Kinuta (The Fulling Block) : PhotoStory

Lord Ashiya came to the capital for a lawsuit. After three years away from home, he is worried and utilizes the handmaiden Yūgiri.

Lady Ashiya hears the sound of villagers striking a kinuta fulling-block. She tells Yūgiri she wants to find comfort by beating one herself.

Separated from her husband, Lady Ashiya laments that it is difficult to sleep alone for her endless tears.

It is autumn. Lady Ashiya passes the night beating the kinuta while thinking of the ancient Chinese story of Sobu.

The sound of the kinuta being beaten thousands of times to carry her melancholy to her husband joins with the sounds of insects and her tears in the stormy night.

In front of the kinuta, Lord Ashiya miserably regrets the death of his resentful wife.

Drawn by a catalpa bow, the spirit of Lady Ashiya appears.

Silently, her jealous tears turn to flames when they hit the kinuta. Only the accusing voice of one with no escape can be heard.

With endless resentment toward her husband, the spirit of the wife cannot return to the world. When the sutras are read by the husband she accuses, the wife enters Nirvana.