Case file · Sacred site
Ryūgū-jō, the Dragon Palace
Ryūgū-jō is the palace of Ryūjin, the dragon god of the sea, in Japanese tradition, where the fisherman Urashima Tarō is entertained by Princess Otohime and returns to find centuries have passed.
712 CE · 35.68, 135.29 · status: legend
The account
It is linked to the 'fish-scale palace' of the sea god Watatsumi in the Kojiki (712). In many stories the palace lies under the sea; in the older Urashima versions its place is vaguer, and the firmly undersea palace became standard only in modern times. Ryūjin controls tides with jewels and is worshipped by fishermen. The pin is on the Tango coast, home of the oldest Urashima story.
The sceptical view
Mythology and fairytale; the time-slip motif has many parallels worldwide.