World and Lore / Kyoto mystery

A Divine Embrace

There is a curious legend about the Chidorigafuchi Deep Pool in Arashiyama. The son of a poor fisherman once fell madly in love with a merchant's daughter, but their union was not to be. Heartbroken, the young man left home to serve as a monk in an old temple. One day, the man thought he caught a glimpse of his erstwhile love entering the temple hall, so he ran after her as fast as his legs would carry him. But upon arriving, he saw that it was really a statue of Kannon Bodhisattva, that he had mistaken for his heart's desire. The man tried to love the statue as if it were the girl so dear to him. However, this only left him feeling empty, and tragic though it is to relate, he took his own life. Sometime later, the young man's father was at sea fishing when he felt something in his net heavier than anything he had caught before. Overjoyed, he drew in the bumper catch, only to discover that it was in fact the body of his son, his arms tightly wrapped around a statue of Kannon.