"Well said, wife! What though we are punished for the many? Our
petition was successful, and there is nothing left to wish for. Now I
am happy, for I have attained my heart's desire. The changes and
chances of life are manifold. But if I had five hundred lives, and
could five hundred times assume this shape of mine, I would die five
hundred times to avenge this iniquity. For myself I care not; but that
my wife and children should be punished also is too much. Pitiless and
cruel! Let my lord fence himself in with iron walls, yet shall my
spirit burst through them and crush his bones, as a return for this
deed."
And as he spoke, his eyes became vermilion red, and flashed like the
sun or the moon, and he looked like the demon Razetsu.[66]
[Footnote 66: A Buddhist fiend.]
"Come," shouted he, "make haste and pierce me with the spear."
"Your wishes shall be obeyed," said the Eta, Shigayémon, and thrust in
a spear at his right side until it came out at his left shoulder, and
the blood streamed out like a fountain. Then he pierced the wife from
the left side; and she, opening her eyes, said in a dying voice--
"Farewell, all you who are present. May harm keep far from you.
Farewell! farewell!" and as her voice waxed faint, the second spear
was thrust in from her right side, and she breathed out her spirit.
Sôgorô, the colour of his face not even changing, showed no sign of
fear, but opening his eyes wide, said--
"Listen, my masters! all you who have come to see this sight.
Recollect that I shall pay my thanks to my lord Kôtsuké no Suké for
this day's work. You shall see it for yourselves, so that it shall be
talked of for generations to come. As a sign, when I am dead, my head
shall turn and face towards the castle. When you see this, doubt not
that my words shall come true."
When he had spoken thus, the officer directing the execution gave a
sign to the Eta, Shigayémon, and ordered him to finish the execution,
so that Sôgorô should speak no more. So Shigayémon pierced him twelve
or thirteen times, until he died. And when he was dead, his head
turned and faced the castle. When the two councillors beheld this
miracle, they came down from their raised platform, and knelt down
before Sôgorô's dead body and said--
"Although you were but a peasant on this estate, you conceived a noble
plan to succour the other farmers in their distress. You bruised your
bones, and crushed your heart, for their sakes. Still, in that you
appealed to the Shogun in person, you committed a grievous crime, and
made light of your superiors; and for this it was impossible not to
punish you. Still we admit that to include your wife and children in
your crime, and kill them before your eyes, was a cruel deed. What is
done, is done, and regret is of no avail. However, honours shall be
paid to your spirit: you shall be canonized as the Saint Daimiyô, and
you shall be placed among the tutelar deities of my lord's family."
With these words the two councillors made repeated reverences before
the corpse; and in this they showed their faithfulness to their lord.
But he, when the matter was reported to him, only laughed scornfully
at the idea that the hatred of a peasant could affect his feudal lord;
and said that a vassal who had dared to hatch a plot which, had it not
been for his high office, would have been sufficient to ruin him, had
only met with his deserts. As for causing him to be canonized, let him
be as he was. Seeing their lord's anger, his councillors could only
obey. But it was not long before he had cause to know that, though
Sôgorô was dead, his vengeance was yet alive.
The relations of Sôgorô and the elders of the villages having been
summoned to the Court-house, the following document was issued:--
"Although the property of Sôgorô, the elder of the village of
Iwahashi, is confiscated, his household furniture shall be made over
to his two married daughters; and the village officials will look to
it that these few poor things be not stolen by lawless and
unprincipled men.
"His rice-fields and corn-fields, his mountain land and forest land,
will be sold by auction. His house and grounds will be given over to
the elder of the village. The price fetched by his property will be
paid over to the lord of the estate.
"The above decree will be published, in full, to the peasants of the
village; and it is strictly forbidden to find fault with this
decision.
"The 12th day of the 2d month, of the 2d year of the period Shôhô."
The peasants, having heard this degree with all humility, left the
Court-house. Then the following punishments were awarded to the
officers of the castle, who, by rejecting the petition of the peasants
in the first instance, had brought trouble upon their lord:--
"Dismissed from their office, the resident councillors at Yedo and at
the castle-town.
"Banished from the province, four district governors, and three
bailiffs, and nineteen petty officers.
"Dismissed from office, three metsukés, or censors, and seven
magistrates.
"Condemned to _hara-kiri_, one district governor and one Yedo bailiff.
"The severity of this sentence is owing to the injustice of the
officials in raising new and unprecedented taxes, and bringing
affliction upon the people, and in refusing to receive the petitions
of the peasants, without consulting their lord, thus driving them to
appeal to the Shogun in person. In their avarice they looked not to
the future, but laid too heavy a burden on the peasants, so that they
made an appeal to a higher power, endangering the honour of their
lord's house. For this bad government the various officials are to be
punished as above."
In this wise was justice carried out at the palace at Yedo and at the
Court-house at home. But in the history of the world, from the dark
ages down to the present time, there are few instances of one man
laying down his life for the many, as Sôgorô did: noble and peasant
praise him alike.
As month after month passed away, towards the fourth year of the
period Shôhô, the wife of my lord Kôtsuké no Suké, being with child,
was seized with violent pains; and retainers were sent to all the
different temples and shrines to pray by proxy, but all to no purpose:
she continued to suffer as before. Towards the end of the seventh
month of the year, there appeared, every night, a preternatural light
above the lady's chamber; this was accompanied by hideous sounds as of
many people laughing fiendishly, and sometimes by piteous wailings, as
though myriads of persons were lamenting. The profound distress caused
by this added to her sufferings; so her own privy councillor, an old
man, took his place in the adjoining chamber, and kept watch. All of a
sudden, he heard a noise as if a number of people were walking on the
boards of the roof of my lady's room; then there was a sound of men
and women weeping; and when, thunderstruck, the councillor was
wondering what it could all be, there came a wild burst of laughter,
and all was silent. Early the following morning, the old women who had
charge of my lady's household presented themselves before my lord
Kôtsuké no Suké, and said--
"Since the middle of last month, the waiting-women have been
complaining to us of the ghostly noises by which my lady is nightly
disturbed, and they say that they cannot continue to serve her. We
have tried to soothe them, by saying that the devils should be
exorcised at once, and that there was nothing to be afraid of. Still
we feel that their fears are not without reason, and that they really
cannot do their work; so we beg that your lordship will take the
matter into your consideration."
"This is a passing strange story of yours; however, I will go myself
to-night to my lady's apartments and keep watch. You can come with
me."
Accordingly, that night my lord Kôtsuké no Suké sat up in person. At
the hour of the rat (midnight) a fearful noise of voices was heard,
and Sôgorô and his wife, bound to the fatal crosses, suddenly
appeared; and the ghosts, seizing the lady by the hand, said--
"We have come to meet you. The pains you are suffering are terrible,
but they are nothing in comparison with those of the hell to which we
are about to lead you."
At these words, Kôtsuké no Suké, seizing his sword, tried to sweep the
ghosts away with a terrific cut; but a loud peal of laughter was
heard, and the visions faded away. Kôtsuké no Suké, terrified, sent
his retainers to the temples and shrines to pray that the demons
might be cast out; but the noises were heard nightly, as before. When
the eleventh month of the year came round, the apparitions of human
forms in my lady's apartments became more and more frequent and
terrible, all the spirits railing at her, and howling out that they
had come to fetch her. The women would all scream and faint; and then
the ghosts would disappear amid yells of laughter. Night after night
this happened, and even in the daytime the visions would manifest
themselves; and my lady's sickness grew worse daily, until in the last
month of the year she died, of grief and terror. Then the ghost of
Sôgorô and his wife crucified would appear day and night in the
chamber of Kôtsuké no Suké, floating round the room, and glaring at
him with red and flaming eyes. The hair of the attendants would stand
on end with terror; and if they tried to cut at the spirits, their
limbs would be cramped, and their feet and hands would not obey their
bidding. Kôtsuké no Suké would draw the sword that lay by his bedside;
but, as often as he did so, the ghosts faded away, only to appear
again in a more hideous shape than before, until at last, having
exhausted his strength and spirits, even he became terror-stricken.
The whole household was thrown into confusion, and day after day
mystic rites and incantations were performed by the priests over
braziers of charcoal, while prayers were recited without ceasing; but
the visions only became more frequent, and there was no sign of their
ceasing. After the 5th year of Shôhô, the style of the years was
changed to Keian; and during the 1st year of Keian the spirits
continued to haunt the palace; and now they appeared in the chamber of
Kôtsuké no Suké's eldest son, surrounding themselves with even more
terrors than before; and when Kôtsuké no Suké was about to go to the
Shogun's castle, they were seen howling out their cries of vengeance
in the porch of the house. At last the relations of the family and the
members of the household took counsel together, and told Kôtsuké no
Suké that without doubt no ordinary means would suffice to lay the
ghosts; a shrine must be erected to Sôgorô, and divine honours paid to
him, after which the apparitions would assuredly cease. Kôtsuké no
Suké having carefully considered the matter and given his consent,
Sôgorô was canonized under the name of Sôgo Daimiyô, and a shrine was
erected in his honour. After divine honours had been paid to him, the
awful visions were no more seen, and the ghost of Sôgorô was laid for
ever.
In the 2d year of the period Keian, on the 11th day of the 10th month,
on the occasion of the festival of first lighting the fire on the
hearth, the various Daimios and Hatamotos of distinction went to the
castle of the Shogun, at Yedo, to offer their congratulations on this
occasion. During the ceremonies, my lord Hotta Kôtsuké no Suké and
Sakai Iwami no Kami, lord of the castle of Matsumoto, in the province
of Shinshiu, had a quarrel, the origin of which was not made public;
and Sakai Iwami no Kami, although he came of a brave and noble
family, received so severe a wound that he died on the following day,
at the age of forty-three; and in consequence of this, his family was
ruined and disgraced.[67] My lord Kôtsuké no Suké, by great good
fortune, contrived to escape from the castle, and took refuge in his
own house, whence, mounting a famous horse called Hira-Abumi,[68] he
fled to his castle of Sakura, in Shimôsa, accomplishing the distance,
which is about sixty miles, in six hours. When he arrived in front of
the castle, he called out in a loud voice to the guard within to open
the gate, answering, in reply to their challenge, that he was Kôtsuké
no Suké, the lord of the castle. The guard, not believing their ears,
sent word to the councillor in charge of the castle, who rushed out to
see if the person demanding admittance were really their lord. When he
saw Kôtsuké no Suké, he caused the gates to be opened, and, thinking
it more than strange, said--
"Is this indeed you, my lord? What strange chance brings your lordship
hither thus late at night, on horseback and alone, without a single
follower?"
[Footnote 67: In the old days, if a noble was murdered, and died
outside his own house, he was disgraced, and his estates were
forfeited. When the Regent of the Shogun was murdered, some years
since, outside the castle of Yedo, by a legal fiction it was given out
that he had died in his own palace, in order that his son might
succeed to his estates.]
[Footnote 68: Level stirrups.]
With these words he ushered in Kôtsuké no Suké, who, in reply to the
anxious inquiries of his people as to the cause of his sudden
appearance, said--
"You may well be astonished. I had a quarrel to-day in the castle at
Yedo, with Sakai Iwami no Kami, the lord of the castle of Matsumoto,
and I cut him down. I shall soon be pursued; so we must strengthen the
fortress, and prepare for an attack."
The household, hearing this, were greatly alarmed, and the whole
castle was thrown into confusion. In the meanwhile the people of
Kôtsuké no Suké's palace at Yedo, not knowing whether their lord had
fled, were in the greatest anxiety, until a messenger came from
Sakura, and reported his arrival there.
When the quarrel inside the castle of Yedo and Kôtsuké no Suké's
flight had been taken cognizance of, he was attainted of treason, and
soldiers were sent to seize him, dead or alive. Midzuno Setsu no Kami
and Gotô Yamato no Kami were charged with the execution of the order,
and sallied forth, on the 13th day of the 10th month, to carry it out.
When they arrived at the town of Sasai, they sent a herald with the
following message--
"Whereas Kôtsuké no Suké killed Sakai Iwami no Kami inside the castle
of Yedo, and has fled to his own castle without leave, he is attainted
of treason; and we, being connected with him by ties of blood and of
friendship, have been charged to seize him."
The herald delivered this message to the councillor of Kôtsuké no
Suké, who, pleading as an excuse that his lord was mad, begged the two
nobles to intercede for him. Gotô Yamato no Kami upon this called the
councillor to him, and spoke privately to him, after which the latter
took his leave and returned to the castle of Sakura.
In the meanwhile, after consultation at Yedo, it was decided that, as
Gotô Yamato no Kami and Midzuno Setsu no Kami were related to Kôtsuké
no Suké, and might meet with difficulties for that very reason, two
other nobles, Ogasawara Iki no Kami and Nagai Hida no Kami, should be
sent to assist them, with orders that should any trouble arise they
should send a report immediately to Yedo. In consequence of this
order, the two nobles, with five thousand men, were about to march for
Sakura, on the 15th of the month, when a messenger arrived from that
place bearing the following despatch for the Gorôjiu, from the two
nobles who had preceded them--
"In obedience to the orders of His Highness the Shogun, we
proceeded, on the 13th day of this month, to the castle of
Sakura, and conducted a thorough investigation of the affair.
It is true that Kôtsuké no Suké has been guilty of treason, but
he is out of his mind; his retainers have called in physicians,
and he is undergoing treatment by which his senses are being
gradually restored, and his mind is being awakened from its
sleep. At the time when he slew Sakai Iwami no Kami he was not
accountable for his actions, and will be sincerely penitent
when he is aware of his crime. We have taken him prisoner, and
have the honour to await your instructions; in the meanwhile,
we beg by these present to let you know what we have done.
"(Signed) GOTÔ YAMATO NO KAMI.
MIDZUNO SETSU NO KAMI.
_To the Gorôjiu, 2d year of Keian, 2d month, 14th day_."
This despatch reached Yedo on the 16th of the month, and was read by
the Gorôjiu after they had left the castle; and in consequence of the
report of Kôtsuké no Suké's madness, the second expedition was put a
stop to, and the following instructions were sent to Gotô Yamato no
Kami and Midzuno Setsu no Kami--
"With reference to the affair of Hotta Kôtsuké no Suké, lord of
the castle of Sakura, in Shimôsa, whose quarrel with Sakai
Iwami no Kami within the castle of Yedo ended in bloodshed. For
this heinous crime and disregard of the sanctity of the castle,
it is ordered that Kôtsuké no Suké be brought as a prisoner to
Yedo, in a litter covered with nets, that his case may be
judged.
"2d year of Keian, 2d month.
(_Signed by the Gorôjiu_) INABA MINO NO KAMI.
INOUYE KAWACHI NOKAMI.
KATÔ ECCHIU NO KAMI."
Upon the receipt of this despatch, Hotta Kôtsuké nô Suké was
immediately placed in a litter covered with a net of green silk, and
conveyed to Yedo, strictly guarded by the retainers of the two
nobles; and, having arrived at the capital, was handed over to the
charge of Akimoto Tajima no Kami. All his retainers were quietly
dispersed; and his empty castle was ordered to be thrown open, and
given in charge to Midzuno Iki no Kami.
At last Kôtsuké no Suké began to feel that the death of his wife and
his own present misfortunes were a just retribution for the death of
Sôgorô and his wife and children, and he was as one awakened from a
dream. Then night and morning, in his repentance, he offered up
prayers to the sainted spirit of the dead farmer, and acknowledged and
bewailed his crime, vowing that, if his family were spared from ruin
and re-established, intercession should be made at the court of the
Mikado,[69] at Kiyôto, on behalf of the spirit of Sôgorô, so that,
being worshipped with even greater honours than before, his name
should be handed down to all generations.
[Footnote 69: In the days of Shogun's power, the Mikado remained the
Fountain of Honour, and, as chief of the national religion and the
direct descendant of the gods, dispensed divine honours.]
In consequence of this it happened that the spirit of Sôgorô having
relaxed in its vindictiveness, and having ceased to persecute the
house of Hotta, in the 1st month of the 4th year of Keian, Kôtsuké no
Suké received a summons from the Shogun, and, having been forgiven,
was made lord of the castle of Matsuyama, in the province of Déwa,
with a revenue of twenty thousand kokus. In the same year, on the 20th
day of the 4th month, the Shogun, Prince Iyémitsu, was pleased to
depart this life, at the age of forty-eight; and whether by the
forgiving spirit of the prince, or by the divine interposition of the
sainted Sôgorô, Kôtsuké no Suké was promoted to the castle of Utsu no
Miya, in the province of Shimotsuké, with a revenue of eighty thousand
kokus; and his name was changed to Hotta Hida no Kami. He also
received again his original castle of Sakura, with a revenue of twenty
thousand kokus: so that there can be no doubt that the saint was
befriending him. In return for these favours, the shrine of Sôgorô was
made as beautiful as a gem. It is needless to say how many of the
peasants of the estate flocked to the shrine: any good luck that might
befall the people was ascribed to it, and night and day the devout
worshipped at it.
Here follows a copy of the petition which Sôgorô presented to the
Shogun--
"We, the elders of the hundred and thirty-six villages of the district
of Chiba, in the province of Shimôsa, and of the district of Buji, in
the province of Kadzusa, most reverently offer up this our humble
petition.
"When our former lord, Doi Shosho, was transferred to another castle,
in the 9th year of the period Kanyé, Hotta Kaga no Kami became lord of
the castle of Sakura; and in the 17th year of the same period, my lord
Kôtsuké no Suké succeeded him. Since that time the taxes laid upon us
have been raised in the proportion of one tô and two sho to each
koku.[70]
[Footnote 70: 10 Sho = 1 Tô. 10 Tô = 1 Koku.]
"_Item_.--At the present time, taxes are raised on nineteen of our
articles of produce; whereas our former lord only required that we
should furnish him with pulse and sesamum, for which he paid in rice.
"_Item_.--Not only are we not paid now for our produce, but, if it is
not given in to the day, we are driven and goaded by the officials;
and if there be any further delay, we are manacled and severely
reprimanded; so that if our own crops fail, we have to buy produce
from other districts, and are pushed to the utmost extremity of
affliction.
"_Item_.--We have over and over again prayed to be relieved from these
burthens, but our petitions are not received. The people are reduced
to poverty, so that it is hard for them to live under such grievous
taxation. Often they have tried to sell the land which they till, but
none can be found to buy; so they have sometimes given over their land
to the village authorities, and fled with their wives to other
provinces, and seven hundred and thirty men or more have been reduced
to begging, one hundred and eighty-five houses have fallen into ruins;
land producing seven thousand kokus has been given up, and remains
untilled, and eleven temples have fallen into decay in consequence of
the ruin of those upon whom they depended.
"Besides this, the poverty-stricken farmers and women, having been
obliged to take refuge in other provinces, and having no
abiding-place, have been driven to evil courses and bring men to speak
ill of their lord; and the village officials, being unable to keep
order, are blamed and reproved. No attention has been paid to our
repeated representations upon this point; so we were driven to
petition the Gorôjiu Kuzé Yamato no Kami as he was on his way to the
castle, but our petition was returned to us. And now, as a last
resource, we tremblingly venture to approach his Highness the Shogun
in person.
"The 1st year of the period Shôhô, 12th month, 20th day.
[Illustration: Seal] "The seals of the elders of the 136 villages."
The Shogun at that time was Prince Iyémitsu, the grandson of Iyéyasu.
He received the name of Dai-yu-In after his death.
The Gorôjiu at that time were Hotta Kôtsuké no Suké, Sakai Iwami no
Kami, Inaba Mino no Kami, Katô Ecchiu no Kami, Inouyé Kawachi no Kami.
The Wakadoshiyôri (or 2d council) were Torii Wakasa no Kami, Tsuchiya
Dewa no Kami, and Itakura Naizen no Sho.
* * * * *
The belief in ghosts appears to be as universal as that in the
immortality of the soul, upon which it depends. Both in China and
Japan the departed spirit is invested with the power of revisiting the
earth, and, in a visible form, tormenting its enemies and haunting
those places where the perishable part of it mourned and suffered.
Haunted houses are slow to find tenants, for ghosts almost always come
with revengeful intent; indeed, the owners of such houses will almost
pay men to live in them, such is the dread which they inspire, and the
anxiety to blot out the stigma.
One cold winter's night at Yedo, as I was sitting, with a few Japanese
friends, huddled round the imperfect heat of a brazier of charcoal,
the conversation turned upon the story of Sôgorô and upon ghostly
apparitions in general. Many a weird tale was told that evening, and I
noted down the three or four which follow, for the truth of which the
narrators vouched with the utmost confidence.
About ten years ago there lived a fishmonger, named Zenroku, in the
Mikawa-street, at Kanda, in Yedo. He was a poor man, living with his
wife and one little boy. His wife fell sick and died, so he engaged an
old woman to look after his boy while he himself went out to sell his
fish. It happened, one day, that he and the other hucksters of his
guild were gambling; and this coming to the ears of the authorities,
they were all thrown into prison. Although their offence was in itself
a light one, still they were kept for some time in durance while the
matter was being investigated; and Zenroku, owing to the damp and foul
air of the prison, fell sick with fever. His little child, in the
meantime, had been handed over by the authorities to the charge of the
petty officers of the ward to which his father belonged, and was being
well cared for; for Zenroku was known to be an honest fellow, and his
fate excited much compassion. One night Zenroku, pale and emaciated,
entered the house in which his boy was living; and all the people
joyfully congratulated him on his escape from jail. "Why, we heard
that you were sick in prison. This is, indeed, a joyful return." Then
Zenroku thanked those who had taken care of the child, saying that he
had returned secretly by the favour of his jailers that night; but
that on the following day his offence would be remitted, and he should
be able to take possession of his house again publicly. For that
night, he must return to the prison. With this he begged those present
to continue their good offices to his babe; and, with a sad and
reluctant expression of countenance, he left the house. On the
following day, the officers of that ward were sent for by the prison
authorities. They thought that they were summoned that Zenroku might
be handed back to them a free man, as he himself had said to them; but
to their surprise, they were told that he had died the night before in
prison, and were ordered to carry away his dead body for burial. Then
they knew that they had seen Zenroku's ghost; and that when he said
that he should be returned to them on the morrow, he had alluded to
his corpse. So they buried him decently, and brought up his son, who
is alive to this day.
The next story was told by a professor in the college at Yedo, and,
although it is not of so modern a date as the last, he stated it to be
well authenticated, and one of general notoriety.
About two hundred years ago there was a chief of the police, named
Aoyama Shuzen, who lived in the street called Bancho, at Yedo. His
duty was to detect thieves and incendiaries. He was a cruel and
violent man, without heart or compassion, and thought nothing of
killing or torturing a man to gratify spite or revenge. This man
Shuzen had in his house a servant-maid, called O Kiku (the
Chrysanthemum), who had lived in the family since her childhood, and
was well acquainted with her master's temper. One day O Kiku
accidentally broke one of a set of ten porcelain plates, upon which he
set a high value. She knew that she would suffer for her carelessness;
but she thought that if she concealed the matter her punishment would
be still more severe; so she went at once to her master's wife, and,
in fear and trembling, confessed what she had done. When Shuzen came
home, and heard that one of his favourite plates was broken, he flew
into a violent rage, and took the girl to a cupboard, where he left
her bound with cords, and every day cut off one of her fingers. O
Kiku, tightly bound and in agony, could not move; but at last she
contrived to bite or cut the ropes asunder, and, escaping into the
garden, threw herself into a well, and was drowned. From that time
forth, every night a voice was heard coming from the well, counting
one, two, three, and so on up to nine--the number of the plates that
remained unbroken--and then, when the tenth plate should have been
counted, would come a burst of lamentation. The servants of the house,
terrified at this, all left their master's service, until Shuzen, not
having a single retainer left, was unable to perform his public
duties; and when the officers of the government heard of this, he was
dismissed from his office. At this time there was a famous priest,
called Mikadzuki Shônin, of the temple Denzuin, who, having been told
of the affair, came one night to the house, and, when the ghost began
to count the plates, reproved the spirit, and by his prayers and
admonitions caused it to cease from troubling the living.
The laying of disturbed spirits appears to form one of the regular
functions of the Buddhist priests; at least, we find them playing a
conspicuous part in almost every ghost-story.
About thirty years ago there stood a house at Mitsumé, in the Honjô of
Yedo, which was said to be nightly visited by ghosts, so that no man
dared to live in it, and it remained untenanted on that account.
However, a man called Miura Takéshi, a native of the province of
Oshiu, who came to Yedo to set up in business as a fencing-master, but
was too poor to hire a house, hearing that there was a haunted house,
for which no tenant could be found, and that the owner would let any
man live in it rent free, said that he feared neither man nor devil,
and obtained leave to occupy the house. So he hired a fencing-room, in
which he gave his lessons by day, and after midnight returned to the
haunted house. One night, his wife, who took charge of the house in
his absence, was frightened by a fearful noise proceeding from a pond
in the garden, and, thinking that this certainly must be the ghost
that she had heard so much about, she covered her head with the
bed-clothes and remained breathless with terror. When her husband came
home, she told him what had happened; and on the following night he
returned earlier than usual, and waited for the ghostly noise. At the
same time as before, a little after midnight, the same sound was
heard--as though a gun had been fired inside the pond. Opening the
shutters, he looked out, and saw something like a black cloud floating
on the water, and in the cloud was the form of a bald man. Thinking
that there must be some cause for this, he instituted careful
inquiries, and learned that the former tenant, some ten years
previously, had borrowed money from a blind shampooer,[71] and, being
unable to pay the debt, had murdered his creditor, who began to press
him for his money, and had thrown his head into the pond. The
fencing-master accordingly collected his pupils and emptied the pond,
and found a skull at the bottom of it; so he called in a priest, and
buried the skull in a temple, causing prayers to be offered up for the
repose of the murdered man's soul. Thus the ghost was laid, and
appeared no more.
[Footnote 71: The apparently poor shaven-pated and blind shampooers of
Japan drive a thriving trade as money-lenders. They give out small
sums at an interest of 20 per cent. per month--210 per cent. per
annum--and woe betide the luckless wight who falls into their
clutches.]
The belief in curses hanging over families for generations is as
common as that in ghosts and supernatural apparitions. There is a
strange story of this nature in the house of Asai, belonging to the
Hatamoto class. The ancestor of the present representative, six
generations ago, had a certain concubine, who was in love with a man
who frequented the house, and wished in her heart to marry him; but,
being a virtuous woman, she never thought of doing any evil deed. But
the wife of my lord Asai was jealous of the girl, and persuaded her
husband that her rival in his affections had gone astray; when he
heard this he was very angry, and beat her with a candlestick so that
he put out her left eye. The girl, who had indignantly protested her
innocence, finding herself so cruelly handled, pronounced a curse
against the house; upon which, her master, seizing the candlestick
again, dashed out her brains and killed her. Shortly afterwards my
lord Asai lost his left eye, and fell sick and died; and from that
time forth to this day, it is said that the representatives of the
house have all lost their left eyes after the age of forty, and
shortly afterwards they have fallen sick and died at the same age as
the cruel lord who killed his concubine.