Tonight’s story is one that I quite enjoy. It’s much more of a fully narrated and fleshed out story than many of the tales in Mimibukuro, and while it is not quite “kaidan” territory, it is fully in the “kidan” realm, and has an excellent balance of fear and humor. This would be a great one to tell out loud, especially with the repeated sound effects.

This story also reminds me of one of my favorite ghost stories: the tale of Kohada Koheiji—although that story is much more fully developed than this one. It is not hard to speculate, though, that this tale and that one may even be derived from an earlier tale about a murder among a theater troupe; but I’m not ready to go down a rabbit hole looking into the origins of these stories.

My favorite part of this tale is the repeated scream and thud, so I made that the focus of tonight’s illustration. I hope you enjoy it!

The Strange Death of an Actor

This happened in the summer of the eighth year of the Kansei era (1796), the Year of the Dragon.

A man living in Tenma-chō who served as the leader of a traveling theater troupe, traveling the country, staged a performance in Gyōtoku. It was a massive hit, and he made a considerable profit. His fellow troupe members were overjoyed as well.

When the show ended, the four of them boarded a boat headed toward Gyōtokugashi. The troupe leader said, “Everything went smoothly this time.” And, having prepared food and sake, the four of them began drinking together. However, somehow the troupe leader vanished from sight within the cramped boat—perhaps he had fallen into the sea.

The remaining three men and the boatman were very alarmed. They turned back toward Gyōtoku, hired some divers to cast nets. They searched all over, but they could not even find a body. Since there was no more they could do, the three men left the boat behind and decided that they should inform the troupe leader’s wife.

They boarded a ferry and returned to Edo, and shortly after noon they arrived at the tenement in Tenmachō where the troupe leader lived. However, all three were too frightened to enter and hesitated, arguing back and forth, “You go first.”

Finally they said, “Anyway, we are not bringing good news, so there is bound to be trouble. In that case, let us have a drink first and then go.” And they went to a nearby sake shop, had a drink, and then returned to the house.

Just as before, all three of them hesitated to enter; but finally, the oldest man stepped forward and went in. The others followed him inside.

The troupe leader’s wife was doing the laundry by the gate. She looked at the three men and said, “Why did you come back so late? My husband returned this morning.”

Surprised, they said, “He got back safely? We wish to see him. Please show us the way.”

“He got back a little while ago, had a drink and a meal, and now he is sleeping upstairs. Just go ahead on up,” she replied.

The three grew even more uneasy and said, “Maybe you should go up first and wake him.”

Since they were old theater colleagues and there was no need for her to show them around, the wife did not understand what they were talking about and she just ignored them, continuing her chores. The troupe members forcibly stopped her from tending to the fire and such, and made her go upstairs.

She went up. They heard her scream, “Waaah!!” and seemingly collapse to the floor.

Startled by the sound, some neighbors rushed over. The three men explained the situation, called the landlord, and then went upstairs together. It appeared that the troupe leader had indeed returned and went to sleep, as the furnishings were in disarray. The wife was lying unconscious right beside them.

When they splashed some water on her face, the wife gradually came to her senses. They asked her what had happened, and she said: “When he came home this morning, everything was exactly as usual. But now that I think about it, he said something strange. He said, ‘If I should die, hold a proper funeral for me, and then feel free to remarry whoever you like.’ I thought he was joking, but then he said something else strange… But I cannot tell anyone else what it was.”

The others urged her earnestly, “Surely there are things that are difficult to discuss between husband and wife, but if it is alright, please tell us.”

She replied, “It is not a matter between husband and wife. Nor is it a matter that I am ashamed to speak of. But, my husband strictly warned me not to let anyone else know of this…” And she refused to speak any further.

The others coaxed and pleaded with her, until finally she said, “In that case… very well,” and began to speak.

As soon as two or three words came out of her mouth, there was a noise from above the second floor like a large stone being dropped.

The woman screamed, “Waaah!” and collapsed. Everyone else was so frightened and, unable to listen to the rest of the story, they went back to their own homes.

One of those three troupe members had dealings with someone in the Udagawa household, and the topic of this story came up. This person pressed the troupe member: “Just what were those two or three words that the troupe leader’s wife told you?”

He had no choice but to recount the story.

However, as he did there was a sound in the next room like a large stone being dropped, and he was so startled that he stopped immediately—at least that is what people say.