Otohime is Ryujin's daughter and the mistress of the Dragon Palace. In the tale of Urashima Tarō, she hosts the fisherman in her underwater realm and gives him the tamatebako box upon his departure.
Urashima Tarō and Otohime became lovers during his stay at Ryūgū-jō. Their romance in the Dragon Palace beneath the waves lasted what seemed like days but was centuries in the world above.
Otohime pressed the tamatebako into Urashima Tarō's hands as a parting gift when he left the Dragon Palace, warning him that he must never open it. The box held his stolen years — a final thread binding him to the sea princess's underwater world.
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