Tod was cursed two weeks ago by the god of the samurai.
Taira no Masakado was a traitorous go-getter who lived over a thousand years ago. After he was beheaded for having misstepped in politics and family life, his head was brought to the fishing village that would later become Tokyo. Masakado's spirit and his head in a wooden bucket were enshrined on a little hill overlooking Tokyo Bay. The hill is located in what is now Otemachi, the heart of Tokyo's financial district. Tod passes by on his bike almost every day.
Masakado is as powerful in death as he wanted to be in life. When his shrine is neglected or falls into disrepair, bad things seem to happen - businesses fail, natural disasters occur. Plans have been made to move him, but they are always canceled. People fear his spirit so much that the buildings around "The Hill of Masakado's Head" do not have windows opening towards it. In the surrounding offices, desks are oriented to face towards the shrine. In Tod's office the corporate services people have verified this and if you are unlucky enough to get a rare desk with your back to Masakado, they will give you a special amulet to attach to your chair to ward off any evil.
Shortly after Tod dug into this old legend, bad things began to happen to him. Someone ran into the street without looking just as Tod whizzed by on his bike. Both men went down, but only Tod was injured. It was quite dramatic as blood coursed down his arm while I patched him up at the convenience store.
He was halfway healed when he tumbled off his bike again. This second accident left him with another big scrape on his arm and a bruised imprint of the road the size of a dinner plate along his thigh.
When he mentioned these incidents to his Japanese teacher at class the next week, she was well aware of Masakado and his abilities. She urged Tod go to a temple and get himself a yakuyoke charm and an exorcism. He paid his respects at Masakado's shrine, and made a visit to our local temple for a more formal and powerful cleansing.
Since he bought his evil repellent charm and hung it on the bicycle, he's been safe. I hope that Masakado leaves him alone now and that telling this tale isn't going to get me into trouble.
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