Tekona Reijindo is a religious hall in Mama, Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture, dedicated to Tekona, a legendary woman associated with the area. Known in traditional stories for her beauty and kindness, Tekona has been remembered in Japanese literature and local folklore for centuries.
The hall stands in a quiet part of Mama and is closely connected with the legends surrounding Mama no I, an ancient well where Tekona was said to have drawn water. Together with nearby historic sites, Tekona Reijindo offers visitors an opportunity to explore the literary, religious, and folkloric heritage of Ichikawa.
Tekona Reijindo is associated with the ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige and his famous series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. One of the prints, titled “Mama’s Maple Trees, Tekona Shrine and Tsugi Bridge”, depicts the scenery around the Tekona shrine area surrounded by the brilliant colors of autumn foliage.
The print provides a glimpse of how the landscape of Mama was viewed during the Edo period. The combination of the shrine, bridge, trees, and seasonal scenery helped establish the area as a memorable place in the cultural landscape of old Japan.
According to legend, Tekona was a beautiful woman who lived in ancient times and regularly visited Mama no I to draw water. Her beauty became widely known, and many men sought to marry her.
Tekona, however, was troubled by the fact that she could give her heart to only one person. She feared that choosing one man would bring unhappiness to the others. Unable to bear the conflict surrounding her, she is said to have ultimately thrown herself into the sea, bringing her life to a tragic end.
Local people mourned her death and built a place to comfort and honor her spirit. This tradition eventually became associated with Tekona Reijindo, which continues to serve as a place where people can remember the legendary woman.
The story of Tekona was preserved not only through local tradition but also through some of Japan’s earliest poetry. Several poems about her are included in the Man’yōshū, Japan’s oldest surviving major anthology of poetry.
Among the best-known poems associated with Tekona are works by Yamabe no Akahito and Takahashi no Mushimaro. Their poems evoke her beauty, her tragic fate, and the landscape of Mama, helping to preserve her story across the centuries.
“In ancient times, they say, / people lived here, / loosening and exchanging their sashes, / building humble homes, / and seeking their wives. / In Katsushika, / at Mama, / Tekona’s burial place— / I hear that this is where it lies, / but perhaps the thick leaves of the maki trees / now conceal it. / Perhaps the roots of the pines / have grown distant through the long years. / Yet I cannot forget her, / even in name alone.”
This poem expresses the poet’s inability to forget Tekona after learning of the location believed to be her burial place.
“When I look upon / Mama’s well in Katsushika, / I think of Tekona, / who must once have stood there / drawing water.”
The poem evokes the image of Tekona drawing water from Mama no I and shows how a familiar landscape could bring her story vividly to mind.
Various versions of Tekona’s story have been passed down through the centuries. According to one tradition, she was the daughter of a kuni no miyatsuko, a local provincial ruler or official, during the reign of Emperor Jomei.
She is said to have married into a neighboring region. Later, a conflict arose between the government of Katsushika and the region into which she had married. As a result of the turmoil and resentment directed toward her, Tekona suffered greatly and eventually returned to her hometown of Mama.
Ashamed of having fled from her husband’s home, she did not return to her family but instead began living quietly on her own. Even then, however, men continued to compete for her attention. Deeply distressed by the conflict, she is said to have eventually thrown herself into the inlet at Mama.
Although the details vary among different versions of the tradition, the story has consistently portrayed Tekona as a woman whose beauty brought unwanted attention and whose life ended in tragedy.
According to tradition, the Buddhist monk Gyōki learned of Tekona’s story and established Kōbōji Temple in 737 to comfort her spirit. Tekona came to be venerated there, and the temple remains closely associated with her legend.
The well from which Tekona was said to have drawn water, Mama no I, is also preserved within the grounds of Kameiin. Together, these places provide an important connection to the local traditions surrounding Tekona.
The legend of Tekona has had a lasting influence on Japanese literature and art. Her story appears in the Man’yōshū, while the landscape associated with her became a subject for ukiyo-e artists such as Utagawa Hiroshige.
The poems about Tekona are particularly important examples of how local legends, landscapes, and personal emotions were woven together in early Japanese poetry. Her story has continued to inspire people long after the period in which the legend was first recorded.
The story of Tekona also shares similarities with other Japanese legends about beautiful women whose lives ended tragically after becoming the focus of competition between men. Examples include the legend of Hatsunehime from Namikiri in Daio, Shima City, Mie Prefecture, as well as traditions associated with Shizuka Gozen and Unai Otome.
These stories differ in their details, but they share recurring themes of beauty, social expectations, human conflict, and tragedy. The continued survival of such traditions reflects the important role that local legends have played in Japanese cultural memory.
Mama no I, the well where Tekona was traditionally said to have drawn water, is located within the grounds of Kameiin. For visitors interested in the legend, the well provides a tangible connection to the story described in the Man’yōshū.
Together with Tekona Reijindo, Mama no I forms an important part of Ichikawa’s historical and cultural landscape.
Kōbōji Temple is traditionally said to have been founded by Gyōki in 737 to pray for the repose of Tekona’s spirit. The temple continues to attract worshippers and remains an important religious site associated with the Tekona tradition.
Tekona Reijindo is a unique cultural site where Japanese folklore, ancient poetry, religious tradition, and local history come together. The tragic story of Tekona has been remembered for more than a thousand years through poems, legends, religious sites, and works of art.
By visiting Tekona Reijindo and the surrounding sites, travelers can explore the landscape that inspired poems in the Man’yōshū and later became a subject of Edo-period ukiyo-e. The nearby Mama no I and Kōbōji Temple provide further insight into the traditions surrounding this legendary woman.
For visitors exploring Ichikawa, Tekona Reijindo offers a chance to discover a quieter side of Japanese cultural heritage, where an ancient legend continues to live on in the landscape of Mama.