Sarusawa Pond

This guide to Sarusawa Pond in Nara centers on Uneme, a lady-in-waiting at the old imperial court who lost the emperor's favor and, rather than stay on unwanted, drowned herself here. It follows the shrine Nara's people built on the bank afterward to calm her spirit, and the local belief that the shrine itself could not bear to watch the water and spun around overnight to face away from it. You'll also hear about the harvest-moon festival that still reenacts the story each September, with a procession, dragon boats, and an offering carried out onto the pond in her memory.