Miho no Matsubara (三保の松原 Miho Pine Grove) is a scenic area located on the Miho Peninsula in the Shimizu-ku area of Shizuoka, Japan.
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Miho no Matsubara is renowned as a seashore with beautiful green pine trees and white sands spanning over seven kilometers. It has a great scenic view of Mount Fuji and the Izu Peninsula across Suruga Bay. Due to its beauty, it is designated as one of New Three Views of Japan (新日本三景 Shin Nihon Sankei) along with its three pine groves (Sights of Shizuoka, http://www.shizuoka-cvb.or.jp/tour_guide/en/maps/miho.php.) Additionally, it has been selected as one of the top 100 white sand beaches and green pine groves of Japan. It has an old pine tree dating back 650 years. It is called “Hagoromo no Matsu” and is said to be where the angel wearing Hagoromo floated down. The Miho shrine nearby preserves a piece of her plumage.
Miho no Matsubara is known as the site of the legend of Hagoromo(the Feathered Robe), which is based on the traditional swan maiden motif. The story of Hagoromo concerns a celestial being flying over Miho no Matsubara who was overcome by the beauty of the white sands, green pines, and sparkling water. She removed her feathered robe and hung it over a pine tree before bathing in the beautiful waters. A fisherman named Hakuryo was walking along the beach and saw the angel. He took her robe and refused to return it until she performed a heavenly dance for him. As the angel could not return to heaven without her robe, she complied with Hakuryo's request. She danced in the spring twilight and returned to heaven in the light of the full moon leaving Hakuryo looking longingly after her.(See Whaley, Arthur, Hagoromo. The No Plays of Japan.New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1922.) A statue of Hakuryo watching the dance is at the entrance to the park.
On the second Saturday and Sunday of October, the city of Shizuoka holds a Hagoromo Festival near the site of the old pine tree . The Noh play, Hagoromo, is performed by firelight (Takigi Noh)and also creative dances in honor of the French ballet dancer, Elene Giuglaris, are performed (Shizuoka City Tour Guide,http://www.shizuoka-cvb.or.jp/tour_guide/en/fes_evennts/). Giuglaris (1916-1951) loved the story of Hagoromo very much, but never saw the Noh performance nor did she visit Miho during her lifetime. Nontheless, her dying wish was, "Bury my hair near the Hagoromo pine tree at Mihonomatsubara beach" (Helene Giuglaris, http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/fujinone/e_giuglaris.htm ). Above the Mihonomatsubara beach, overlooking the pine tree and the sea, is a monument to Giuglaris and a lock of her hair lies beneath it. The monument shows Giuglaris holding a Noh mask and below her figure is a poem written by her husband Marcel Giuglaris, who visited Miho four months after Elene's death with a lock of hair and her dance costume (Pine Grove at Miho,http://www4.tokai.or.jp/fuji-fusion/mihopine.html and Helene Giuglaris, http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/fujinone/e_giuglaris.htm):
English translation by "Hiro" (http://www4.tokai.or.jp/fuji-fusion/mihopine.html)
The wind describes
The breaking waves of Miho
Far beyond Paris
My dearest dead wife longing for Hagoromo
The breaking waves take her life away to heaven
The wind blows and time goes through
I feel peaceful and quiet
Unfortunately, Miho no Matsubara no longer has white sands. The sands are now uniformly black, perhaps from the volcanic rock that first formed the peninsula. One local resident's story is that the Abe River provided the white sand that made Miho such a scenic spot. During construction of the nearby shinkansen line, too much of the Abe River's white sand was used. Over time, the sea swept away the layers of white sand and no new sand was available to replenish the sand carried out to sea.
Miho no Matsubara still has beautiful pine trees and a magnificent view of Mount Fuji on clear days, but the shining white sands that caused the angel in the legend to shed her robe and bathe in the sea at Miho can be seen only in the imagination.