Horie Yayoi (堀江弥生)
Yayoi HORIE (year of birth and death unknown) was the legal wife of Yorizumi SHIONOYA. Mother of Korezumi SHIONOYA.
Daughter of Shigefusa HARA, the lord of Itahana-jo Castle in Kozuke Province
Yayoi SHIONOYA
Summary
According to the Horieki (the story of the HORIE clan), the beauty of Yayoi, the legal wife of Yorizumi SHIONOYA, caught the eye of the Governor of Shimotsuke Province in the latter part of the Heian period. To get hold of Yayoi, the Governor ordered Yayoi's father Shigefusa HARA to attack Yorizumi. This saddened Yayoi as she had had a child with Yorizumi called Tsukiwakamaru (later called Izumi SHIONOYA), and before committing suicide, she helped her child escape by putting him in the care of a wet nurse.
Her gravesite is thought to be located at Rokubo-ji temple (the Horie clan's family temple) but, Rokubo-ji temple is thought to have been abandoned for many generations and until after the war there were 6 gorinto (a gravestone composed of five pieces piled up one upon another) of which one was thought to have been Yayoi's however, currently the site has been buried over and the spot used for residential properties. However, the place name of 'Rokubochi' still remains.