The Story Of Mimi-Nashi-Hōïchi

The Ghostly Sea

Long ago, there was a big war between two families: the Heike and the Genji. They fought a final battle at sea. The Heike family lost. Many people died in the water, including their young leader.

For 700 years, people have seen strange things at that beach. There are crabs with faces on their backs. At night, people see "ghost fires" on the water. When it is windy, the ocean sounds like people shouting and fighting.

The Temple

The ghosts were angry and dangerous. To make them happy and quiet, people built a temple called Amidaji. They also made graves for the dead. After that, the ghosts became more peaceful, but they did not go away completely.

Hoichi the Musician

A few hundred years ago, a blind man named Hoichi lived there. He was amazing at playing the biwa (a Japanese guitar) and telling stories. He was very famous. When he sang about the old battle, people cried because his music was so sad and beautiful.

Hoichi was poor, but the priest at the temple helped him. The priest said, "You can live here for free. You just need to play music for me sometimes." Hoichi was very happy and moved into the temple.