The story bears varying degrees of similarity to folktales from other cultures. "Rip Van Winkle" is the foremost familiar example, although strictly speaking this cannot be called a "folktale", since it is a fictional work by Washington Irving loosely based on folklore. Nevertheless, Urashima has been labeled the "Japanese Rip van Winkle", even in academic folkloristic literature. "Urashima" is also a Japanese metaphor similar to "Rip Van Winkle" for someone who feels lost in a world that has changed in their absence.