When last we left off, we introduced the story of how Heitaro had stood alone against the yokai. Did Heitaro vanquish the yokai? Did peace return to his life*1?
Ino Mononokeroku Picture Scroll (Hotta private collection), (partial), private collection (courtesy of Miyoshi City Board of Education)
The Unshakable Heitaro
For days the yokai tried anything and everything in an attempt to scare Heitaro. On one occasion Heitaro was awoken by being stroked by a hand that was growing out of a woman’s neck and on another occasion, his face was licked by a huge face of a hag that emerged from the ceiling. There was even an episode when the head of an acquaintance, with whom Heitaro was talking, suddenly split in two and many babies came crawling out. Heitaro even had to sleep up against a post because the tatami in his room had turned sticky.
If Heitaro’s friends came to provide support, the yokai would hide all of the scabbards to their swords (though it is said that everything was returned to its rightful owner in the end), throw ashes from the incense burner at them, and eventually drive them off. If traps were set for the yokai, they would break, if ofuda amulets were pasted to the wall, graffiti would appear over them. And so, the number of people willing to help gradually dwindled.
However, Heitaro remained resolute. He believed that simply ignoring them, putting up his mosquito nets daily, making his futon and going to sleep, was for the best.
Gradually, Heitaro grew accustomed to the situation, casually pondering “I wonder what will come my way today?” But it wasn’t always aggression on the part of the yokai. The yokai also displayed acts of kindness such as bringing a barrel of pickles, almost as if offering hospitality, for the humans that had gathered to try to banish them. And even disguising themselves as a beautiful woman and serving Heitaro with bota-mochi (Japanese rice dumplings with red beans paste).
Ino Mononokeroku Picture Scroll (Hotta private collection), (partial), private collection (courtesy of Miyoshi City Board of Education)
The End of the Yokai Turmoil
After 30 days, the yokai turmoil that had been plaguing the house finally came to an end. On that night, a refined-looking samurai, going by the name of Sanmoto Gorozaemon, called at Heitaro’s house proclaiming to be the demon king who ruled over all the yokai. The demon king explained, “So that I may become the undisputed king of the demons I was competing with another demon king who goes by the name of Shinno Akugoro. We were trying to see who could be the first to make 100 boys lose their minds. However, I have never come across someone as fearless as you until now. I must say I’m very impressed. If in the future Shinno Akugoro should come and cause trouble for you, hit the northern post with this mallet and I will come to your aid.” With that Sanmoto Gorozaemon passed Heitaro a mallet and from that day forth nothing supernatural ever occurred again.
Inou mononokeroku Picture Scroll (Hotta Iemoto), (partial), private collection (courtesy of Miyoshi City Board of Education)
Take a Leisurely Stroll around the Sites of the Ino Mononokeroku Story
The series of events described in this story are depicted in the Ino Mononokeroku Picture Scroll (Hotta private collection). Materials related to Ino Mononokeroku, including the picture scroll itself, are on display at the Yumoto Koichi Memorial Japan Yokai Museum (Miyoshi Mononoke Museum) in Miyoshi City. The place names and shrines introduced in the story can still be found today and, as such, if you take a stroll around Miyoshi City you can enjoy visiting the spots related to this tale such as Mt. Higuma and the Daisai Shrine.
Furthermore, the mallet, which came into Heitaro’s possession, is presently a temple treasure of the Kokuzen-ji Temple, Higashi-ku, Hiroshima City. The nyoiho bakemono mallet is put on display for the public once a year on January 7 during the Ino festival.
(courtesy of Miyoshi City Tourism Official Website)
To kick off the new year, why not take a leisurely stroll through Setouchi while recalling the yokai turmoil of this tale, and pray for a prosperous year at the historic Itsukushima Shrine? And don’t forget, be sure to pay a visit to the yokai spots of Hiroshima on your next trip.
[Footnotes]
*1 In this article we briefly introduce the plot of the Ino Mononokeroku Picture Scroll (Hotta private collection).
[References]
Ino mononokeroku, trans. Natsuhiko Kyogoku, ed. Masao Azuma, KADOKAWA Sophia Bunko, 2019.
Kuramoto, Shirou. Yokai no Shozo—Ino Budayu Boken Emaki (Portrait of the Yokai—Ino Budayu Adventure Picture Scroll), Heibonsha, 2000.
Miyoshi Mononoke Museum Official Website, February 14, 2020.
Miyoshi City Tourism Official Website, February 14, 2020
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Miyoshi City Board of Education and Yumoto Koichi Memorial Japan Yokai Museum for the images and supervision they provided for this article.
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