The Land of Perpetual Life

The Land of Perpetual Life was a Japanese fairy tale which Toshiko Sato's mother read to Toshiko as a child in Osaka.
It told the story of Sentaro, who sought the eponymous Land of Perpetual Life, but found upon living there that he soon longed for death. (PROSE: Trace Memory)
== Plot ==
The emperor, Shin-no-Shiko, became unhappy at the thought of death and sought the Elixir of Life - a famous potion which would make the drinker live forever. He called on his courtier, Jofuku, to travel to Mount Fuji in search of the elixir, and the hermits who suposedly possessed it.
Upon reaching the age of 33, Sentaro also became saddened by the thought of death and sickness. He wished to live to at least 600 years old. Sentaro had heard stories of long-lived people, such as the Princess of Yamato, who had lived to the age of 500. He had also heard of the emperor's search for the elixir, and too hoped to find the hermits so that he might join them and drink from the water of perpetual life.
Reaching Mount Fuji, Sentaro found no hermits; all that remained was a temple containing the shrine of Jofuku. Sentaro stayed and prayed for seven days, pleading that Jofuku show him the way to the hermits and their elixir. On the night of the seventh day, a door opened and from out of the door came the spirit of Jofuku.
The spirit questioned whether Sentaro could truly live as a hermit. He offered instead to send Sentaro to the Land of Perpetual Life - a place where nobody died and everybody lived forever. The spirit of Jofuku placed in his hands an origami crane and told him to sit on its back - so that it could carry him to the faraway land.
The crane grew until it was bigger than any normal crane, and carried Sentaro away. They flew across the ocean until they reached a faraway land - The Land of Perpetual Life. Sentaro found the people there to be prosperous and wealthy. He settled on the island and found the it was true that nobody ever got sick. But the people there all dreamed of a different land, Horaizan - a land which could only be reached by travelling through the gates of death. Sentaro found he was the only happy man on the island.
After many years however, Sentaro realised that living forever was not as enjoyable as he had thought it would be. He paryed to Jofuku to take him away. They origami crane flew him swiftly away and across the sea towards Japan. Half way croass the sea, they hit a storm, and the paper crane began to crumble. Sentaro fell into the sea. Scared of drowning, Sentaro pleaded with Jofuku to help him, drawing the attention of a shark.
Sentaro awaoke to find himself on the floor of Jofoku's shrine. It had all been a dream. A bright light came towards him - a messenger sent by Jofuku.
Sentaro returned home to live a good life until he became an old man. Upon his death, he went to the Land of Horaizan, where he lived happily ever after. (PROSE: Trace Memory)
== Behind the scenes ==
The acknowledgements page at the end of Trace Memory states that, with one or two alterations, the writer David Llewellyn adapted The Land of Perpetual Life from the real world Japanese fairy tale The Story of the Man Who Did Not Wish to Die, as included in the volume Japanese Fairy Tales by .
Category:Fairy tales