[Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture] What is the tragic love story “Legend of Uneme”? The shadow of a legend that remains even today

There is the main road ``Uneme Street'' that stretches from east to west in the city, and the ``Uneme Festival'', a summer tradition held every August. The word "uneme", which appears in every aspect of life in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, originates from the legend of Uneme that remains in this area.

This time, we will introduce the legend of Uneme that is passed down in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture.

What kind of story is “The Legend of Uneme”?

A woman is a female official who worked in the ancient imperial court. Their job was to serve the Emperor and Empress and take care of their meals and personal needs. Why did the legend of the name Uneme remain in the Tohoku region of Fukushima, which is far from the capital? It's strange, isn't it?

The content of the story is like this.

Approximately 1,300 years ago, Asaka-no-Sato in Mutsu Province (present-day Koriyama City) suffered from severe cold weather, making it impossible to pay tribute to the imperial court.
For this reason, a visiting envoy, King Katsuragi, came from the capital of Nara.
The villagers complained of their plight and asked for exemption from paying tribute.

However, his request was not heard. That night, a banquet was held to entertain the king, and the king gazed upon Haruhime, the village chief's daughter.

Haruhime entertains the king with all her heart, and even the shadow of Mt. Asaka can be seen.
Why is Haruhime in such a bad mood that she does not think of the shallow heart of the mountain?
At the foot of Mt. Asaka, there is a mountain well called Shimizu. The shadow of Mt. Asaka is reflected on the surface of the water, making it appear to be a shallow well, but somehow, the water is very deep.
In the same way, our love for the king is very deep.

Please calm down.

He presented the poem with a poem

from ``Azaka Chame and Her Era'' (written by Masaaki Imaizumi) The king was very pleased and agreed to exempt Haruhime from paying tribute for three years on the condition that she be presented as the emperor's bride.

Haruhime had a fiancée named Jiro with whom she had a mutual love, and they broke up to hold back her sadness. In the capital, Haruhime was favored by the emperor, but on the day of the harvest moon in mid-autumn, when she missed Jiro, she hung a robe on a willow tree by Sarusawa Pond, making it look like she had taken a bath, and she lost her love to Jiro. I headed to Asaka where I was waiting.

When Haruhime arrives at her village, she learns of her Jiro's death, and on a snowy night, she follows him and throws herself into the clear water of the same mountain well as her Jiro.
Spring has finally arrived in Michinoku's Asaka village, and beautiful, nameless pale purple flowers are blooming all around the clear water of the mountain well. Without anyone telling her, she spread the rumor that their eternal love was united underground and became this flower.

(Source: Koriyama Uneme Festival Executive Committee homepage )

Haruhime falls in love with the king, and in order to protect the village, she tearfully breaks up with her fiancé, Jiro, and becomes a woman. However, Haruhime, who cannot forget Jiro, pretends that she has entered Sarusawa Pond and finally returns to her hometown. There, she learns of Jiro's death, and Haruhime is so sad that she throws herself into Shimizu.

This story tells of a sad love story between two people, but in reality, this story has another side to it, located in the distant capital of Nara City.

The legend of Uneme also exists in Nara City.

The story of Uneme, which tells the story of the tragic love between Haruhime and Jiro mentioned above, is handed down from generation to generation in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture. However, in Nara City, the ancient capital of Japan, there is a similar story called the ``Legend of Uneme.'' It is written in the Yamato Monogatari written in the Heian period.

The legend of Nara's Une-me is that the Une-me, who was favored by the Emperor, mourned the Emperor's change of heart and threw herself into a willow tree on the banks of Sarusawa Pond.

As if to symbolize this story, there is Umeme Shrine on the banks of Sarusawa Pond in Nara, which is said to have been built to comfort the woman. Kameme Shrine in Nara is different from other shrines in that it is built facing the opposite direction with the torii gate behind it. Legend has it that the spirit of Uneme, unable to bear the sight of the pond in which she threw herself, turned the shrine building in the opposite direction overnight.

The legend of Uneme was left in two distant places, Koriyama and Nara. Although not everything matches, it is interesting that there are many things in common.

Due to these legends, Koriyama City and Nara City signed a sister city relationship in 1971. This was an opportunity for the two cities to deepen their friendship. A goodwill mission from Nara City visits Koriyama City for the ``Uneme Festival,'' a summer tradition in Koriyama City. In addition, a regular festival is held at Sarusawa Pond in Nara City on the day of the harvest moon, when Uneme is said to have thrown herself, and a goodwill mission from Koriyama City is visiting Nara City.

Yamanoi Rural Park (Uneme Park), the birthplace of the Uneme legend

Katahira Town is located in the western part of Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture. It is an area with a rural landscape, where fields spread out at the foot of mountains rich in nature. You can see the shadow of the legend at Yamanoi Rural Park, which is located in a mountain well that is said to be the setting for the legend of Uneme.

First of all, there is the ``Shimizu of the Mountain Well'' where Haruhime is said to have taken a dip at the end of the story. Although the water is small, there is something mysterious about its clear water surface. It looks like it has been exposed to the changes of the world over a long period of time.

Nearby is Kameme Shrine, which is dedicated to Haruhime.

In addition, there is a theory that the poem ``Asakayama Asaka, looking at the shadow of the shallow mountain well, without thinking of the shallow heart,'' which is left in the Manyoshu, refers to the clear water of the mountain well, and there is a monument of the poem in the park. there is.

In addition, there is a walking course in the park that goes around a large pond. There are no major roads, so it's very quiet, and you can enjoy seasonal flowers such as wisteria and lotus, so we recommend taking a leisurely stroll.

INFORMATION

• Facility name: Yamanoi Rural Park (Uneme Park)
• Address: 11-1 Yamanoi, Katahira-cho, Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture
• Inquiry number: 024-951-5080 (Katahira Administration Center)

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summary

This time, we introduced the legend of Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, the legend of Uname.

The legend of Uneme, passed down in Koriyama City, is a sad love story between Haruhime and Jiro. On the other hand, I find it interesting that there is a story that bears the same name even in the distant capital of Nara City.

In the birthplace of the Unme legend, there are still spots related to the legend. Why not visit while praying that the love between the two has come to fruition?