長唄「鷺娘」Sagimusume

長唄「鷺娘」Sagimusume　花柳礼太郎

The song begins with the words, "My heart, lost in love on a misty night when the clouds of delusion have not yet cleared.” This part called "oki" is the "preface" to this story.
The main character is wearing a bridal gown, that is, it is the day of her wedding, so why then, is the setting so gloomy?
The white bridal gown is a sign of purity, but the main character had fallen in love with another man before her wedding day and she still has feelings for him. As a result, she will burn in the fires of hell.

There is a theory that the name of this piece is a play on words between 詐欺 "sagi" meaning "scam" (because she is trying to marry a man by faking her purity) and 鷺 "sagi" meaning "heron". However, the truth cannot be known for certain.

この曲は「妄執の雲晴れやらぬ朧夜の　恋に迷ひしわが心」で始まります。この「置き」と呼ばれる部分がこの物語の「前説」です。
主人公は花嫁衣装を着ている、つまり嫁入りの日なのに、なぜそんなに暗い状況なのか。
花嫁衣装の白無垢は純潔の証。なのに、この主人公はこの嫁入り以前に恋をして、いまだその男への想いを抱えているからなのです。
それゆえ、最後は地獄の業火に焼かれることになります。
一説には「詐欺」（純潔を偽って嫁入りしようとしているので）と「鷺」をかけたものだという話もありますが、真偽は定かではありません。