While reading Ivan Morris's translation of the Heian diary Sarashina Nikki, which he names As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams, I did a Google search for images associated with the book and stumbled on this blog by Junko Shibata, an illustrator who makes comics based on the classical texts Japanese students read in high school. The panels above concern a man named Takeshiba and the Emperor's favourite daughter. Here's the whole story:
Long ago there was a man of this province with the family name of Takeshiba. The Governor presented him to the Imperial Palace as a guard of watchfires in the fire huts. One day when he was sweeping in the Imperial gardens he chanted to himself, "Why, oh, why have I come to this? At home in my province I have many a jar of wine, and over the jars hang the gourd ladles. They turn to the north when the south wind blows, they turn to the south when the north wind blows, they turn to the east when the west wind blows, they turn to the west when the east wind blows. But now I can see none of it."
The Emperor's favourite daughter, standing by the outer blinds of her Palace leaned against a pillar and gazed at the man. It moved her that he should be singing there by himself, and she was curious about those gourd ladles and how they turned above the jars. Pushing up the blinds, she called, "Come here, my man!"
The guard bowed respectfully and hurried to the edge of the veranda.
"Let me hear that song of yours again!" she said, and he repeated it for her. "Take me there and let me see for myself!" she told him. "This is no idle request."
The man was awestruck but, realizing that the Princess had good reason for her words, he lifted her on his back and set off for Musashi. Since people were bound to give chase, he stopped as they were crossing the Bridge of Seta and set the Princess down. He destroyed a section of the bridge and leapt across the gap. Having seated the Princess on his back again, he walked for seven days and nights until he reached Musashi.
When they were told about their daughter's disappearance, the Emperor and Empress were distraught and looked for her everywhere. Eventually they were informed that a guard had been seen rushing from the Palace with a creature of great fragrance clinging to his neck. A search was ordered and, presuming that he had returned to his province, they sent Imperial messangers in urgent pursuit. Having reached the Bridge of Seta, the messangers found that it had been damaged and were unable to continue the chase.
It took them three months before they finally tracked down the man in Musashi Province. The Princess summoned the Imperial messengers and said, "What I did must have been fated. I was curious about this man's house and told him to bring me here, and so he brought me. And I have found this an excellent place to live in. If the man is punished for this deed, what will become of me? It is no doubt a karma from some previous existence that has made me leave my traces in this province. Go back to the Capital and report this to the Emperor!"
Unable to argue with the Princess, the messengers returned and told the Emperor what they had heard. "There is nothing further to be said," declared His Majesty. "Even if we punish the man, we can no longer bring our daughter back to the Capital. Of course we can never give him the province of Musashi or entrust him with any official business. But I can unconditionally grant the province to the Princess herself."
So the Emperor ordered that a residence be built for them in Musashi in the style of the Imperial Palace, and, when the Princess died, this house became the temple called Takeshiba. Her children were given the family name of Musashi. After that only women were appointed to guard the fire huts.
Ivan Morris (tr.), As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams, pp. 36-38.
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