Shiokumi

Andy made this Shiokumi doll.

Around the Heian Period,　a man named Aiwara Yukihiro betrayed the government. The Emperor was outraged and for his punishment, Yukihiro was banished to a remote island. He was sent there for three years.
While on the island he met two beautiful girls named Matsukaze and Murasame, whom he fell in love with.
Matsukaze and Murasame were “Shiokumi”. The name reflected their jobs which were to carry buckets of salt water. The salt water was later refined into salt. “Shiokumi” literally means “to carry salt water” It’s also the name of a traditional Japanese dance.
After Yukihiro 3 years of banishment were finished, he was permitted to return to the capital. He promised before leaving to return for both Matsukaze and Murasame someday. He wanted them to live on the mainland with him. Sadly, this promise went unfulfilled due to his untimely demise.　
　The sisters were greatly saddened by his death. They hung up the hat and hunting jacket he had left behind on a pine tree where they cried. While remembering him, they danced wearing his hat and jacket, while also carrying their water buckets.