The full moon is said to be the most beautiful of the year. This year, September 24 (August 15 on the lunar calendar) will be the most beautiful full moon of the year, and many places in Kyoto will be holding moon-viewing parties to appreciate the moon.

harvest moon

Many people have long been fascinated by this season's famous moon.but it is not only people,The "demon" is no exception.

Werewolves are known in the West as demons on the night of the full moon. In ancient times, also in Japan,On the night of the famous moon, demons often roamed the streets.It seems. The following incidents are recorded in the Konjaku Monogatari Shu and other works.

It was during the reign of Emperor Komatsu (Kouko) in the mid-Heian period. At that time,There is a large pine grove to the east of Butoku-den Hall in the Ouchiura, which was called "Banquet Pine Grove.

Reference Maps of National History" (National Diet of Japan Digital Collections)
The area circled in red corresponds to the Ouchiura and Banquet Pine Grove.

Illustration of Heian Palace restoration (from signboard)
The area circled in red corresponds to the Ouchiura and Banquet Pine Grove.

 

It was a bright moonlit night around the time of the Mid-Autumn Moon. Three young women were passing by the pine grove where the party was held. Then a beautiful young man appeared from the pine forest. The man took the hand of one of the three women and led her to the shade of a pine tree.

The two remaining women were waiting outside in the pine forest,The sound of men and women talking was abruptly interrupted.All was quiet in the pine forest. They waited and waited, but the woman did not return. Suspicious, the two women went into the pine forest, but there was no sign of the man and the woman.

Where on earth are you going ......?

Casually looking down at their feet, the two women were crushed to the liver. The woman's hands and feet, illuminated by the moonlight, were falling apart. What then?The demon must have disguised itself as a man and devoured the woman.Ouchiuchi was in an uproar.

This strange incident is also recorded in the "Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku," a history book that chronicles the reigns of the three emperors Seiwa, Yosei, and Mitsuko. The authentic history is.A very rare example of taking a bizarre case and attributing it to a demon.I hear it is.

It is still unclear why there was a vast pine grove within the Ouchi. It is generally believed that the pine grove was an alternative site for the replacement of the inner palace, since it was located in contrast to the inner palace. It is also said that the name "Banquet Pine Grove" indicates that this was the site where feasts were held. However, this was a time when there was no electricity,The pine forests are deserted by moonlight, and the shadows of the pine trees are black and eerie.I think it would have been.

In addition to the dismemberment murders, the Konjaku Monogatari-shu also tells the following strange story.

On a bright moonlit night in mid-September, a man was passing by the Banquet Pine Grove when he met a beautiful maiden. The man, however, became suspicious when he saw that the maiden was hiding her face with a fan, so he grabbed her by the hair and put his sword to her neck. Suddenly, the girl poured her smelly urine on the man and ran away with a cry of "konkku".

There is another story.

One night, a man meets a beautiful woman and they enter into a one-night stand. The woman told the man that she would die as a result of the contract and that she wanted him to copy the Lotus Sutra and offer it as a memorial service after her death. The next day, the man went to the area around Budokuden and found a dead fox with its face covered with the fan he had given her. The man then scribbled a copy of the Lotus Sutra and offered it to the fox. There is another story about a man who was testing his courage when he heard a mysterious voice coming from the pine forest at a banquet, and he ran away in a panic.

In those days, Banquet Pine Grove was regarded as a haunted place where foxes, raccoon dogs and ghosts haunted the area.The only thing that remains today is a stone monument at the site. Today, only a stone monument remains at the site, located at Senbon Nishiiru, Demizu Dori, Kamigyo-ku, Tokyo. I walked around the residential area,It was difficult to imagine the pine grove of the feast where demons once appeared in this area.

Banquet Pine Grove Stone Monument and Surroundings

Banquet Pine Grove Stone Monument

The heat wave has finally subsided, and I would like to enjoy the moon while feeling the cool night breeze. But perhaps we should be careful of the beautiful men and women we encounter in the moonlight. ......