A Legendary Tragic Story in Ohara, Kyoto

Long long ago, there used to live a pretty girl in Ohara, named Otsu.

One day, when the lord of Wakasa Province was heading for Kyoto through Ohara, She 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.  She was overwhelmed with sorrow, and threw herself into Jogo-ga-fuchi Deep Water in the upper stream of Takano-gawa River in Ohara.  Immediately, her pretty figure turned into a large snake.

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 the lower stream of Takano-gawa River, the large snake made an attack on the party.  One of the lord’s samurais, Matsuda Gendayu, killed the serpent with a slash of the sword.

The villagers buried the serpent’s head in Otsu-no-mori Forest, and its tail in Hanajiri-no-mori Forest.

Today, the morning haze in Ohara, which is believed to be the incarnation of the serpent, forms around Hanajiri-no-mori Forest, developing and trailing up toward Otsu-no-mori Forest, searching for its head.