The Dark Side of Japan: Ancient Black Magic, Folklore, Ritual

by Antony Cummings

  Old man Kanshiro was now homeless and wandered the streets. He found his way back to Jimpachi’s inn and discovered that Jimpachi had a new house and was wealthy. The old man begged and begged for the money to be returned but to no avail, so he laid a curse on the cruel Jimpachi. Kanshiro died on the village boundary as he was being thrown out. It was here that the curse of Kanshiro came to life! A local priest had cremated the old man and given him a grave and said the correct rites, but one night thousands of fireflies came from the grave and flew into Kimpachi’s room. They hounded him and beat against his mosquito net. People came to see, and even though they struck at the fireflies, killing hundreds of them, thousands replaced them until the net collapsed under the weight. For weeks they flew in and out of cruel Jimpachi’s mouth and ears, and for weeks he was tormented, eventually dying. At the instant of his death, the fireflies all flew away, never to be seen again. It was said this was the vengeance of Kanshiro.

  Japanese Revenge

  While the above is a story of revenge from the grave, taking revenge was in fact seen as a duty in Japan. One famous example is the story of the forty-seven ronin, who planned for a year or more before killing a court official after their daimyo (lord) was compelled to commit seppuku. Hearn describes instances of Japanese vengeance where a person would walk 50 miles in a day, kill ten men in under a minute and then turn the sword upon themselves. It is said by Hearn that there was even a fellow who had his own headstone prepared before he went on a mission of vengeance.

  The Chinese Bell of 100 Leagues

  In old China a lord wished to have a bell that could sound for one hundred ri (roughly equivalent to 100 leagues, or 250 miles) and so he had his smiths mix many metals, including gold and silver, to make the perfect bell. However, the metals would not mix and the great bell cracked and failed when its mould cooled. It was crafted again but it split. The bell caster was told that if it did not work again then his head would roll. So, as the people watched the third casting of the bell and the molten metals bubbled and boiled, the daughter of the smith leapt into the red-hot liquid and cried out that her death was for the sake of her father. The bell caster tried to jump after her but was held back. When tempers (and the bell) had cooled, the mould was taken off; before them lay a pristine bell which, when struck, echoed more than one hundred ri and was perfect in form.

  Oshichi and the Love of Fire

  Another love story is of Oshichi, a greengrocer’s daughter. She had stayed at Kichijoji temple to shelter from a fire, and while there she fell in love with a samurai. However, she and he father soon returned home, separating the lovers. Dying of heartbreak, she racked her brain to find a way to see the samurai, then in a moment of inspiration thought that she would burn down another building in the village so that her father would go back to the temple to pray and take refuge. She commenced the deed but was caught in the act and arrested as the building burned to the ground. As she was only thirteen she was not meant to be given the death sentence; however, she had lied at the temple, telling the samurai and others that she was sixteen. Because of this she was given an arsonists’ execution: she was burnt alive. She has become a warning to anyone connected with fire, and she even had an effect on the birth rate in Japan in 1966 – but that will be explained later.

  The Story of Okatsu

  There is a shrine in Kurosaka that is famous for its ghosts. One day a woman named Okatsu had a bet with her friends and agreed that she should creep into the shrine and steal the money box with her son strapped to her back with cloth. She travelled in the night to the haunted site and found the money box where it should be. Taking the box, she made her way back but heard a voice calling to her; in fear she began to run back to the safety of her friends, but when she arrived and turned around, her friends saw that the head of her infant son had been torn off or eaten and that blood covered her back.

  King of Thieves

  Ogata Shuma, also known as Jiraiya, was a prince whose father had died, leaving him without position. Joining a band of thieves, he soon became their leader-king and a nasty figure who involved himself in dark deeds. One night, taking refuge from a snowstorm, he stayed with an old woman in a hut during the blizzard. As the storm rattled the doors and windows, he drew his sword with the aim of killing her; however, his sword broke and the ‘helpless’ woman took the form a man who introduced himself as Dojin Senso, a toad spirit and magician. The disgraced prince entered into his service and learnt all he could of toad magic.

  Later on he found himself an enemy called Orochimaru, an adept of snake magic who took the form of a giant snake. Orochimaru snuck into the prince’s room and dripped venom on his head while he slept in a temple. The abbot of the temple immediately flew to India on the back of a winged Tengu to get the antidote; he arrived back at the temple just in time to save Jiraiya’s life.

  The Toad Robber

  There was also a robber named Tokube who is said to have lived among frogs; he lived from 1619 to 1685.

  Tsuneyori – The Snake Wrestler

  Tsuneyori was a strongman and wrestler who was considered the strongest of men. One day he fell asleep at the base of a tree, and during his slumber a giant snake coiled itself around his legs. The body of the snake went through a river and its head came out on the opposite bank. The strongman awoke to the snake dragging him away, but after an epic struggle he took control of the snake and killed it with his bare hands. Unperturbed by the incident, he had men tie rope to his feet and pull on it so he could gauge how many men matched the strength of the snake; the final count was sixty men.

  Another giant snake is Uwabami, which is a snake said to be so big it can swallow a mounted rider in one go.

  The Demon Robber

  Raiko (also known as Minamoto no Yorimitsu) had four great retainers: Watanabe no Tsuna, Urabe no Suekata, Usui Sadamitsu and Sakata no Kintoki. Together these men quested to kill demons and goblins, but one particularly interesting tale is that of Shutendoji. This scourge of the samurai was originally wealthy, but his father was killed and he was left destitute. Forced to join a band of thieves, he became a terror to the samurai. His group created a stronghold and also became demons with supernatural powers. The samurai of the land could not get rid of him, so Raiko stepped forward with his four retainers. He knew he could not storm the keep, so he decided on subterfuge instead. The troop dressed themselves as priests and carried their armour in travelling boxes, planning to enter the castle in this disguise. On the way they met with an old man – who was actually the spirit of the trio of Shinto gods known as Sumiyoshi – and he gave them a powerful potion and also a golden magical cap. They continued to travel on their quest and eventually came across a river, and here they found a woman weeping over the remains of her dead relative, killed by the bandits. Inspired, they moved on to the castle of thieves and begged shelter in their disguise as priests. They were welcomed in mock formality and they were ridiculed under a thin veil of politeness. Once admitted they saw hordes of female slaves and were fed a feast of human flesh, which they declared to love so as not to raise suspicion (making them all cannibals). In return for such a rich dish, Raiko told the leader that they had a magical drink that when mixed with ale would aid him greatly and give him power. The leader of the demons fell for the ploy and drank it down, at which point he fell asleep and took on his true devil form. Later, when all was quiet, the samurai ‘priests’ donned their armour and explained to the female slaves their plan. At this point, the old man – the spirit of Sumiyoshi who had given them the potion and the golden cap – appeared to aid them, this time giving Raiko a silk cord to bind the devil with. Raiko bound and decapitated the creature, but instead of dying the head flew around gnashing and biting everything. It looked at Raiko and went for him, clasping its demonic jaws on the hero, who was saved from death by the magical golden cap he was wearing on top of his helmet. The head was eventually killed and the body chopped up into sections, and all the demons that were his band of thieves were killed a
nd all the slaves were freed.

  The Fight at Rashomon Gate

  Watanabe, one of the samurai in the above tale and a retainer to Raiko, continues at a later date with his friend, Hojo. They had asked Raiko if there were any demons left in all of Japan, and were told that there was a demon in Kyoto at the Rashomon gate. Watanabe set himself up for a night of demon slaying and nailed his intention to the door of the gate. At two in the morning he felt a tug at his helmet as the demon pulled him from above. Out flashed Watanabe’s katana, and the vanquished demon’s arm fell to the ground. Reminiscent of the story of Beowulf, Watanabe kept the arm in a box as a trophy. He keeps this arm as proof of his deeds but only shows it to very few people. One day a woman asks to see the arm, but this is no normal woman – it is his childhood nurse come to pay him a visit. After chatting he agrees to show her the arm, and as he lifts the box to display it she transforms into a devil in front of him, horns erupting from her head. The false childhood nurse grows into a full female hanya demon and steals the arm from him.

  The Woman and Child

  Urabe no Suekata, who was also among Raiko’s retainers, was walking at night when a ghostly woman came from nowhere and gave him a baby to hold, at which point she vanished and he was left with the child.

  Aunt’s Wine

  There once lived a boy who always wanted wine. His aunt would stop him from drinking as often as she could, so to get his hands on the drink he donned a demonic mask. Jumping out at her in his demon disguise, he demanded a drink. Frightened, she starts to pour this devil some wine, and after a few draughts the devil starts to talk and talk and the women realises that it is her nephew, whom she promptly beats.

  The Loyal Three

  There was once a samurai who was exiled from his land. On the evening before he departed, three friends came to attend his farewell dinner. The first gave him a lock of hair so he would remember him, the second cut off his nose and gave it to him as a keepsake, but the third committed ritual suicide there and then to prove his friendship.

  The Skull Tree

  Emperor Shirakawa Tenno suffered from headaches constantly. To find a solution to the pain he visited an Indian mystic and healer, who informed him that his headaches were coming because the skull which was his from a previous existence had floated down a river and snagged on a willow branch, which, having grown into maturity and carried the skull upwards, was now trapping the skull in its branches, held aloft under pressure. This same skull tree is connected to the legend of the famous archer Heitaro, who had married a tree sprite and whose own tree was the very one holding the skull. The tree-wife died when her tree was cut down, and when loggers tried to haul the tree past the archer’s house, the trunk refused to move and could not be dragged away by any amount of force – that is until the son of the tree sprite and the archer, a young boy then, came out of the house and moved the great trunk alone. This story bears similarity to that of the samurai and the tree-wife (page 156).

  The Smoking Tree

  A samurai named Kodama Kuranojo was the commander of the Mori clan fleet during the sixteenth century. During a campaign, he anchored his ships and made a camp on Takasago beach. He ordered his men to cut down a tree, but for unknown reasons they did not want to do it. He confirmed his orders and forced his men to obey him; upon the first stroke of an axe into the tree it issued forth supernatural smoke, at which point he rescinded his orders.

  The Tree on the Moon

  This Chinese legend, which is popular in Japan, is about a Katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum) which is growing on the moon. Its leaves turn blood-red and if eaten turn you invisible. This legend even made its way into the world of the ninja, where the skill of tending to the trees on the moon is actually equated with planting a spy agent in enemy territory. The skill can be found in The Book of Ninja.

  The Reading Wood Cutter

  Shubaishin is a wood cutter who loves to read while walking. His wife, eager for promotion, leaves him because of his lowly status, but because of his self-education he is made governor, at which point the wife has a ‘change of heart’ and tries to reunite with him, to no avail. The wife and the lover she left him for end in dire straits and are so poor they have to beg forgiveness, but in the end they commit suicide.

  The Lost Couple

  Once there was a young and loving couple. Along comes a rich merchant (let’s pretend he is old and evil) who wants to marry the young girl. Her parents say yes to the marriage, and so the young lovers are distraught. They soon decide to enter into a suicide pact. They embrace, and the man kills the woman before cutting his own throat. However, to his misery someone finds him and sends for a surgeon, who saves his life. After some time the man recovers and goes on trial for murder. He is given a light sentence as the Japanese understand the suicide pact as an act of honour, but when he gets out of prison he fails to finish the job and kill himself. After this he lives seven years in agony, and people of the area say that it was the ghost of his dead lover, upset that he did not follow on after her, who is causing his suffering.

  The Maiden and Her Lovers by Evelyn Paul.

  The Maiden of Unai

  There was once a beautiful samurai girl who had attracted the attention of two men, each of whom wanted her hand in marriage. Both of them were equal in looks, gifts and manner. This was quite a dilemma, and the fair maiden was tormented by her inability to choose. After much deliberation it was said that a contest should be held in which the two suitors would shoot at a bird. They both shot at the same time and both hit the bird. The maiden, beyond distress, throws herself into the river but the two samurai grab her – at the same time – and all three fall in and drown. The three were buried, one samurai each side of the lover, and the site is known as the Maiden’s Grave.

  The Lover’s Swim

  In Izu there was a fisherman’s daughter who was a great swimmer and used to swim at night several miles to her lover, who was across the water. One night, the light that the male lover would shine for her as a guide was left unattended. It went out, and she lost her way in the dark and drowned. The next day her body washed ashore. Hearn talks of a Japanese folk saying: ‘The sea has a soul and can hear you. If you express your fear, the sea will know of it and rise against you.’

  Bird Daughters

  There was once a man called Okada who was a ronin who loved to hunt. Often he would go into the wild with muskets loaded to shoot birds. His two daughters hated this sport and pleaded with him to stop, but he continued his bloodthirsty hobby. So, one moonlit evening, they dressed as two white storks and went to his hunting ground. From afar he thought them birds and took aim, shooting and killing both. Upon inspection, to his horror he discovered that he had killed his own children. After this he shaved his head and became a monk and never killed again.

  The Murdering Father

  There was once a peasant who was very poor. His wife bore him six children, but each time one was born he threw it into the river and told people that it had died in childbirth. Later in his life he became better off and enjoyed a few luxuries. His wife gave birth to the seventh child, and this time he kept it. Loving the child very much, one night he took it into the garden to show it the moon. The infant took on the voice of a grown man and said, ‘It looks the same as it did when you threw me in the river all those times.’ The man, understanding the enormity of his crimes, became a priest.

  The Family of Sparrows

  An old man had a pet sparrow. When he was out one day, his evil neighbour saw it eating from her garden and so captured it and cut out its tongue. The old man, noticing his sparrow gone, searched the woods and came upon a small house, where his pet sparrow had returned to its family. The old man is taken in and given shelter and food. When leaving, the sparrow family offer him one of two boxes to take home. The old man, being old, said he would take the smaller one as it would be less of a burden. Returning home, the old man opened the package with his wife to find fine cloth and treasure inside. The evil neighbour, seeing th
is, ran into the forest to the same house and demanded a box. Given the same choice, she left with the larger box; when she opened it, demons and goblins sprung out to torment her.

  The Tortoise and the Magic Box

  Urashima Taro was fishing one day when he caught a tortoise, but instead of keeping and eating it he spared its life. A short while later, a woman was shipwrecked and he found himself saving another life from the sea. However, this was in fact the same tortoise in the guise of a woman, and she was the daughter to the Dragon King of the Sea. In reward, she took him to live in her domain. After three years he started to become homesick, wanting to return to his family. In the end she let him return, and gifted him a magical box. On his return, however, much time had passed and all his family were dead; he found only a grave to mark their existence. In desperation he opened the box; it contained his youth. With this he aged and died instantly. Three hundred years had passed in the three that he had been gone.