The Mouse Story

A mouse, Gon-no-kami, sets off for the Kiyomizu Temple to save his offspring from purgatory by marrying a human woman. He does meet and marry a beautiful young woman, but then the fact that he is a mouse comes out, and their marriage collapses. His wife goes into seclusion, while the mouse takes the tonsure and enters the Buddhist priesthood on Mt. Koya. The story, from the couple’s first encounter to their parting, is set against the changing seasons, from cherry blossom viewing at Kiyomizu to winter on Mt. Koya.