Greetings yokai lovers!
Today’s post is kainan hōshi, the creepy ghosts from the Izu Islands. While July is the heart of ghost season here in Japan, you fortunately won’t have to worry about these spooky guys coming to get you until January!
Read on to see what makes them so interesting:
海難法師
かいなんほうし
Translation: shipwreck priest
Alternate names: kannan bōshi, Hiimisama
Habitat: ocean waters around the Izu Islands
Appearance: Kainan hōshi are the ghosts of drowned shipwreck victims. They roam the open sea, riding in washbasins like little boats. On the 24th night of the 1st month of the old lunar calendar, the kainan hōshi come to shore and visit the villages of the Izu Islands. Anyone unfortunate enough to witness them is doomed die.
Interactions: On the Izu Islands, the 24th day of the 1st month is a day of ritual fasting. People do not go to work, and you must stay indoors and remain silent all day. Going outside even to use the outhouse is forbidden–before modern plumbing was invented, villagers would prepare bottles and pots for that purpose. In case you have no choice but to go outside, you should place fragrant leaves in your hair or put a bag over your head. By all means you must never look in the direction of the ocean.
Traditions vary from island to island. In general, on the night of the 24th the kainan hōshi come ashore. Residents plug up the cracks of their doors and shutters with the fragrant leaves of false holly (Osmanthus heterophyllus) and mock orange (Pittosporum tobira). The following day, the sprigs are ceremonially burned. If they make loud noises while burning, it is a signal that the year’s harvest will be bountiful. On Miyake Island they travel from house to house and chant, “Give us dishes, give us bowls, or else give us a human child!” Miyake Islanders place dishes and bowls in front of their houses in order to protect themselves.
On Izu Ōshima these spirits are called Hiimisama and worshipped at a small shrine. On the 24th, a single family is tasked with receiving the Hiimisama as guests. One member of that family spends the night alone on the beach. There, exposed to the elements, they await the Hiimisama’s coming, welcome them, and see that they leave safely.
People who refuse to follow these superstitions soon meet with disaster. Those who fail to put leaves in their doors, or who open their doors during this period may lose the ability to speak, or contract psychological illnesses requiring hospitalization. People foolish enough to venture outside have returned home covered in blood and unable to explain what happened to them. And anyone who catches a glimpse of the kainan hōshi will die.
Origin: Kainan hōshi originate in an incident that took place in 1628. The governor of Hachijō Island, Toyoshima Tadamatsu, was a wicked lord who was hated by the islanders he ruled over. His subjects conspired to murder him. In one version of the story, the islanders convinced Tadamatsu to perform his routine tour of the islands during a time when the sea was roughest. On the 24th day of the 1st month, a storm came down upon Tadamatsu’s boat, and he was lost at sea. Tadamatsu’s vengeful spirit became an onryō. Ever since then, on the anniversary of his death, the ghost of Tadamatsu performs its island tour, seeking vengeance on the treacherous islanders who tricked him.
Another version of the legend says that kainan hōshi are the spirits of twenty five islanders who conspired against Tadamatsu. They murdered him on a dark and stormy night. Afterwards, they escaped into the rough seas riding in wooden washbasins. The conspirators sailed from island to island, but no villagers were willing to give them shelter. And so they were forced to roam the sea, until a storm on the 24th day of the 1st month capsized their ship and they all drowned. Their spirits became onryō. Every year on the anniversary of their deaths, they sail from island to island, cursing the faithless islanders who refused to shelter them.
Kainan hōshi share a number of similarities with funa yūrei, umi bōzu, and other seaborn ghosts. However, the superstitions and customs surrounding kainan hōshi suggest a connection with mikari baba, namahage, and other spirits classified as raihōjin–gods who visit during New Year’s. The dates, ritual purification, decoration of entrances, and receiving of potentially dangerous spirits as guests are features shared by a number of local traditions across Japan.