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I first heard about tamate box, Otohime princess and the underwater palace in
One piece but episode 9 of Kaichou wa Maid Sama also contains very similar
references such as the contents of the tamate box make you old, Otohime
princess etc. So I want to know if there exists a local tale or is it just KMS
making a reference to One Piece.


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question
one-piece culture maid-sama
Is there a local folktale regarding underwater palace and tamate box in Japan?


This is the story of [Urashima
Taro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urashima_Tar%C5%8D). It's a famous old
Japanese folktale from the Nara period about a man who saves the Emperor of
the Sea's daughter, Otohime. He is invited to live in the underwater palace
with them. He stays for three days but wants to go visit his mother. He is
given a box by the princess before he leaves, and when he returns to the
surface he finds that it's 300 years later and everyone he knew is dead.
Distraught, he absently opens the box and ages all 300 years at once, because
the box contained his old age.


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