The owner of the house planted irises on land that could not be used for either rice paddies or farmland, and in late May, the pond, where the irises bloom, became a place for people to relax. A boy works there, growing and caring for various kinds of irises.

This year, a boy wearing his first uikanmuri (a crown worn when a boy reaches adulthood after coming of age; this refers to the ceremony in which a boy wears a uikanmuri for the first time) tells the boy that he would like to decorate the crown with iris flowers.

The boy gets permission from his master to pick five kinds of irises, and the two of them select the irises.

First, they choose an iris that compares their beauty to each other, saying, "She's like you." Then they choose an iris that reflects their feelings for each other. Finally, the boy chooses an iris named after the beautiful princess Wang Zhaojun, as the perfect choice for the first crowned child.

With the five irises in her crown, the young girl's reflection in the pond looked exactly like a princess, and even more like a Saiō (princess) serving the gods.

The first crowned child sees this and says, "I am a princess."

In his previous life, the boy was the Flower Garden Master, in charge of tending the gardens of Saiku (the palace where the Saio lives; however, Saiku is a marshland where irises grow, and the Saiku of Ise was built on land where no one would want to live). He never saw the Saio in person. However, to comfort the Saio, he planted many flowers in the garden and poured his heart and soul into creating an iris pond in May.

Then, Hatsukamuri's son's previous life, the Saio, appears.

In the next life, the boy and Hatsukamuri no Ko meet for the first time, and in a dream, Hanazono Tsukasa and Saio meet for the first time in their previous lives.

Saio thanks Hanazono Tsukasa for comforting her heart with the irises he had grown.

However, at the same time as her father, the Emperor, passed away, the Saio followed the moon's reflection in the Hara River and died (by drowning herself).

"Why did you do such a tragic thing?" Hanazono continues to ask, and the Saio finally confesses that in his previous life he had died without telling anyone: "I am a boy, but my father saw that I was behaving like a girl, and so he gave me the mercy to live alone, away from people, as the Saio." Then, the heavenly night was filled with light, and a golden Buddha appeared.

Those who tell the truth are the ones who move the Buddha to tears. They are those who have awakened to the Buddha (enlightened ones).

Let go of the delusions that surround this world (the world of living beings). The truth of the unity of all things arises from a righteous mind that is free of equal obstacles (things that hinder enlightenment).

The Amitabha Sutra also states that the lotus flowers that bloom in the pond come in different colors: blue, yellow, red, and white, and there is no superiority.
Just as the lotus buds open (dawn), the couple's dreams fade away.