Chilling Legends: Hitobashira

Hello readers! I am back after taking a bit of a break as I had some other things to catch up on! Today’s legend actually has some truth to it.

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Hitobashira literally means human pillar. This was a practice in ancient times during the construction of important buildings- bridges, tunnels, dams and most importantly castles. They believed that using a human sacrifice would protect the buildings from both man made and natural disasters. This ritual would appease the nature spirits and protect the building. This was practiced through the 16th century, although skeletons have been found in buildings erected in the 20th century.

The practice is said to come from the idea that Japanese goddesses can be enshrined in poles or trees.

The first written records of Hitobashira can be found in Nihon Shoki. During 323 A.D, Kitakawa and Mamuta Rivers kept overflowing and the people had no way of protecting themselves. Emperor Nintoku had a divine revelation one night about a person named Kowakubi in the Musashi province, and another person named Koromono-ko in the Kawachi province. Sacrifice these two to the rivers deities, then construction of the embankments would be completed. Doing as he was told, Kowakubi was thrown into the river with a prayer following suit. As his vision had shown, the embankment was completed. However, Koromono-ko had escaped his fate and was never found.

Many castles in Japan are tied to this legend. Maruoka Castle in Fukui Prefecture is one of these castle that is said to house a hitobashira in the center.

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During the construction of Maruoka Castle, the Walls kept collapsing. They were repaired many times, but down they went. The head of the project decided that a human sacrifice was necessary. This would appease the spirits and the Walls would become sturdy. A one eyed woman named Oshizu was chosen for this honor. In return for her sacrifice, they promised that her son would be made a Samurai. So the woman agreed.

The castle was finally completed without fail. However, before her son was made a Samurai, the lord of the castle was relocated and the promise was never fulfilled. Since that time the castles make would over flow with the heavy spring rains. The people blamed it on Oshizu, who was angered by the unkept promise. They named this phenomenon “tears of Oshizu’s sorrow.” Soon a cenotaph was erected in the castle to calm her spirit.

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In 1754, the construction of river embankments commenced in Wanouchi, Gifu. Voluntarily, A local retainer gave his life to see the construction completed. He stayed under the rushing water, holding the pillar until it was secured from above. The sacrifice was seen as an offering the gods en-suite g the completion of the project. This project became known as the Horeki River Improvement Incident.

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#Hitobashira

Sources: Yokai.com, Wikipedia