The Tale of Hashihime
Long ago, a woman was betrayed by the man she loved with all her heart.
In the depths of despair, she prayed to the gods:
“Please, turn me into a demon. Let this unbearable pain become my strength.”
She performed a ritual by the Uji River to transform herself into a demon.
Eventually, her wish was granted—and she took revenge on those who had wronged her.
Yet, the people of Uji did not let her story end as merely a tale of terror.
They recognized the agony of betrayal, the loneliness, and the torment that drove her to become a demon.
Instead of fearing her, they honored her spirit and offered her peace.
Today, Hashihime Shrine still stands, revered as a sacred place where people pray to sever bad ties and for protection at bridges.
And the Uji River, which once quietly embraced the sorrow of a woman turned demon, continues to watch over the lives of people across generations.
The Many Faces of Hashihime
The deity enshrined at Hashihime Shrine is Seoritsuhime—a goddess who protects spiritual boundaries and purifies sins and impurities. She is worshipped at many locations throughout Japan.
The story introduced above is the most well-known legend of Hashihime, but in fact, she appears in many other literary works and historical texts throughout the ages.
For example, in the Sōchūshō (袖中抄), a text compiled in the early Kamakura period, Hashihime is described as a deity who resides beneath the Uji Bridge. It is said that the gods of the imperial villa (Uji Shrine and Ujigami Shrine) would visit her nightly, and the sound of the river waves in the morning signaled their return.
In the Kokin Wakashū (Collection of Ancient and Modern Japanese Poetry), Hashihime is portrayed as a beloved woman waiting longingly for her lover.
So how did Hashihime come to be known as a jealous and vengeful woman?
It may be due to the powerful image of her depicted in the Heike Monogatari (Yatai-bon version), specifically in the chapter titled Tsuruginomaki (“The Sword Scroll”), which left a lasting impression on Japanese culture.
During the reign of Emperor Saga, the daughter of a high-ranking court noble was devastated when the man she loved left her for another woman.
In her sorrow, she prayed to the great deity of Kibune, asking to be turned into a demon.
Following the oracle given by the Kibune deity, she immersed herself in the waters of the Uji River for twenty-one days, and thus became a demon—ultimately carrying out her revenge.
The True Face of Hashihime
If I, living in the present day, were to be betrayed by someone I deeply loved—
would I choose, like her, to “become a demon and take revenge”?
In an age without modern appliances, automobiles, or social welfare systems,
life was surely far harsher for a woman living alone than it is today.
More than a symbol of love, a man’s presence might have meant safety—
a literal guarantee of survival.
When that safety was taken from her, the path she chose may have been:
“To live as a demon” = “To survive alone, with a desperate will to live.”
When we look at the legend of Hashihime not simply as a ghost story,
but as a woman’s cry for survival,
I find myself moved by her strength—
and feel a deep empathy for the pain and loneliness of choosing to live on her own.
The video above is a retelling and reimagining of the traditional legend of Hashihime,
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