"Meigetsu The Geisha in Hakata"　Episode 1: The Misterious Lotus Flower

     Once upon a time, there was a woman named "Meigetsu" in Yanagimachi Satsumaya, Hakata.
    Once this woman realized that everything in this world is impermanent, she made frequent visits to Mangyo-ji Temple, where she heard the precious teachings of Master Shokai Shichiri, the temple's master at that time, and was overflowing with joy and gratitude.
     If the temple gate was closed too early in the morning, Meigetsu would kneel on the ground and worship from outside the gates before returning home.
     In the spring of the 6th year of Tensho (1578),  when Meigetsu fell ill and realized that she would never recover, she talked with her bedside attendants about the details of her afterlife and asked them to bury her at Mangyo-ji Temple when she died.
     Accordingly, as per her will, she was buried in the precincts of Mangyo-ji Temple, and within a few months, a beautiful lotus flower sprang up from the grave. As the days went by, the brightness of the flower and the luster of the leaves were exactly the same as if they were growing in a pond.
The people who saw this were so amazed that they dug up the grave, only to find that the lotus root had come from the mouth of Meigetsu, who was meditating peacefully.
     This story is still repeated from mouth to mouth by many people, and the name of the famous young woman, Meigetsu, has not been hidden from the world.
     In the 335 years since Meigetsu's passing, the world has changed and the Yanagimachi area has become the new Yanagimachi, with its newly renovated tall buildings built like a nightless castle.
　However, the gravestone where Meigetsu was laid to rest still stands alone in the ruins of Mangyoji Temple in Mangyoji-maecho, and tells the story of those days.

     In the current Mangyo-ji, there is a gravestone of Meigetsu, which was moved from the original Mangyo-ji.
     A lotus flower said to have come from the mouth of Meigetsu and a piece of Shokko Nishiki, which Meigetsu is said to have dedicated to the temple, are among the temple's treasures.
     The late Yoachiro Watanabe, who was inseparable from the Shinryanagi area, died of illness while earnestly trying to move Meigetsu's tomb to the Shinryanagi area.
　 In accordance with the wishes of the deceased and those who followed in his footsteps, a memorial service for the 350th anniversary of the death of Meigetsu was held in Shinryanagi Town for five days starting on September 18, 1912.  A mock temple named "Nankazan Shinryuji Temple" was constructed on a vacant lot at the entrance to the pleasure quarters, and priests of various religions were gathered to hold a lively memorial service.

     I decided to use this opportunity to give an introduction to Meigetsu's life.
Unfortunately, due to the fire at Mangyo-ji Temple last year, many reliable records of Meigetsu's life have been lost or scattered, leaving us with only a few records and oral legends to rely on. I would like to ask for the reader's understanding on this point.
So, what is Meigetsu's background, and who and where did she come from?

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