桥姬：宇治桥边住着一个想找人报仇的女人

Japan has a very old story called Hashihime, about the goddess—or female ghost—of the Uji Bridge in Kyoto.

The Uji Bridge is one of the oldest bridges in Japan, first built in the seventh century. In ancient times, a bridge was not only for crossing a river; it was also a boundary, a place guarded by spirits. The goddess guarding this bridge was called Hashihime. The last ten chapters of The Tale of Genji all take place in Uji, and one of them is titled "Hashihime."

Later, the story changed. In one version of The Tale of the Heike, there is a woman like this: she was abandoned by her husband, driven mad with jealousy, and ran to the Kifune Shrine north of Kyoto. Every night she prayed, asking the gods to turn her into a demon. The gods were moved by her and told her: if she wanted to become a demon, she must split her hair into five strands, tie them into five horns, paint her face red, paint her body red, place an iron ring on her head, light three candles on the ring, and immerse herself in the Uji River for twenty-one days. She did exactly as told, and on the twenty-first day she truly became a demon. She first killed the man who abandoned her, then his relatives, and finally she killed anyone she saw—men, women, old and young, sparing no one.

The Noh play Tetsurin is also a version of this story, featuring the onmyōji Abe no Seimei, who comes to resolve this curse.

This story has spawned many variations. For example, in some places in Kyoto, when a bride marries, the wedding procession does not cross the Uji Bridge, for fear that Hashihime will be jealous; others say that couples who cross the Uji Bridge together will break up.

There is still a Hashihime Shrine beside the Uji Bridge today, enshrining her. Locals say she blesses relationships; those seeking love go there, and those seeking to sever bad ties also go there, and it is said that both kinds of people come to pray.

#Ghosts #网络转载 #日本怪谈