Who is Kiyohime?
Kiyohime is the heroine of the “Legend of Anchin and Kiyohime” from Kii Province (today’s Wakayama Prefecture). It is known as a story of fierce passion, in which a girl who fell in love with a traveling monk turned into a giant serpent and chased him out of anger and grief at his betrayal.
The story of Anchin and Kiyohime
Kiyohime, the daughter of an inn, fell in love at first sight with Anchin, a young monk who stayed the night on his pilgrimage to Kumano. Anchin promised to come back on his return journey, but fled by another road. Realizing she had been deceived, Kiyohime chased him barefoot; when the Hidaka River blocked her way, she finally turned into a giant serpent and crossed it. Anchin fled into Dojoji Temple and hid inside the temple bell, which the monks lowered over him, but Kiyohime coiled around the bell, breathed fire and burned him to death inside it.
The Dojoji masterpieces
The original form of the story appears in Heian-period collections of Buddhist tales, and it later inspired many masterpieces known as “Dojoji pieces,” such as the Noh play Dojoji and the kabuki dance Kyokanoko Musume Dojoji. The legend is still told at Dojoji Temple in Hidakagawa, Wakayama Prefecture, where monks explain it using a picture scroll.
