Haunted. . .
Not all scary stories are made up—The Tale of Oiwa is based on a real event that took place in 17th century Edo:
Oiwa was a stunningly beautiful young woman who was married to the samurai Iemon, a petty man who only loved her for her head-turning looks. Another woman, Oume, was madly in love with Iemon and out of jealous rage, she tricked Oiwa into using a cream that was laced with poison. It disfigured Oiwa’s face, causing one of her eyes to droop and her hair to fall out, without her even noticing.
Disgusted with her new appearance, Iemon wished to divorce Oiwa and marry Oume. The despicable samurai hired his friend Takuetsu to rape Oiwa, so that he would have the grounds for divorce. Takuetsu was so shocked by Oiwa’s appearance, he couldn’t follow through with the orders. Instead, he told Oiwa of Iemon’s plan, and showed Oiwa her own face in a mirror. Seeing her deformed face for the first time, Oiwa was so horrified that she stole Takuetsu’s sword, killing herself. With her last breath, she cursed Iemon’s name.
On the night of Iemon’s remarriage to Oume, the ghost of the disfigured Oiwa appeared before him. A terrified and guilty Iemon quickly fled from Oiwa, but no matter how far he ran, he couldn’t escape her hauntings. After that night, no matter where Iemon looked—even in the very lanterns he used to light his path—he would see Oiwa’s face staring back at him.
We may all worship and love for the wrong reasons and in the end the karma of misguided emotions/attrsctions will haunt us without remorse.
Peace and Love, Jim
#haunted #thedailybuddha
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