Case file · Folklore / legend
Hōichi the earless
A tale printed in 1782 tells of Hōichi, a blind biwa player at Amida-ji (now Akama shrine) who was summoned at night to sing for the ghosts of the Heike clan drowned at Dan-no-ura in 1185.
1782 CE · 33.96, 130.95 · status: legend
The account
A priest painted sutras over his body to hide him, but forgot his ears, which the ghostly samurai tore off. Lafcadio Hearn's 1904 version made it world-famous; a statue of Hōichi stands at the shrine.