The Birthplace of a Legendary Tragic Story in Ohara, Kyoto

Hanajiri-np-mori Forest is near Hanajiri-bashi Bus Stop by Hanajiri-bashi Bridge.  The forest has a branch shrine of Ebumi Shrine.

Once, when the lord of Wakasa Province was heading for Kyoto through Ohara, a pretty village girl named Otsu caught his eye, and was called over to his domain.  She spent days, feeling as if she were dreaming.  Before long, however, she got ill.  The lord transferred his affections for her to another woman, and returned Otsu to her home village.

Days passed by, and the lord was passing through Ohara again on his way to Kyoto.  When he and his suite were passing over Hanajiri Bridge across Takano-gawa River, Otsu burst into the procession out of sorrow and jealousy, with her untied hair flying like a snake.  Matsuda Gendayu, one of the lord’s samurais, killed her with a slash of the sword for her rude misconduct.  She was beheaded, with her body buried in Hanajiri-no-mori Forest.