"Princess Akoya" - A Yamagata Folktale

A long, long time ago, there lived a princess who was talented at playing the koto. One night, while she was playing her koto, she heard the sound of a flute. As the sound grew closer, the man playing the flute approached her. “My name is Saemontarō. I was drawn to you by the beautiful sound of your koto.” Every night from then on, the man harmonized to the melody of the princess’s koto with his flute.

However, on one late fall evening, the man said, “In truth, I am an ancient pine tree from Mt. Chitose, in the land of Mogami. I regret to tell you that this is the last night I can visit you.” As he imparted these final words, he disappeared before the princess’s eyes.

Around this time, a large bridge on Natori River was washed away by a flood, and the villagers were puzzling over finding a tree large enough to replace it. They decided to cut the ancient pine tree from Mt. Chitose. However, no matter how hard the lumberjacks tried, the ancient pine would not yield.

The princess was begged by the villagers to visit the pine tree. Upon her visit, the great pine, which had not budged until then, began to sway as if it were a ship floating on water. And so, without further event, the ancient pine tree was cut down and brought all the way to the coast of Natori River.

By the remains of the pine, the villagers planted a young pine sapling and built a temple. They named the temple “Banshōji”, which means “temple of ten thousand pines”, and there, they prayed for the ancient pine’s happiness in its next life.

Excerpt translated from: 庄内・最上・村山・置賜 山形の昔ばなし　第一集　ページ28−29