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In one hot evening,
an old woman passed by a shrine and
heard someone groaning in the precincts.
She cautiously approached and found
a pregnant woman lying down on a stone.
She was all covered with mosquitoes.
The old woman burned Japanese cedar
leaves to fumigate and expel mosquitoes,
and prepared a place covered with
soft grasses for the young woman to
have a baby. The young woman delivered
a healthy baby safely. Later, it was
found that this woman was Hotoke Gozen
who stood high in favor of Kiyomori
Taira, the powerful leader of the
Heike clan. Hotoke Gozen prayed fervently
in favor of the old woman for extermination
of mosquitoes. Since then, there is
only a small number of mosquitoes
in this area during the summer.
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