[Biographies of Famous Women of Past and Present] Matsura Sayohime
There was a beautiful maiden in Sayo District, Harima Province, named Sayohime. Otomo no Sadehiko summoned and courted her, and in the passion of a single night, he gave her a hundred years of life, yet she followed him down. As she watched the ship rowing away from the sea of Matsura, she called out and screamed, but there was nothing to answer her beyond the sound of the waves, and it is said she eventually died of grief. Her devotion is truly moving.
The mountain the princess climbed at that time was named "Hire-furi-no-take" (The Peak of Waving Scarves), and Sayohime was worshipped as a deity; there is a small shrine on that mountain even now. It is said that she turned into stone, but this is an unbelievable, absurd story; it is likely that people forced this interpretation because there is a stone that resembles a human figure.
The string is broken, the kite is gone, I know not where it goes.
* "Sadehiko" refers to Otomo no Sadehiko, a military commander during the Yamato period.
* "Rowing away from the sea of Matsura" refers to the time when Otomo no Sadehiko crossed the sea in the second year of Emperor Senka (537 AD) to save Mimana, which had been invaded by Silla.
* "Forced interpretation" means to distort the facts and make up a story.
* The reading "sato" for "kite" (紙鳶) might be a misreading. "Shien" (紙鳶) refers to a kite. Also known as "ikanobori".
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Although she is depicted in Edo-period style, Sayohime was a woman who lived in the first half of the 6th century during the Yamato period.
Dates of birth and death unknown (Yamato period)
It is said that the episode involving Sayohime is the reason why Mt. Kagami in Karatsu (Saga Prefecture) came to be called "Hirefuriyama" (The mountain where one waves a scarf).
A "hire" is a cloth that women in ancient times draped over their shoulders and hung down on both sides; it corresponds to the white cloth in the figure below.
Source: National Diet Library Digital Collections "Yuko-se Vol. 1"
Why did Sayo wave her hire on top of this mountain? It was out of sorrow for parting with her beloved.
"Biographies of Famous Japanese Women, Vol. 2"
Sayo waved her hire from the top of this mountain toward Otomo no Sadehiko as he crossed the sea to Mimana.
Even after the ship was no longer visible, Sayo continued to wave her hire. The parting from her most beloved was so painful and sad that Sayo's life eventually faded away.
"Mirror of Great Japanese Commanders"
Although Sayohime is considered a legendary figure, since Otomo no Sadehiko is a real person recorded in the Nihon Shoki and other texts, I believe there must have been a woman who served as the motif for her.
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Let us look at the state of Japan at that time.
The reign of the 28th Emperor, Senka. In the second year of Emperor Senka (537 AD), Silla invaded Mimana, where the Japanese government office was located.
To save Mimana and Baekje from crisis, Otomo no Sadehiko, acting under the Emperor's orders, crossed the sea from Karatsu. This parting became the legend of Sayohime.
I will quote the relevant section from the 'Nihon Shoki' (Chronicles of Japan).
In the winter of the second year (Tingsi), the first day of the tenth month, Ren-chen. The Emperor, because Silla was acting against Mimana, issued an imperial decree to the Great Muraji Otomo no Kanamura, sending his son Iwa and Satehiko to assist Mimana. At this time, Iwa remained in Tsukushi to govern the country and prepare against the Three Han states. Satehiko went on to pacify Mimana and also save Baekje.
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Regarding the birth of Sayo, 'Biographies of Famous Women of the Past' identifies her as being from Sayo District in Harima Province. On the other hand, the 'Fudoki of Hizen Province,' compiled in the early Nara period, records that she was Otohimeko of Shinohara Village in Hizen Province.
The story of Otohimeko differs regarding the events after their separation, unfolding as follows:
Five days after Otohimeko parted from Satehiko, a man began to appear in her bedchamber every night. When she followed the man, who looked very much like Satehiko, she found him lying asleep by the swamp on the peak of Hirefuri. His body was human, but his head was the incarnation of a snake... Her attendant maidservant rushed to inform her family, but by the time the people arrived at the swamp, there was no sign of Otohimeko or the snake incarnation; only a corpse was submerged at the bottom of the swamp. The people retrieved it, built a grave to the south of the peak, and buried her.
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Is Sayo-hime truly the daughter from Sayo District in Harima Province, or is she Otohimeko from Shinohara Village in Hizen Province...?
Source: National Diet Library Digital Collections, 'Musha Kagami: Ichimei Niso-awase, Minami-den 2'
Satehiko was the third son of Otomo no Kanamura, a Great Muraji and a powerful local magnate based in the Kinki region.
It is not unnatural that he might have brought a daughter from Harima Province to Karatsu, nor is it unnatural that he might have met a daughter from Hizen Province while there.
Which is the truth, we have no way of knowing now.
One thing I think is that in Karatsu, Matsura District, which served as a base for crossing to the Korean Peninsula, there were many partings of men and women both in Sayo-hime's time and in later eras, and I believe many women projected their own circumstances onto the legend of Sayo-hime.
To the right of 'Hirefuri Mountain' on the map above, you can see the characters for 'Nagoya.' This is the location where Nagoya Castle was built, which served as a base for Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Bunroku-Keicho campaigns (invasions of Korea).
Source: National Diet Library Digital Collections, 'Complete Map of Japanese Prefectures'
Furthermore, I believe the fact that poems composed by Yamanoue no Okura were preserved in the 'Man'yoshu' also became a factor in why this story of tragic love in Matsura has been passed down for so long. I will introduce five of those poems below.
A person from afar, Matsura Sayohime, from the moment she waved her scarf in longing for her husband, the mountain bears her name.
Perhaps it is to pass down the name of the mountain that Sayohime waved her scarf on this mountainside.
Is it to pass down the name of the mountain that Sayohime waved her scarf on this mountainside?
『Biographies of Famous Japanese People』
Intending for it to be told for ten thousand generations, it seems Matsura Sayohime waved her scarf on this peak.
Matsura Sayohime
Wishing for the ship sailing off into the ocean to return, Matsura Sayohime must have waved her scarf.
Matsura Sayohime
Unable to stop the departing ship with her waving, how she must have longed for him, Matsura Sayohime.
Matsura Sayohime
Source: National Diet Library Digital Collections 『Brief Commentary on the Manyoshu, Vol. 9 (Book 5)』
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The string has snapped, and though I know not where the kite goes, it drifts away.
References: "True Stories, Vol. 36-39 (True Account of Matsura Sayohime)", "Biographies of One Hundred Japanese Generals (The Story of Otomo no Sadehiko)", "Great Japanese Biographical Dictionary, April 1886 (Matsura Sayohime)", "Waka Kuretake Collection)", "Defense of Historical Folklore (The Deeds of Matsura Sayohime are Historical Fact)", "Mirror of Famous Women of Great Japan, Past and Present)", "New Lectures on the Manyoshu)", "Records of Japanese Religious Customs (The Story of Hirefuri-yama)", "New Lectures on the Manyoshu (Poem on the Peak of the Scarf-Waving)", "Ancient Meanings of the Manyoshu, Vol. 5)", "Saga Prefecture Gazetteer (Hirefuri-yama)", "Thirty-Six Beauties of Good and Evil: Matsura Sayohime" (National Diet Library Digital Collections)
Author's Note: I will update this as appropriate when I discover newly deciphered characters or notice typos or misreadings. For details, please read the "Self-Introduction / Disclaimer" page. 📖