Follow-up to “I Saw Something Strange”

[1] I’m posting this time on behalf of the person who previously started the thread titled “I Saw Something Strange.” The original thread was already deleted, so I thought there might be people on the original message board curious about what happened afterwards, which is why I decided to start this thread. First, a disclaimer: the poster of this thread is a different person from the one who started the previous “I Saw Something Strange” thread. Regarding my connection to the original poster (OP), they visited a Buddhist temple and a Shinto shrine after creating that thread.

A shrine (jinja) is a Japanese religious facility based on the beliefs of Shinto, enshrining deities (Kami).

[1] I am the son of the head priest (Kannushi) of that shrine.

A Kannushi is a Shinto priest. They perform Shinto rituals and manage the shrine.

[1] I met the OP when they came to our shrine to talk with members of the local hunters’ association (Ryōyūkai). My father, the head priest, and I listened to their detailed story, and we kept in touch several times after that. Currently, the person who started the previous thread is not in a condition to post themselves. While I’m not exactly acting as their proxy, I’m posting here to report on what happened afterwards.

• [4] Ah, that story.

[5] I haven’t written this out in advance, so please bear with me if my posts are slow. First, about my family’s shrine: it’s not a particularly famous or large shrine within Ishikawa Prefecture, just an ordinary one located up in the mountains. It’s definitely not the kind of shrine that receives a lot of monetary offerings (osaisen), so it’s mostly maintained by the rental income from parking lots on land that has been passed down through generations. Although it’s a small shrine like that, its history is apparently quite old, and it’s said to be a respectable shrine with a proper lineage. Incidentally, my father and grandfather can apparently perceive spiritual entities to some extent and have the ability to exorcise them. I can only see them. For now, anyway. (lol)

[6] From now on, I’ll refer to the OP of the previous thread as A-san to avoid confusion. I believe it was mid-April when A-san came to our shrine. The house phone rang around 1:00 PM, and about 10 minutes later, A-san arrived with three members of the hunters’ association. My father seemed to have already heard a general outline of the situation, as he guided A-san and the hunters into the reception room of the shrine office (shamusho) – though it just has two sofas – and began listening to their story. Since I’m expected to eventually take over the shrine, I try to be involved in my father’s work in some way whenever possible, staying nearby as much as I can. That day too, I was leaning against the wall of the room, listening as my father, A-san, and the hunters sat on the sofas and talked.

[7] A-san mentioned that they had stopped by a Buddhist temple with the hunters before coming to our shrine, and shared what they had heard from the head monk there. Having grown up hearing all sorts of stories about yokai, mountain gods, and the like since I was little, I was usually tired of those kinds of tales, but I remember being surprised because it sounded very similar to a story my grandfather once told me.

[11] To briefly summarize the story I heard from my grandfather: long ago, there was a village of mountain folk (Yama no Tami) deep in the mountains. These people looked different from the villagers in the foothills (sato) and faced persecution. A child born among them had an unusual, deformed appearance (igyou). The mountain folk believed this child was a reincarnation of a god and, seeking revenge against the foothill villagers, had the child live in a small mountain shrine (yashiro) to make them into a god.

A yashiro is a relatively small Shinto structure enshrining a deity. It may be located within the grounds of a larger shrine or exist independently.

[11] That child then apparently mingled with the mountain god (Yama no Kami) who originally resided in the small shrine (the nuance seems to be something like they merged or fused), and began to ravage the foothill village. Its form was like a giant caterpillar, and it apparently crushed crops in the fields with its body. At first, it only ravaged the foothill village, but eventually, it started attacking the mountain folk’s village as well. In the end, the mountain folk themselves supposedly confined it so it couldn’t leave the mountain. Well, it was the kind of common folktale told to children, basically saying “revenge is bad.”

[15] A-san told their story and left, but they gave me their contact information (cell phone number and email address), so we kept in touch for a week or two after that. Just things like “How are you doing?” or “How’s the dog?” Gradually, I started to forget about it, and life went back to normal until around mid-September. But then, the hunters’ association members came again in mid-September. This time, hikers had apparently seen it. Something large, hairy all over, and resembling a caterpillar. My father and grandfather listened to their whole story, and at that point, I wondered how A-san was doing and sent them an email. When I didn’t get a reply after two days, I called them around 3:00 PM on the third day. A-san’s mother answered and told me that A-san was currently hospitalized. Apparently, they fell down the stairs around mid-May and haven’t regained consciousness since. As for the dog, its wounds became infected, and it unfortunately died.

• [16] Seriously?
• [17] The dog…

[19] I thought about contacting the campsite as well, but for some reason, their website wouldn’t load (maybe it was shut down?), so I couldn’t find their phone number, and that’s where things stand now. My grandfather says it’s the same creature from the old story he told me.