泉いずみ長者ちょうじゃ

Once upon a time, there lived a poor but devout couple named Taro and Hana in Saba District, Yamaguchi Prefecture.

One fine day, Taro fell asleep during a break from his fieldwork

I had a strange dream like that.

Attracted by a pleasant smell drifting from somewhere in his dream, Taro walked and found a small cave, with a spring bubbling up at its depth.

When Taro tried drinking the spring water, it is said to have been very delicious sake.

After a while, when Taro woke up, his face was flushed and his breath smelled of alcohol.

As Taro walked along according to his dream, there was a cave, and just as in the dream, a spring of sake was gushing forth.

This is a revelation from the Buddha, the couple joyfully opened a small liquor store with the springs sake.

Then, the deliciousness of that sake became famous, and it is said that it quickly became the number one sake shop in the Chugoku region.

So, Taro changed his name to Saemontaro and began to lead a life without any inconveniences.

And then the couple prayed to be blessed with children by Nyosai-sama.

Then, eventually, a girl as beautiful as a jewel was born

The couple named the girl Yuri and raised her with care because the temple of the Tathagata was famous for lilies.

Yuri, as her name suggests, grew up to be a beautiful and graceful girl like a white lily.

However, Taro eventually realized that they were lacking status.

There, Taro sent a messenger to the minister of the capital, and in exchange for their greatest treasure, their daughter, he decided to obtain the title of a wealthy man.

In this way, the couple offered their daughter to the minister, became wealthy, and obtained everything they desired.

However, as the long years passed, the couple could not bear the loneliness of not having a daughter, and they fell seriously ill and passed away one after the other.

The daughter, who hurried from the capital, mourned the death of her parents and is said to have built a splendid temple for the Buddha they devoted themselves to.

The spring the couple found suddenly dried up after they passed away, and now it is gone.

However, this couple is still remembered as the Izumi Chouja.