Tag: IKISUDAMA
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The Matsutooya Haunting: When Two Living Spirits Turned Deadly in Edo-Period Kyoto
Why This Story I first encountered this account while researching documented cases of ikiryō—living spirits—in Edo-period records, and it immediately stood out for its unusual trajectory. Unlike most ghost stories where the supernatural elements remain comfortably abstract, this one pivots midway through: what begins as a haunting by living spirits transforms into something far more…
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The Living Spirit That Haunted Japan’s Capital: A Medieval Tale of Vengeance Beyond Death
WHY THIS STORY MATTERS When I first encountered this tale in medieval Japanese folklore literature, I was struck by something that lingered long after I finished reading: it wasn’t a ghost story in the Western sense. It was something far more unsettling. Most ghost narratives explore death—what happens when someone dies and cannot let go.…