Visiting the spirit world can cost a mortal centuries of earthly time

Evidence

Urashima’s three days in the Palace of the Dragon King had been three hundred years on land. His parents, his friends, everyone he had ever known — all of them had died long, long ago. He was utterly alone, a stranger in his own village, three centuries out of his time. … The box had been holding his true age — keeping it locked away so long as it stayed closed. The princess’s gift had protected him; her warning had been to keep him safe. But now the years had escaped, and there was no calling them back. — , A Year of World Stories, 8037

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to my reading on forbidden-box and supernatural-time motifs across cultures, e.g. Rip Van Winkle, Rip current folklore work. — connects to: Perspective can come at the cost of one’s life and vision. — Lynch, Thomas, The undertaking-life studies from the…, 437
• QUESTION: Is this the oldest stratum of the ‘time runs differently’ motif worldwide, or does it have earlier analogues?

Broader Connections

• Perspective can come at the cost of one’s life and vision. #expands (0.35) — Lynch, Thomas, The undertaking-life studies from the…, 437