Subsequently, she attempts suicide by drowning as a result of a conflict that had her torn between her sense of obligation to the old man who had treated her so kindly and the last will of her mother, who wanted her to marry her brother (the two not being related by blood).
Thereafter, she is reunited with her brother, and when the two return home together, they find that their father is already back, safe and sound.
[1] Inoue Tetsujiro, the original writer, wrote that he graduated from Tokyo Imperial University in 1880 and wanted to study in Europe, but was unable to go.
Naofumi Ochiai rewrote it in new style Japanese language poems in 1888 and 1889 and published it in the Toyo Gakkai Zasshi (Oriental Association Journal).
In September 1958, Shigeyoshi Matsumae established a monument to Shiragiku near Sugaru Falls, in Minamiaso, Kumamoto inspired by the view in Aso.