It is difficult for a mortal man to resist the irresistible siren of an
enchanting female from the depths, or so it would seem. Here in this tiny netsuke
is the story of Urashima Taro and the Dragon Sea Princess of Ryagu, beckons with
an otherworldly halo. She wears a finely carved billow cloud kimono and carries
a coyly placed fan. Her face appears sweet and just slightly bemused. Next to
her is Urashima Taro the young fisherman who she has lured to the underwater kingdom
of her illustrious father, the Dragon King. Urashima Taro is a man of simple heart
and good deeds. He rides the longevity turtle Minogame whose long feathered tail
rises up behind it like a feathered flame, the turtle who he graciously saved.
Although the pleasures of the underwater Dragon kingdom are beyond compare, the
young man becomes homesick and begs to go home. His wish is granted and he is
gifted with the object of his demise, a box that he has been warned never to open.
The box, here carved in ivory is wrapped in a ceremonial ribbon seal. Upon his
return, Urashima opens the box and he turns to dust. For what had seemed like
a summer idyll in the Dragon King’s lair has been hundreds of years in passing.
The young man’s melancholy face communicates his fate. (SD)
