The Inn on Moon Shadow Hill

First Published: September, 1999 by Dark Horse Comics

• Miyamoto Usagi

Obakémono

Japan has an incredibly rich tradition of folklore. Usagi has encountered a few of the more maleficent obaké (haunts), such as the kappa, obakéneko, the tengu, and the nue, and will, no doubt, meet up with a few more.

This issue, however, focuses on some of the weirder of the Japanese monsters of folklore. I grew up hearing of some of these creatures in Hawaii, which has a huge Japanese-American population. A mujina (faceless woman) was purported to have haunted the women's restroom at the old Waialae Drive-In Theatre in Honolulu. She really didn't do anything. The story usually unfolds as a woman goes into the restroom and sees a girl coming her long hair. She sees a reflection of her face in the mirror...only there is no face, just a smooth, egg-like shape. The girl may or may not have feet...a trait common to many Japanese ghosts. The drive-in is no longer there, having been torn down to make way for a subdivision.

Many obakémono seem to be fairly benign, such as the rokuroshikubi (long-neck woman) or the sasosho (that hairy foot with the eye)...and what's with that walking umbrella (bakegasa)?

For another story of a mujina and other strange tales, I suggest Kwaidan by Lafcadio Hearn (Dover Publications, NY, 1968).

The story begins with Usagi on the road with the evening soon approaching. A peasant passes him hurriedly going in the other direction, and Usagi asks if a town is nearby. There is not, but an inn is up the road, but he should hurry because "It's almost dark." The peasant continues on his hurried way. Usagi then comes upon a sign, which reads "Beware of Obakemono." Usagi, though thinking it is probably some sort of joke, decides he should hurry on to the inn. Before he can reach the inn, he is set upon by a foxfire. However, he is able to reach the inn, though quite short of breath.

At the inn, Usagi describes what happened to the innkeeper, who is unmoved by his story and, in fact, good-naturedly explains haunts of all sorts inhabit the area surrounding the inn. Usagi notices the inn is rather busy and sees that the obakemono must be good for business. The innkeeper relates that the inn is a sanctuary from the haunts outside and that many come to the inn to "party in their rooms and then watch the monsters" from the safety of the inn's upper deck.

Usagi asks the innkeeper if anyone has attempted to face the obakemono, and the innkeeper replies "Oh, many times, but they always flee back to the inn." At this point the innkeeper mentions the challenge of the white stone, which a merchant then elaborates upon. A white stone labeled "truth" lies in the center of the graveyard. It is a test of bravery to fetch the stone back to the inn. So far, no one has been successful. After extensive rude cajoling by the merchant, Usagi accepts a bet to retrieve the stone: 50 ryo from the merchant versus 5 years' service as a yojimbo by Usagi to said merchant. The innkeeper is quite dismayed by the bet as "he stakes are too high!"

Usagi makes his way to the cemetery, and it is not long before he is set upon by the first of the obakemono, a yurei (ghost). Soon, he is confronted by a virtual horde of bizarre haunts. As they advance upon him, admonishing him to "go back . . . back to the inn," Usagi unsheathes his blade and swings away at one of the creatures. He discovers it is a fake, simply a doll stuffed with straw, and all the others are fakes also. At this point, he spies a trio of girls fleeing the area.

He catches up with one of the girls, and then all three beg for mercy. They explain they are the daughters of the innkeeper and that after discovering by accident how much business a foxfire sighting generated, they began to stage more and more elaborated haunts to entice customers to frequent their inn. The challenge of the white stone was just a way to "add another level of excitement." The girls are saddened now that the inn and the area around it, which are just beginning to prosper, will all change once Usagi reveals their deceit. Of course, Usagi has other plans.

After allowing a suitable amount of time to pass, Usagi returns to the inn, making a dramatic entrance as a samurai scared witless. He gives a convincing and harrowing account of the monsters outside the inn and how their evil chilled his "bones the marrow." He tells of how he could only run for the safety of the inn and does not know how he ever made it back. At this point, he is reminded of the bet, and the merchant is smug, believing he has won. Of course, he has not. Usagi reveals the stone, saying by "sheer luck" he ran into the graveyard and stumbled over the stone.

Finally, 50 ryo in hand, Usagi hands the confused innkeeper back the white stone to return to the graveyard and with a smirk tells the innkeeper his daughters want broiled eels for breakfast.

Last change: 19. May 2003

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Usagi Yojimbo, including all prominent characters featured in the stories and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Stan Sakai and Usagi Studios. Usagi Yojimbo is a registered trademark of Stan Sakai. Names, characters, places, and incidents featured in this publication either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events, institutions, or locales, without satiric content, is coincidental.