Whispered Shadow·Rakuchū / Shijō-Karasuma

Hanjozuka's Strange Funeral Legend

Book three of the Uji Shui Monogatari preserves the story of the burial of a daughter of the former governor of Nagato. The coffin meant to carry her to Toribeno was somehow found empty each time, her body returned to her old home. After this had happened several times and the body could no longer be moved, it's said — though accounts vary — that people concluded she must have wished to remain, and buried her on the spot, raising a high mound over her. Northwest of Hanjo Shrine, partway along a lane leading to Bukkoji-dori, it remains today as Hanjozuka. The story of a body that could not be moved stays put, set as a mound in the middle of the block, unmoving still.

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These notes come from desk research. Local traditions vary.