There’s a certain legend about Otowa Pond.

In the past, there was a girl named Otowa. She was well-behaved and beautiful. Everyone in the village loved her.

One summer day, she went out to pick plants with the other village girls. She became so enthralled in the activity that she lost track of the others and became separated from them. By the time she realized this, she’d found herself in a deep fog. As she hopelessly walked around, she found a small water puddle. When she used it to clean the dirt from her clothes, the earth split apart, and a pond boomed forth.

A portly man’s voice echoed from the bottom of the pond.

“Otowa, I’ve been waiting for a beautiful girl like you. I’ll go to receive you as my wife in three days.”
She returned to the temple, trembling, and told the priest everything that had happened. The priest told her that everyone has their own fate and that it was useless to try and fight it. He told her to silently accept her fate.

Three days later, there was the sound of thunder and the Guardian of the Pond appeared in the form of a serpent. The priest held back his surprise and instead yelled at the serpent. “You can’t appear in front of her in that form! Come back as a human!” The serpent silently left after declaring he’d return in three days' time. He warned that he would destroy the village with a powerful storm if Otowa was not given to him as his bride.

Otowa, though frightened, made up her mind to offer herself to save the village. The villagers cried and reluctantly said their farewells. Then, three days passed.

There was the sound of hooves and the serpent now had taken the form of a young samurai. Otowa entrusted her keepsakes to the priest and told the villagers that she would protect their happiness. After this, the samurai picked her up and disappeared with her into the darkness.

After that, there was a thick fog in the mountains that lasted for seven days. On the eighth day, it cleared up and there was a new pond. In the middle of it was a floating island. The villagers began whispering amongst themselves that it was a sign that Otowa had been accepted as his bride. It was a sign that she’d saved the village and become their protective deity.