#195 Akama Jingu

Yamaguchi ken, Shimonoseki shi

This shrine was built to commemorate the spirit of the six-year-old Emperor Antoku, who died here during the decisive Battle of Dan-no-Ura between the Genji (Minamoto) and Heike (Taira) clans in 1185.

There is a display of Heikegani found in the vicinity shore; a species of crab with a shell that bears a pattern resembling a human face, which is interpreted to be the face of an angry samurai. The crabs are named after the once powerful Heike (Taira) clan which dominated medieval Japan. It is believed that these crabs are reincarnations of the Heike warriors defeated at the naval Battle of Dan-no-ura as told in The Tale of the Heike.

On the side of the main shrine, there is a sculpture of "Miminashi (Earless) Hoichi"

Summary of the legend "Earless Hoichi"

According to legend, Hoichi was a blind minstrel (or biwa hōshi) with an amazing gift for the biwa (a loquat-shaped Japanese lute). He was particularly good at performing The Tale of the Heike, an epic describing the fall of Emperor Antoku, who is buried at Amidaji Temple. His performances were so wonderful that "even the goblins could not refrain from tears". Despite his talents, Hoichi was very poor and was forced to live at Amidaji Temple under the care of a friendly priest.

As the story goes, Hoichi was approached late one night by a gruff samurai who demanded that the minstrel play for his lord without the priest's knowledge. The retainer led the blind Hoichi into what appeared to be the home of some powerful daimyō, where a performance of The Tale of the Heike was requested. Hoichi's performance was met by high praise and moved his audience to tears, and he was asked to return the next evening for a follow-up recital. Before the retainer returned him to his temple, Hoichi was told that the nobleman for whom he had been playing was traveling incognito and was warned not to speak of the evening's events.

The following evening, the samurai returned to Hoichi's quarters and led him back to the nobleman. However, this time Hoichi's absence was discovered by the priest. The priest then had searchers sent to find Hoichi; he was eventually found playing his biwa furiously in the middle of the Amidaji cemetery. When they dragged him back to the temple, Hoichi explained the previous night's events to the priest.

Realizing that Hoichi had been bewitched by ghosts, the priest vowed to save his friend from further trickery. He painted Hoichi's body with the kanji characters of the Heart Sūtra for protection and instructed him to remain silent and motionless when he is called upon again by his ghostly audience. That evening the samurai called for Hoichi as before and was angered when he received no response. The retainer, revealed to be a wandering spirit, approached Hoichi but was unable to see anything but his ears. The sutra had rendered the rest of Hoichi's body invisible. Attempting to comply with his orders, the samurai ripped Hoichi's ears off as proof that they had been the only portion of the lute player that he could see.

After the ghostly retainer had left, Hoichi was still too frightened to react, despite the blood gushing from the wounds on his head. When the priest returned, he realized in dismay that he had neglected to write the sutra on Hoichi's ears, which had left them vulnerable to the spirit. Despite his injury, Hoichi's ordeal had freed him from the spirit's power, and he went on to recover from his wounds and become a famous musician.