Once there was a man by the name Onanatakamura. He had offended the Mikado of his kingdom.
For this reason the Mikado sent the man into exile.
Onanatakamura’s wife loved him dearly and she also wanted to go on excel but the Mikado would not permit her to go on exile with her husband.
She despaired at being separated from her husband. So to help him she decided to go to the Sacred Shrine of Ise and pray for her husband.
This shrine was at the foot of Mount Hi-Yei.
Onanatakamura’s wife was undeterred and she started walking towards the shrine.
However she was not used to walking for such a long time she soon grew tired and sat down to rest under a pine tree.
As she sat down tired she looked into the beautiful country. There bloomed flowers on the pine trees that waved in their green branches and the tall mountains rose high towards the sky and the gentle blowing wind also calmed and rested her.
A farmer came that way. The women turned to the farmer and spoke politely. “Can you please tell me how far it is to the temple of Ise?”
However the farmer was a very rude and unkind man.
Though the farmer knew that the shrine was not very far away he lied to the woman. “The shrine is at least twenty days away.” The farmer told the woman finally.
The woman believed the farmer and she was disappointed. When she heard it she realized that at her slow speed she would never be able to reach the sacred shrine.
Adapted from Japanese Folktales
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