It's about a fisherman who one day notices some kids torturing a poor turtle. He rescues the turtle and releases it back into the sea. The next day, a huge turtle shows up to thank him, telling him that the turtle he saved was actually the beloved daughter of the great sea dragon, the Emperor of the Seas Ryujin and that the dragon god wants to sea him to thank him personally.
So Urashima goes to Ryūgū-jō-- the Palace of the Dragon God-- where he meets Ryujin and his daughter Otohime, who's changed from a turtle to a beautiful woman. He stays with Otohime for three days, but soon asks to return to the land so that he can see his aging mother. Otohime lets him, but gives him a box that she says will protect him, but he must never open it.
When Urashima gets back to land, everything's changed drastically. No one he knows is around anymore, his house and mother are gone. When he asks around, he finds out that 300 years have passed so everyone he knows is dead. In his grief he opens the box, where a white smoke comes out and ages him rapidly, eventually turning him to dust, because the box actually held his old age.
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So Urashima goes to Ryūgū-jō-- the Palace of the Dragon God-- where he meets Ryujin and his daughter Otohime, who's changed from a turtle to a beautiful woman. He stays with Otohime for three days, but soon asks to return to the land so that he can see his aging mother. Otohime lets him, but gives him a box that she says will protect him, but he must never open it.
When Urashima gets back to land, everything's changed drastically. No one he knows is around anymore, his house and mother are gone. When he asks around, he finds out that 300 years have passed so everyone he knows is dead. In his grief he opens the box, where a white smoke comes out and ages him rapidly, eventually turning him to dust, because the box actually held his old age.