Once there was a young fisherman from Tango, called Urashima, who caught a tortoise in his nets but he set it free again. It turned out that his tortoise was one of the sea-king’s daughters in disguise. The tortoise / girl invited the young man to her father’s court where she appeared to him in the shape of a beautiful girl, and then married him. After three days Urashima expressed the wish to see his parents, but when he came back to earth he discovered that 300 years had passed. He himself then died.

In another version, Urashima Taro ages when he opens a box that the dragon king's daughter gave him.

Urashima is still venerated.