One day, however, a dead body was found lying in the well, that of a servant who had come to fetch water
- Date of account
- Traditional material presented in a work published 1913
- Source
- Myths & Legends of Japan
- Reference
- Myths & Legends of Japan · selected passage 92
- Rights
- public_domain
- Language
- English retelling of Japanese traditions
- Translation
- F. Hadland Davis
- Record updated
- 2026-08-24
Record summary
One day, however, a dead body was found lying in the well, that of a servant who had come to fetch water
Published source text
Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.
Source passage
Source text · mention onlyOne day, however, a dead body was found lying in the well, that of a servant who had come to fetch water. In his case suicide was out of the question, and it seemed impossible that he should have accidentally fallen in. When Matsumura heard of the fatality he went to inspect the well. To his surprise the water stirred with a strange rocking movement. When the motion lessened he saw reflected in the clear water the form of a fair young woman. She was touching her lips with _beni_. At length she smiled upon him. It was a strange smile that made Matsumura feel dizzy, a smile that blotted out everything else save the beautiful woman's face. He felt an almost irresistible desire to fling himself into the water in order that he might reach and hold this enchanting woman.
Historical context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyThis is a passage from a historical religious or interpretive text. Its genre, manuscript history, translation and place within its own tradition are part of the evidence and must remain visible.
Modern context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyLattice can compare the passage's descriptive features with later reports, but resemblance does not turn a vision, angel, mythic creature or sacred narrative into a modern incident report.
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