What is Sotoba Komachi? According to Wikipedia: An old beggar woman is sitting on a stupa when a monk from Mount Koya rebukes her and begins to preach, but is instead defeated in a debate. The surprised monk asks her name, and she reveals herself to be the former Ono no Komachi, once praised for her beauty and talent. She begins to recount her past, but is tormented by the spirit of a Shoshi (Fourth Rank official) who had been infatuated with her and visited her repeatedly, but never had his desires fulfilled. It is a sculpture of an old woman sitting on a dilapidated stupa.