A Divine Embrace千鳥ヶ淵の観音像
There is a curious legend about the Chidorigafuchi Deep Pool in Arashiyama.
The son of a poor fisherman once fell madly in love with a merchant's daughter, but their union was not to be. Heartbroken, the young man left home to serve as a monk in an old temple.
One day, the man thought he caught a glimpse of his erstwhile love entering the temple hall, so he ran after her as fast as his legs would carry him. But upon arriving, he saw that it was really a statue of Kannon Bodhisattva, that he had mistaken for his heart's desire.
The man tried to love the statue as if it were the girl so dear to him. However, this only left him feeling empty, and tragic though it is to relate, he took his own life.
Sometime later, the young man's father was at sea fishing when he felt something in his net heavier than anything he had caught before.
Overjoyed, he drew in the bumper catch, only to discover that it was in fact the body of his son, his arms tightly wrapped around a statue of Kannon.
So it finally happened. The woman I adore has gone and taken a samurai as a husband...
Well, I should have known things would work out this way. I mean, we come from such different worlds, she and I. I know that, and yet still my heart aches. Ah, the pain! It's so much worse than I imagined it would be. I fear I will lose my mind!
That's it. There is nothing left for me to do but leave home and become a monk!
想い続けていた女性が、武士に嫁いでいった。 僕と彼女は身分が違う。所詮は叶わぬ恋だったんだ。 しかし心が乱れ、正気を失わんばかりに苦しい。 出家して俗世から離れることにしよう。
Ah, it's just no use! Though I have turned my back on worldly things, still her face haunts my dreams. Oh, I simply must see her again!
...Wait! C-Can it be!? Is that not her standing there so serenely in the temple hall? My love! You don't have to tell me—I already know! You couldn't bear to live without me and now here you are! We are reunited!
Dearest, we are alone together at last. And I promise we will never be apart again! Oh, we will be so happy, you and me, wrapped up in our love. And no one will ever come between us...
But wait—what am I saying!? What am I doing!? No... No, no, no! You are not her! And you never will be!
So it's true. I really have lost my mind! Nay, I surely lost it the day she left to wed that samurai...
This is the end. Farewell cruel world! ...Oh, But won't you join me? Yes, let us go together into the darkness!
My son once loved a girl, but she married another and my boy was never the same again. He left home soon after without so much as a word. Well, what did the foolish boy expect? A fisherman's son could never hope to win the heart of a wealthy merchant's daughter!
I long for the day when he will return to us. But until then, I have my work to distract me. At least the fish have never abandoned me. Alright, boys, prepare to cast the nets! Heave-ho!
...Oh! What's this? We seem to have caught something very sizable indeed! Well, a bumper haul is no substitute for my son, but perhaps it's a sign that my luck is changing!
- Where
- Hozu River district
- Map
- Arashiyama: Hozukyo Gorge
- Region
- Arashiyama
- Hand in to
- Lady Murasaki, Yasaka Shrine
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