Yoshihiko Taro by Taryn Ichimura of Kaimuki, O'ahu

 

Yoshihiko Taro 

by Taryn Ichimura 

Kaimuki, O'ahu

When I was growing up, my grandpa would always take me fishing off the Waianae coast. He grew up in the area and always turned to the ocean to spend his free time. Time and time again, he told my sisters and I plenty stories about his childhood. About the one pet cow he had, and how for a while he refused to eat any kind of hamburger dish his mom went make for a while after. Or when he swears he had one ulua on his fishing line, but wasn’t strong enough to reel it in. But one time, he told us that when he went fishing along the coast, he found a honu, or sea turtle, stuck among the rocks. As he got closer, he realized the turtle was tied up in old fishing nets and decided to cut it free. All of a sudden, the honu spoke to him and told him “thank you”. Astonished by the fact that the honu could talk and that he could understand him, my grandpa was left speechless. The turtle continued to speak and told my grandpa, “in exchange for the kindness you have shown me, I would like to show you my home.” Despite the obvious risks of following a magical turtle into the ocean, my grandpa’s curiosity got the better of him as he agreed to explore the deep sea. 

He hopped on the honu’s back and descended into the water. As the cold water surrounded him, he realized that he could breath and began to take in all of the colorful sites of the ocean. The honu kept swimming deeper and deeper until he reached an underwater city hidden in volcanic rock. The city was filled with all kinds of sea animals and new creatures my grandpa had never seen before. The honu brought my grandpa to what looked like the city’s palace, where they were both greeted by a princess. My grandpa’s simple act of kindness towards the honu had earned him special recognition, and a personal celebration was held in his honor. A feast was prepared as song and dance filled the palace. Despite having a great time and loving being the center of attention, my grandpa missed his home and family dearly. Per his request, he arranged for the honu to 

bring him back to the shore. But before he left, the princess gave him a black lacquered box and instructed him to never open it. According to her, if he was to open the box, he would age 100 years. Scared into obedience, he accepted the gift and ascended out of the Hawaiian waters. 

“So? You never went open the box or what?” my sister asked. 

“Nah, I listen to directions” my grandpa responded. My grandpa then stood up and walked over to a storage closet in his house. After about a minute of scrounging around, he emerged with a dusty black box in his hands. My immediate reaction was for him to open that box, I was so curious about what was inside. But seeing as how I love my grandpa I also didn’t want to see him age by 100 years...I’m sure he’d never let me even try anyway. I suppressed my curiosity. Now, whenever I find myself in Waianae, I think about this undersea adventure my grandpa had and find myself yearning to explore the wonders the lie beyond the shallow Hawaiian waters. ~~~ January 30, 2019

Taryn’s Process

For my fictional story, I used the Japanese myth of the young boy Urashima Taro. Growing up in a Japanese household, I had many Japanese children’s books with folktales. I tried to adapt this story into something a little more personal to me. I was born and raised in Hawaii, as well did many previous generations in my family. However, I am ethnically full Japanese. So, to tie my heritage into the story I wrote, I wanted to have Urashima Taro’s adventure happen on O’ahu so that it had a Hawaiian and Japanese element. Additionally, I used my grandfather as the main character of my tale for multiple reasons. First, I love my grandpa with all my heart and miss him dearly every day. And second of all, my grandpa did love to fish his whole life, which made him the best person to use as Urashima Taro. I even based the title (Yoshihiko Taro) of my story off of him by using his Japanese name in place of “Urashima” (taro just translates to “boy”).