Kōyasan Oku-no-in legend

In the Lantern Hall of Koyasan's inner sanctum, there is a legendary lamp known as "the poor woman's single light," which is said to have burned for nearly a thousand years. Long ago, in Izumi Province, there lived a poor girl named Oteru. Desiring to offer a lantern to Koyasan to pray for the peaceful repose of her deceased parents, Oteru had no money to purchase one. She made the difficult decision to sell her long black hair—considered a woman's crowning glory—and with that money, offered a single small lantern. On the same day, a wealthy merchant grandly dedicated ten thousand lanterns. However, when evening fell and a sudden gust of wind blew through, all ten thousand of the merchant's lights were extinguished. Yet Oteru's small flame continued to shine, never wavering. Witnessing this miraculous occurrence, the merchant came to understand the profound value of sincere devotion over mere wealth, and he was deeply humbled. Accompanying the saying "one lamp of the poor outshines ten thousand lamps of the rich," this enduring tale conveys to us today that what truly matters is not the magnitude of one's offering, but the magnitude of the heart behind it.