Japanese immortality tale, Davis retelling
Land of Perpetual Youth
Sentaro prays at Jofuku's shrine while seeking perpetual life and receives a paper crane that grows large enough to carry him. It takes him to the Land of Perpetual Youth, whose inhabitants cannot obtain the death they desire. After three hundred years, he returns and accepts an ordinary human lifespan.
Also known as Sentaro's deathless land · Country without death or birth
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In the sources
A journey following a prayer
TraditionalDavis describes Sentaro praying at Jofuku's shrine and receiving a paper crane that expands greatly. The gift becomes the means by which he travels to the unfamiliar land.
A deathless land that disappoints its visitor
TraditionalThe account says its inhabitants long to die but cannot. Sentaro grows weary, returns after three hundred years, and resolves to accept the usual span of human life.
Context & interpretation
This entry follows the short Sentaro episode in Davis's Fuji chapter, without identifying a real location or a proven means of prolonging life. It is not automatically merged with other traditions of immortal islands or with Fuji itself.
Original passages
Source 1
Myths and Legends of Japan
a small paper crane, which expanded to a vast sizeOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Chapter IX, printed p. 133
Read directly from the active prepared scan; line breaks and spacing normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0052-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0052-E001-P0149
- Original scan leaf
- 169
- Recorded leaf number
- 169
- Current Reader position
- 148
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Myths and Legends of Japan
the country where there was no death and no birth.Open this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Chapter IX, printed p. 134
Read directly from the active prepared scan; line breaks and spacing normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0052-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0052-E001-P0150
- Original scan leaf
- 170
- Recorded leaf number
- 170
- Current Reader position
- 149
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed