story-of-urashima-taro-the-fisher-lad/ |website=Lit2Go |publisher=Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida |accessdate=12 April 2020 |date=1908}}</ref> One account has three days spent within Ryūgū-jō equal to three hundred years above the surface, whereas another version has three Ryūgū-jō years as seven hundred surface years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Urashima Taro: What's the Moral of this Japanese Folk Legend? |url=https://jpninfo.com/40842 |website=Japan Info |publisher=Japan Info |accessdate=12 April 2020 |date=29 January 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Urashima Taro handscroll from Bodleian Library 5.jpg|thumbnail|right|[[Urashima Tarō|Urashima]] and [[Toyotama-hime|Otohime]] in the Autumn side of the undersea palace, watching deer. Japanese watercolour from late 16th or early 17th century]][[File:Urashima Taro handscroll from Bodleian Library 6.jpg|thumbnail|left|The Winter side of the palace, with a light snow on the garden]]
[[File:Urashima Taro handscroll from Bodleian Library 5.jpg|thumbnail|right|[[Urashima Tarō|Urashima]] and [[Toyotama-hime|Otohime]] in the Autumn side of the undersea palace, watching deer. Japanese watercolour from late 16th or early 17th century]][[File:Urashima Taro handscroll from Bodleian Library 6.jpg|thumbnail|left|The Winter side of the palace, with a light snow on the garden]]

[[Katase-Enoshima Station]] in [[Fujisawa, Kanagawa|Fujisawa]], [[Kanagawa Prefecture]], is designed to evoke the feeling of Ryūgū-jō.<ref>{{cite press release |last= |first= |date=12 December 2017 |title=竜宮城の雰囲気を踏襲しながら、ますます便利で快適に片瀬江ノ島駅の改良工事を実施します [Carrying out improvements on Katase-Enoshima Station more conveniently and comfortably while following the feeling of Ryūgū-jō] |url=http://www.odakyu.jp/program/info/data.info/8728_6535650_.pdf |language=ja |publisher=Odakyu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212132101/http://www.odakyu.jp/program/info/data.info/8728_6535650_.pdf |archive-date=12 December 2017 |access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref>
[[Katase-Enoshima Station]] in [[Fujisawa, Kanagawa|Fujisawa]], [[Kanagawa Prefecture]], is designed to evoke the feeling of Ryūgū-jō.<ref>{{cite press release |last= |first= |date=12 December 2017 |title=竜宮城の雰囲気を踏襲しながら、ますます便利で快適に片瀬江ノ島駅の改良工事を実施します [Carrying out improvements on Katase-Enoshima Station more conveniently and comfortably while following the feeling of Ryūgū-jō] |url=http://www.odakyu.jp/program/info/data.info/8728_6535650_.pdf |language=ja |publisher=Odakyu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212132101/http://www.odakyu.jp/program/info/data.info/8728_6535650_.pdf |archive-date=12 December 2017 |access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref>


Revision as of 09:13, 12 April 2020

Katase-Enoshima Station

In Japanese folklore, Ryūgū-jō (竜宮城, 龍宮城, "Dragon palace castle") is the undersea palace of Ryūjin, the dragon kami of the sea. Princess Otohime, her maidens, and Ryūjin's vassals reside in the palace, as well.[1]

Ryūgū-jō is described in Urashima Tarō as located a several-day swim beneath the sea. A marvelous gate appears before it. Different versions describe the palace made of gold, crystal, coral, and pearl with sloping roofs that can be seen over the gate. The large hall within is illuminated by fish scales. A garden surrounds the palace, each of the four sides corresponding to a different season: sakura 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).[2][3] One account has three days spent within Ryūgū-jō equal to three hundred years above the surface, whereas another version has three Ryūgū-jō years as seven hundred surface years.[4]

Urashima and Otohime in the Autumn side of the undersea palace, watching deer. Japanese watercolour from late 16th or early 17th century
The Winter side of the palace, with a light snow on the garden

Katase-Enoshima Station in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, is designed to evoke the feeling of Ryūgū-jō.[5]

In the Ryukyuan religion, Ryūgū-jō (Okinawan: Ruuguu) is the source of fire for all family and village hearths.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Davis, F. Hadland (1912). Myths and Legends of Japan (PDF). London: George G. Harrap & Company. p. 325. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  2. ^ Lang, Andrew (ed.) (17 December 2016). "The Pink Fairy Book". Project Gutenberg. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 12 April 2020. {{cite web}}: |first1= has generic name (help)
  3. ^ Ozaki, Yei Theodora (1908). "The Story of Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad". Lit2Go. Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Urashima Taro: What's the Moral of this Japanese Folk Legend?". Japan Info. Japan Info. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  5. ^ "竜宮城の雰囲気を踏襲しながら、ますます便利で快適に片瀬江ノ島駅の改良工事を実施します [Carrying out improvements on Katase-Enoshima Station more conveniently and comfortably while following the feeling of Ryūgū-jō]" (PDF) (Press release) (in Japanese). Odakyu. 12 December 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  6. ^ George H. Kerr, Okinawa: History of an Island People (Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1958), 36.
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