
The warrior Taira Tadamori (1096–1153) was serving the retired emperor Shirakawa (1053–1129) when, one rainy night, they set out to visit a favorite concubine in the Gion district of Kyoto. On the way, a ghost-like figure appeared among the trees of a shrine. Tadamori went to subdue the beast but discovered that in fact it was an old priest with a small torch and a pot of oil, replenishing the lanterns. The emperor rewarded Tadamori's courage by granting him his concubine.