Makiginu (The Rolls of Silk) : PhotoStory

A man has come from Kyoto with an offering of silk to Kumano Hongū Shrine in Kishū province (present-day Wakayama prefecture), but he is late. To punish him, he is tied up.

He was late because he stopped at a shrine to offer a poem to the deity. He is set free by a Shinto priestess whose movements are controlled by the deity.

The man’s poem eased the deity’s suffering. The priestess performs a dance in praise of the virtues expressed in the poem.

Majestically, the priestess offers a prayer to the deity.

In the deep forest, the dance of the priestess continues.

When the dance is over, the deity leaves the body of priestess and normality returns.

Kumano Hongū Shrine, the story’s sacred forest setting.