Summery of the story "Meigetsu The Geisha in Hakata"

     During the Sengoku period (1467-1568), there was a deeply religious and beautiful young woman named Meigetsu in a yukaku (brothel) in the Yanagimachi district of Hakata, Fukuoka, Kyushu.
　 She was the daughter of Kuboya Yojiro Kazuaki of Nishikawachi Village, Kuboya County, Bicchu Province, and her real name was O-aki.
     She was married to Kingo Fuseoka, who lived in a neighboring village, but a lordless samurai named Kenmotsu Yagura, who had fallen in love with her, mistakenly killed Kingo's father in an attempt to kill Kingo.
     Kenmotsu ran away to Kyushu and Kingo chased on Kenmotsu to Kyushu to try to find Kenmotsu.
     After several years of search Kingo finally encountered his avenger Kenmotsu on Nagatare Beach in Chikuzen Province (Fukuoka Prefecture nowadays) and successfully avenged his father's death. But he himself was deeply wounded and died.
     The next morning, among the many people running to the west, shouting "There has been an avenging battle," she ran to the beach, only to find Kingo's lifeless body.
     Having lost his father in the battle of Ishiyama Honganji, mother in her absence, and even Kingo, who was her only hope, O-aki lost hope for life and threw herself into the Nagatare Sea. She was rescued, but because of her beauty, she was sold to a brothel in Yanagimachi and given the name "Meigetsu" (meaning "bright moon").
     One day, she visited Mangyo-ji Temple (Gion-machi, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City) to make a memorial service for her deceased parents and her husband, and was moved to tears when she learned that Master Shokai Shichiri, whom she had known during the Battle of Ishiyama Hongwanji, was now the master of Mangyo-ji Temple, saying that she had been brought together by Amida Buddha.
     Meigetsu's heart was so relieved at the thought of having received a light in the dark night that she never missed her daily visit to Mangyo-ji.
     When she could not go there for some reason, she stepped on a garden stone as far as the temple, worshipped there, and threw money into the Ishido River. It is said that the wet coins then reached to Amida Buddha's statue at Mangyo-ji Temple.
　 On February 7, 1578, Meigetsu became ill and passed away. Her life as a flower was fleeting, lasting only 22 years.
     When Master Shokai saw the reflection of Fugen Bosatsu on the paper sliding doors in Meigetsu's room, he realized that Meigetsu was about to be greeted by Fugen Bosatsu at the end of her life.　
     On the morning of the 49th day, a lotus stem broke through the top of Meigetsu's grave and a fragrant white flower bloomed. When they dug up the grave, they found that Meigetsu's corpse was still intact, and a stem was growing out of her faintly smiling mouth. A white lotus flower bloomed at the end of it. People were astonished and broke out into a chorus of Buddhist chanting.
     Today, more than 400 years later, the lotus flower of Meigetsu's mouth is still a pale green color, and together with the Shichijo kesa made from the obi sash that was given to the temple as a perpetual memorial service for Meigetsu, it serves as a means to remember this beautiful woman who, despite her misfortunes, maintained her true devotion to the faith.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)