In the past, the center of the Wakasa was the Onyu area. In time, this shifted along the coastline to the area of Obama. Obama Castle was built in the Edo Period, when the area entered a decisive period of development that resulted in the construction of a castle town comprising the Obama Nishigumi and Obama Market areas. There is also a legend about “youth” that lies quietly in a cave along the shoreline.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl who was born in Obama. Over time the girl grew older, and one day she ate the “flesh of a mermaid” that her father brought back from the palace of the Dragon King. Her body changed, and even though she grew older, she never looked a day over 16. Once she reached the age of 120, she left her hometown and became a nun traveling all over the country planting camellia seeds and performing miracles. One day, she was spotted in Kyoto at the age of 800 during the Muromachi Period and appeared to have become an old woman. Maybe she had tired of living on as those around her all passed away. After this, she returned to the Obama area. Upon entering this cave she said, “Once the camellias have all wilted, know that I have attained Buddhahood.” She was never seen again.

This nun is often referred to as Happyakubikuni, and if she was 800 years old when she was last seen in the Muromachi Period, then this would have coincided with the first water-sending ritual at Todai-ji. However, it is said that Happyakubikuni was born in Unose, and you can find her grave there. On top of this, at Shiraishi Shrine in Unose, the grounds are covered in camellias and when they give flower offerings during the water ritual, they always offer camellia blossoms. Just who was Happyakubikuni? Was she actually Wakasa-hime, or maybe a living witness of history? Who knows.

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