Parallels Between Cowboy Bebop and the Folktale of Urashima Taro, by Paul Binkley
The story of Urashima Tarō is one of Japan’s oldest folktales. It tells the story of a young fisherman who saves the life of a tortoise and is rewarded by being taken to the Dragon King’s palace under the sea. Here, the tortoise is revealed to be a beautiful princess. The princess promises to be his bride and live with him in the palace in eternal happiness. Urashima spends his time at the palace in absolute happiness; he lives his life as if in a dream. After three days, however, he realizes he has spent this time so happily that he has forgotten his former life and parents. He insists that he must go and visit them, but promises to return. The princess is deeply saddened and gives him a parting gift, the tamate-bako (a beautiful box), but cautions him to never open it. When he returns to his house, a strange man answers the door and acknowledges that someone named Urashima Tarō did live in that house once, but that was 300 years ago. His time in the palace was happily stateless and oblivious to the passage of time. Urashima grimly realizes that he had been away for three hundred years, rather than three days. He opens the tamate-bako, thinking it surely will contain something to aid him. Smoke rises out of the box and Urashima suddenly becomes old and dies; time had caught up with him.
This story is told directly by Jet in Session 18 of Cowboy Bebop, but its theme is echoed throughout the series. The most direct, literal example is in Session 6: “Sympathy for the Devil”. In this episode, a child has survived for many years while maintaining the appearance of youth. When Spike shoots him with a specially-equipped bullet, age is restored to the boy and he dies.
Connected to Session 18, Faye’s story is another echo of the tale of Urashima Tarō. Faye embodies more of the grim acknowledgement of the passing of time, rather than the state of happiness Urashima experienced while in the palace. The tape the crew retrieves can be equated to the tamate-bako, as it reveals the first hint of her true age and long absence from the world. Her tragic realization is fulfilled when she recovers her memory of her past and, like Urashima, travels to her home to find that her family has long been gone from her (now destroyed) home. Also like Urashima, Faye has experienced eternal youth. While her “tamate-bako” does not take away her youth, it does represent the confirmation that her old life is gone.
This folktale also has parallels in Cowboy Bebop’s main plotline, the story of Spike. In the beginning, it seems as if Spike was “saved” by Julia from his current life. In Julia, he sees the chance for eternal happiness, but his later meetings with Julia may better fit the legend. More importantly, the Bebop itself seems to be Spike’s palace. His life aboard the Bebop is nearly stateless; his life there seems to be virtually eternal and unthreatened. Conflict after conflict is overcome and the long-term situation remains unchanged. Damage to the Bebop, physical injuries, the world around them, and their financial situations occasionally fluctuate, but always seem to bring them back to where they began. Jet’s comment that “It has been three years since I teamed up with you” also seems to be another parallel to Urashima’s stay in the palace. While it is also perhaps an homage to a stable aspect of Japanese society, the Bebop being built from an old fishing ship could be a parallel to the former profession of Urashima Tarō. Almost without exception, Spike seems happy with this life in his own way. Though in a more grim tone than Urashima, Spike comments that ever since he lost his eye, he has felt as if he was living in a dream.
I would further suggest that Vicious himself is the embodiment of Spike’s tamate-bako. He is in many ways Spike’s doppelgänger. Despite his appearance of old age, Vicious is officially listed to be the same age as Spike, 27. This amounts to him being a sort of reflection of Spike, but also a grim specter of old age and death. In Session 26 Vicious says to Spike that “.I’m the only one who can kill you and set you free.” This suggests a comparison to the tamate-bako and that Vicious is a “box” that Spike can “open” at any time, but that it would mean accepting his own death. For the most part Spike has the option of never opening the box, running away and staying in his stateless life, just as Urashima has the option to never open his tamate-bako. But for both, they are eventually compelled to accept the truth and come to terms with their mortality and fate.
Like Urashima, time catches up to Spike. The first substantial change to Spike’s previously stateless life is the departure of Ed. Primarily, however, the changes of state occur in “Real Folk Blues part I and II”. Suddenly, in Sessions 25 and 26, physical injuries and damage to the Bebop seem far more permanent than before. Statelessness seems to suddenly be gone from the story. With this, Spike returns to his past. After exiting the “palace”, Spike’s hope to return to Julia and live happily becomes impossible as Julia is killed. Spike opens his own tamate-bako and faces Vicious. While Spike is victorious, his past is still gone and he is fatally injured.
When examining the series through a lens of symbolism and subtext the characters and the plotline of Cowboy Bebop echo the classic folktale of Urashima Tarō. Both the personalities of the characters and the overall atmosphere of the show seem to reflect a feeling of being outside of the world looking in, a general sense of not belonging. Ultimately the characters need to accept that their place in the world is fading or gone, and that they need to follow suit.”
Ploutre | 09-Dec-07 at 9:13 am | Permalink
I just enjoy reading all the essays I can find here.
Once again, it shows how Cowboy Bebop reaches beyond the main plot. Each episode is like one little story that starts and ends, but no, definitely no, it’s part of a whole thing.
I don’t really agree on the Vicious being Spike’s image, old reflection of himself. I think Vicious is more likely to be some kind of how would have Spike ended if he had taken the bad turn. But that’s only me.
It’s true though that Spike seems to be out of time, never ageing, living in the Bebop. It’s something that came up again in another work of Shinichiro Watanabe, Samurai Champloo, as Mugen, one of the main character appears to be exactly like Spike, out of time.
(I recommend to every Cowboy Bebop fan to buy and watch Samurai Champloo. I found both very close in fact.)
Paul | 11-Dec-07 at 4:24 am | Permalink
I didn’t necessarily mean he is an old version of Spike, as much as I meant he represents death itself and that he appears to be older than he is. But I do agree with your portrayal of Vicious being the person Spike would be with a small change of events.
Creek1 | 14-Jun-08 at 4:35 am | Permalink
You know what Paul? This is a very interesting esssay, I must say. I truly enjoyed reading this and I learned something new about Japanese folklore. I really appreciate you posting this up and sharing it with the rest of us Bebopers. And the comparison between Spike, Vicious, Jet, Faye, The Bebop and the folktale, I think is, uncanny…I see it..Thank You and please post more.
Animedevildog | 12-Nov-08 at 12:42 pm | Permalink
Very interesting information. It will be useful in my development ofa CB Bebop based novel. It is interesting to note that Laughing Bull referred to a star falling being a great warrior passing. Vicious, being like a dark twin to Spike, would seem to be a great warrior in that sense. Could that falling star actually been for Vicious, where it is known that he DID die? Even Wantanabe stated that he isn’t sure whether or not Spike died. So, who opened who’s tamate-bako?
likke | 08-Feb-09 at 2:20 pm | Permalink
That’s a very interesting essay and I’m glad that people still discuss Cowboy Bebop. I didn’t know this story and I’ll definitely watch ep 18 again.
Jet tells another great story in The Real Folk Blues- about men always looking back. Its a reference to the Hemingway short story “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”, which is one of my favourite stories ever.
All those layers, the subtlety and depth make Cowboy Bebop to one of the most intelligent animes created.
Yoruno | 11-Mar-09 at 11:57 am | Permalink
Speaking of The Snows of Kilimanjaro, does anybody want to write an essay on it? Telling it in the context of Bebop events actually implies that Jet is going to die and Faye will be left alone in the desert. I would have tried to develop it, but I’m not a native speaker, and, then, I would like first to find out the roots of Spike’s story of a cat. Someone argued it was another Hemingway’s story but I failed to find it.
likke | 14-Mar-09 at 9:45 am | Permalink
I’ve read somewhere that the cat story is also a japanese folk tale. I’m not sure though, and I couldn’t dig up this little piece of information anymore.
Concerning The Snows: I wouldn’t have interpreted it the way you do, Yoruno. I think it might be quite interesting to see how the two of us would interpret it. However, I don’t really have that much time on my hands right now.