Many people who visit Naramachi will hear the legend of Uneme, from which a Noh play “Uneme” is also based on. The story goes that a monk traveled to Nara, where he met a woman. While showing him around Sarusawa Pond, she told the monk a legend about an emperor who, long ago, tried to court a handmaiden. While he loved her, the Emperor lost more and more of his affection for her, until finally, she drowned herself in the pond out of sadness.

Finally, she confesses that she’s the ghost of that handmaiden, and fades to the bottom of the pond. The monk turns to the pond and reads a sutra. Then, the handmaiden appears, beautiful in the moonlight, whirling as she recalls the past. She regains her lost heart and then fades away once more. Knowing this legend may change what you see when you look at this calligraphy. This room also happens to be located directly over the Uneme Shrine.