This is a piece based on a legend concerning Dojoji temple in which Kiyohime, a woman in the reign of Emperor Daigo (885-930), fell in love with a priest, and pursued him to the bank of the Hidaka River. Carried away by rage, she eventually got the priest incinerated with flames that she herself kindled.

Kagaku chose the scene just before the climax of the story when the heroine transformed herself into a huge serpent. Instead of suggesting a consuming grudge, however, the painter presents Kiyohime with her eyes closed, accompanied by a lonesome pine tree and a stick thrown away, to convey sadness and grief. This work succeeds in expressing the depth of human emotion with subdued colors and delicate lines.

(Designated an Important Cultural Property on June 7, 1999)