Her brother, Fubito, disguised himself and married a female diver in the area in order to recover the jewels. Eventually the wife gave birth to a son and at that time promised to recover the jewels on the condition that the husband promise to make the son his heir. Through a heroic dive, the woman recovered the jewels, but at the cost of her life because the Dragon King saw her and she only got away by slitting herself and hiding the jewels inside. She was dead when she reached the surface. The son, Fusasaki, became the heir and the ancestor of the northern branch of the Fujiwara aristocracy. The jewels sit between the eyes of the Shakuson statue at Kōfukuji in Nara.

This temple was built by the son and by Gyōgi Bosatsu in the 694 as a memorial to her and remains dedicated to the spirits of the dead (hence a strong association with Emma, the King of Hell). However, the original temple dates from much earlier and the honzon dates from the time of Empress Suiko in the 6th century.

According to Starr, the buildings were rebuilt by Gyōgi and the honzon is by Kōbō Daishi. Some say it is the incarnation of Monju Bosatsu, some say Sonoko Ama. The main Buddha with the Fudō and Bishamon are all National Treasures.

This legend has been made famous the Noh drama called Ama. Of interest are the tomb of Ama, a landscape garden featuring flowing water which is the masterwork of Hosokawa from the Muromachi Period, a Hosokawa from the Muromachi Period, a Niōō gate,, the hondō, and the five-story pagoda (Go-jū-no-tō).