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The Legend of the Wool

What is the tragic love story, "The Legend of the Saijo"? The shadow of legend that remains in modern times [Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture]

There are also Uneme Street, a main road that stretches east to west through the city, and Uneme Festival, a summer tradition held every August. "unome" that appears in the midst of life in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture comes from the legend of the unimon (unome legend) 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 saime is a court lady who works in the ancient imperial court . It could be used by the emperor or empress, and his job was to eat and take care of his surroundings. Why did a legend named after the Saijo remain in Fukushima, Tohoku, 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 above-mentioned story of Saijo, which tells the tragic love between Haruhime and Jiro, is a story that has been told in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture. However, in Nara City, where the ancient capital was located , there is a story also known as the "Legend of the Caime." It is written in Yamato Monogatari written during 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.

These legends of Saijo became a connection, and Koriyama City and Nara City signed sister cities in 1971. This was the catalyst for the two cities to deepen their friendship. A friendly delegation from Nara City visits Koriyama City's summer tradition the Unee Festival In addition, at Sarusawaike in Nara City, a regular festival was held on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, where the Saijo-e was said to have thrown himself in, and a friendly delegation 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. This area is filled with rural scenery, with fields spreading loosely at the foot of the mountains rich in nature. You can see the shadows of the legend in Yamanoi Rural Park which is set up at Yamanoi, which is said to be the setting for the legendary legend of Saime

"Yamanoi Shimizu," which is said to have entered the water at the end of the story . Although it is a small, it is somewhat mysterious to see it carrying the clear surface. It looks like it has been changing the world for a long time.

Nearby is Kameme Shrine, which is dedicated to Haruhime.

also "I will not think of the shallow heart of the mountain well that sways the shadow of Asaka Koyama" that is left in the Manyoshu refers to Yamanoi's Shimizu, and there is a poem monument in the park.

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.

Uneme Park <Information>

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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?

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