Tonight’s yokai is a yūrei, or simply, a ghost. There are lots of ways to say “ghost” in Japanese. Yūrei literally means “faint spirit,” and it is used for ghosts that are dim or hard to see, and tend not to be overtly violent but instead create an eerie atmosphere. Bōrei is another common term which shows up in Shokoku hyakumonogatari a lot, and this just means “dead spirit,” i.e. a spirit of a deceased person, and it is used much in the same way as yūrei.
The subject of this story is a Kirishitan, or a member of the Japanese Catholic community during the 16th and 17th centuries. (The term Kirishitan only refers to Japanese Christians from this era, and is not used to refer to Christians in Japan today.) This sect was eradicated in the 17th century when Christianity was outlawed (the “edict from Edo” mentioned in the story), and the Kirishitans who did not renounce their religion were tortured and executed in extremely brutal ways.
One of the ways in which Kirishitans were executed is alluded to in the story: “hanged upside down.” This is referring to a horrific form of torture in which a narrow, 2 meter deep hole was dug and the victim was suspended by their feet in the hole, so that the tops of their feet were at street level and their heads were deep underground. Normally, in this claustrophobic position, the pressure of the blood pooling in the head would damage the brain and bring unconsciousness in a matter of hours, then death shortly after that. Realizing this problem, the torturers found that if they pierced the temples or just behind the ears, the victim would bleed constantly and the excess pressure would be relieved, allowing them to suffer much, much longer. After death, the victims would be burned and buried in mass, unmarked graves, causing extra suffering for their families by making it impossible to give them a proper funeral.
The yūrei in this story are searching for bones — perhaps their own, or perhaps those of a loved on — to try to help them rest in peace. It’s eerie and sad, and the historical setting (and especially the rare subject of Kirishitans) makes it very interesting among kaidan.
The Ghosts of the Kirishitans
There was a Kirishitan sect in Tsu, Ise. By an edict from Edo, these people were hanged upside down, executed, and afterwards their bodies were burned in a place called Otobe.
Two or three days later, at dusk, a few samurai were passing by a place called Furukawa when they saw a beautiful woman dressed in a kazuki accompanied by a maidservant carrying a bag. Women like her were never seen in Ise, so the samurai wondered where she had come from, and quietly followed her. The woman headed towards Otobe, and when she reached the pit where the Kirishitans had been burnt, she solemnly picked out the bones. Two or three more women appeared out of nowhere and also began collecting bones, and then after a while they all disappeared.
