Kowabana Encyclopedia: Curse of the Pilgrim

Found in: Kowabana 26: Oden Special: A hodgepodge of horror

Who the pilgrim was, exactly, remains unknown, but the curse he left behind has never been forgotten. Perhaps because that curse was powerful enough to wipe out an entire town.

Known as the “curse that spanned seven generations,” the story tells us of a village somewhere in Japan by the name of Miyazawa. Within this village you could find an area that grew wild with small willow trees, and as such, each spring the village took part in a customary “field burning.” This would set them up for their farm work for the year.

However, on this particular day, a white figure was seen dancing in the flames as the fields were set alight and the sun began to set. Naturally, the youths taking part in the ritual field burning were shocked. How could anyone be caught out there?

As they got closer, they realised that the white figure wasn’t dancing. Not exactly. It was a person, dressed in the traditional white clothing of someone on a pilgrimage, and as it turned out, this particular pilgrim was blind. He had chosen the field to sleep in, being somewhat near the village streets but far enough away to have some peace and quiet.

Perhaps waking up on fire was not how he envisioned this day going, however, and as he continued to burn, the youths simply watched in shock and did nothing to help. But this made him angry, and he screamed at them, accusing them of knowing he was there and still setting the fire.

This upsets them, as they truly did not know he was there, and their youthful pride won’t let them stand for such accusations. “If you want to die that much, then allow us to grant your wish!”

And so they spread the fire around him even faster, this time, on purpose and with glee. A simple misunderstanding turned the young men into murderers.

Finally, the pilgrim fell to the ground, black like charcoal. But in his final moments, his eyes sprang back open, white and cloudy and contrasting deeply with his burnt, blackened skin. And he cursed them. They have killed him although he did nothing wrong, and so their families will now suffer just as he has. In fact, the next seven generations of their family lines will be cursed to blindness.

And true to his word, everyone in the village soon succumbed to blindness. Before long, the village fell into decline, and by the time the story hit 2channel, it supposedly no longer existed. Probably safe to say the pilgrim’s curse worked, then.

Who was the pilgrim? Unknown. In the end, it perhaps doesn’t matter. He could have been you, me, or anyone. He was simply on a sacred pilgrimage, and while resting he was caught in an unfortunate situation. A situation made worse by youthful arrogance and misunderstandings. Misunderstandings that turned into a violent curse that then wiped an entire village out. A warning story, perhaps, and a gentle reminder that what goes around comes around.