Kurozuka is the iconic horror story, a play of the fifth category of "demon plays." It features a kijo ("demon woman"), also called onibaba ("demon hag"), women who have turned into a demon as a result of karma and resentment. They often appear in Japanese legends, folktales, fairy tales, and performing arts. The story of the demon hag of Kurozuka has been retold in The Japanese Fairy Book by Yei Theodora Ozaki, and can be found at Wikisource, but as always in the case of folktales, there exist many variants.
Kurozuka, or the Black Mound, is a heap of large rocks in the grounds of Kanzeji Temple, just outside central Nihonmatsu (near Adachi station). Nihonmatsu is located in the Nakadori section of Fukushima prefecture, between the cities of Fukushima and Koriyama. Nihonmatsu's western border consists of the Adatara mountain range (1,728 m), one of Japan's "hyakumeizan" (100 famous mountains, as defined by mountaineer and author Fukuda Kyuya), while the Abukuma River runs through the eastern part. Nihonmatsu was part of ancient Mutsu Province and developed as a post station on the Oshu Kaido highway and as the castle town of the Niwa family, a 100,700 koku domain in the Edo period. Nihonmatsu Castle, also known as Kasumigajo Castle, is a historical site, although the castle was destroyed during the Boshin Civil War of 1868. But the grounds are famous for cherry blossom viewing as well as the Chrysanthemum Doll Festival in autumn, and the castle's main gate, Minowamon, has been rebuilt. There is a great panoramic view from the donjon on the top of the hill (after a steep climb!).
[Kurozuka, the Black Mound, in Kanzeji Temple, Nihonmatsu]
The Noh play Kurozuka (called “Adachigahara” in the Kanze school - "Field of Adachi" is the name of this area) tells the story of two priests who stop by the hut of the Onibaba in Adachi. They are mountain priests (yamabushi) from Nachi in Kumano (southern Wakayama), an ajari called Yukei and his companions, and are making a pilgrimage to the far northern provinces to ask for alms. When they arrive at Adachigahara, the sun has already set. The only dwelling they see, for miles around, is a shabby hut. A woman, who seems significantly aged, lives in the house. Although the ajari asks her for one night’s lodging, she declines his request, as it would be too embarrassing to have them stay in such a shabby place. But as they have nowhere else to go, the ajari implores her for help until she finally accepts his request.
Inside, the ajari sets his eyes on a spinning wheel and asks the woman to show them
how to spin thread. The woman sits down in front of the wheel and spins thread, while speaking about her loneliness when operating the spinning wheel. "I who was lowly born spin hemp into thread and twist thread until the middle of the night. The labor of living in this world is bitterly harsh." The woman laments her misfortune that she cannot free herself from her bitter karma in this uncertain world and describes the evanescence of life. Her narration sounds philosophical and it seems that she has found the truth of life.
[Kurozuka by Toriyama Sekien, 1781]
By now, the night has deepened. The woman announces that she must go out to gather firewood to keep off the cold and has her guests to promise her not to
look into the inner room of the house while she is out. After repeatedly cautioning them, she leaves for the mountain.
Curious, the servant of the priests disobeys the old woman's order and finds to his horror that the inner room is filled with the bones and rotting corpses of people: "...numberless corpses are piled up to the eaves. The floor is covered with pus and blood, and the room is filled with the stench of discomposing. The corpses are swollen, and the dead skin and fat are putrefied." The priests realize that the woman must be a man-eating demon, the one who has been rumored to reside at Kurozuka in Adachigahara, and they immediately flee the house.
As they are about to run away, the Onibaba returns in a rage, in her demon form, a horrendous transformation. This is played by the nochi-shite wearing a Hannya mask. Although she tries to catch and eat them, when the priests pray with all their strength, the ogre's powers are weakened and she vanishes in the night storm. The priests are able to escape through the power of their Buddhist prayers to the esoteric deities.
There is no explanation of the title, "Black Mound," in the Noh play. As the Kurozuka in Nihonmatsu is a heap of rocks (see photo above) in some versions of the legend the Onibaba lives not in a normal dwelling, but in a sort of cave dwelling - that is one explanation. The other is that after she was subdued with the help of Buddhism, her body was buried in a "Black Mound."
So far the plot of the Noh play Kurozuka. In my series "Haiku Travels" at this blog, I have written about the humorous haiku the 18th c. poet Kyotai wrote when he visited the Black Mound. I also provide the backstory of the old woman: the terrible experience that turned her into such a fearsome monster. Please read my article "Haiku Travels (1) - Kyotai and Nihonmatsu" at this blog.
In 1964, scriptwriter and director Kaneto Shindo made the film Onibaba based on an old Buddhist fable, which tells the tale of a woman who, jealous of her daughter-in-law, dons a mask and tries to scare the girl and stop her from meeting her lover. The woman fails because the daughter-in-law's love is much stronger than her fear of the supposed demon. As a punishment from Buddha, the mask permanently sticks to the mother's face. Read more about this wonderful film in the article Onibaba at this blog.
Unfortunately, there is no English translation yet of Kurozuka, but the Noh Plays Database contains not only a synopsis, but also a PDF with translated highlights. See here for detailed information about Kurozuka.
Kurozuka was many times adapted for the Kabuki; in 1939 it was made into a modern Kabuki dance drama.
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