A detailed explanation of the legend

There are quite a few opinions and various kinds of circulation about The Story of the Bridge, and the interpretation of it is not the same in different literary works.

It is widely circulated among the people that Qiaoji was turned into a monster after someone on the bridge threw himself into the river because he was ugly and could not get the love of his beloved man or was robbed of love by others. In the past, Japan was also particular about the way women committed suicide. For example, soldiers or men can only end their lives by caesarean section, and women can only throw themselves into the river, because this represents the jealousy and resentment of spoony women, so such monsters are usually scary. For example, Qiaoji mentioned in Meiji Demon is like this. Because the man who loves him deeply can't be with him, he finally committed suicide by diving from Ujibashi. After becoming Qiao Ji, if a man, especially the type of man she liked before, passes by here at night, she will appear on the bridge, seduce the man in various charming ways, and then seduce him into the water and drown him; Of course, Qiaoji's goal is not only men, because of strong jealousy, if those women who are more beautiful than themselves pass by, Qiaoji will drag them into the water and drown them.

In addition, the Japanese word "Qiaoji", also known as Qiaonu, is a female ghost, but she is extremely ugly and has a man-like face. She is a banshee who appeared on the bridge, and there are many stories about her.

Hashimoto Yuji

Since ancient times, the Japanese have believed that every bridge is guarded by a goddess. Among many legends related to bridges, "The Story of Yuji Bridge" is the most famous. As long as "Qiao Ji" is mentioned, it usually refers to the goddess Ujibashi. Ujibashi, built in 646, is the oldest existing bridge in Japan.

Legend has it that in the distant era of the gods, Yuji Hashimoto and Dongfang were lovers, and Dongchuan, Lany and Ujigawa came to see Hashimoto every night. The Eight Banners Palace is a shrine built on the site where Emperor Yi left the palace in the early days of heian period, located in Dashanqi, Kyoto Prefecture.

Because the marriage form at that time was to visit his wife, the man usually went to the woman's house for the night after sunset and left at dawn the next day, so people thought that the marriage form of the gods was probably the same. And at dawn every day, the waves in Ujigawa are the most turbulent, so even if you can't see your posture, people know that the eight-character god is going back.

However, the Eight Banners God doesn't come every night. At that time, some nobles or rich people could even visit the East and the West at the same time. And Georgie can only sit by the bridge and look forward to the arrival of the Eight Banners God every night. The posture of the beautiful goddess looking up at the river in the distance stimulated the imagination of many ancient singers, leaving many famous chorus songs.

Murasaki's department also knows the legend of Yuji Qiaoji, and wrote the sad love stories of three women, Qiaoji and Zhizuo, in the Tale of Genji. In the early and middle period of heian period, the nobles often pinned their love distress and yearning on the chorus or poetry, and sublimated it into a kind of "beauty". Therefore, Qiaoji in this period will always be a sad and beautiful goddess who wholeheartedly waits for the arrival of her lover.

In the later period of Ping 'an, Qiaoji was no longer a goddess, but an ordinary woman.

In ancient times, there was a woman guarding the bridge at Yuzhi Bridge named Qiaoji. Qiaoji also has a husband. She vomited so much when she was pregnant that she vomited everything she ate. Husband can't see the past, said to Qiao Qi:

"What do you want to eat? Tell me. I will try to find it. 」

Qiao Qi thought for a moment and said:

"I've eaten Yi Shi's Undaria pinnatifida before and found it delicious. In that case, I think I can eat. 」

"Well, I'll show it to you. 」

The husband immediately went to Yi Shi (Mie County). A few days later, he still didn't come back. Qiaoji was very sad, so she left for Yi Shi to find her husband. She wandered along the coast, and as a result, the hazy figure of her lover appeared in the waves. My whole body is dripping, and my face is bloodless. The husband twisted his pale lips and read a chorus:

"Narrow banquet (さむしろ) にころもたしききこよ〞き"

われをつまつらむじじのはしひじのはしひ

There is only one person's clothes on the straw mat, and I am still waiting for my Yuji Qiaoji tonight.

Qiaoji was surprised and wanted to run to find her husband, but he was gone. At this time, Georgie knew that her husband accidentally fell into the sea and drowned in order to pick up Undaria pinnatifida on the coastal rocks. Qiaoji can only return to Yuji with grief.

The above-mentioned chorus is four ancient songs of love songs in Volume 14 of Ancient and Modern Chorus Collection, and the author is unknown. When men and women spend the night together in peacetime, they usually take off their clothes and spread them on mats as bedding. "One-piece dressing" means only laying clothes for one person, that is, sleeping alone.

This legendary Qiaoji is not a goddess, nor an aristocratic woman hiding behind a curtain in The Tale of Genji, but an ordinary woman guarding a bridge, who seems to live with her husband. It is also very "civilian" for a husband to pick wakame in the distance for his pregnant wife.

In the Middle Ages, when the public security was not good, it was not uncommon for husbands to go away and die in foreign countries, leaving pregnant wives and waiting for their husbands to return every night.

Back in time-Kamakura era

It is said that a woman who was abandoned by her husband, because she hated her husband's empathy, went to visit your ship shrine and prayed to the gods to avenge her husband on her behalf. Then a god officer told the woman:

"You put your hair into five corners, put on a three-legged hoop, light a fire with three feet, paint your face with red lead, wear red clothes, and go south when you are angry. Immerse yourself in Ujigawa in this way on March 2 1 Day, and you will get what you want. 」

The woman did as the Oracle said, dipped in Ujigawa to pray, and finally became a scary female ghost on the full moon night. Then she killed her cheating husband and new lover as she wished.

This legend is the embryonic form of the folk song Iron Wheel. Story of past and present, story of Pingjia in Kamakura era? "Sword Roll" and the second volume of the same Kamakura-era talk collection "Idle Friends" have similar stories.

Qiaoji is no longer the woman who was infatuated with her husband, but "if you dare to dislike me, I will give you a good look!" " "Bitch.

There is also a legend of female ghosts in Kyoto Violent Bridge. Due to the long history of the bridge, there are various legends, but the origin of the name "Riqiao" is as follows:

Dr. Heian's early articles participated in the Three Good Purposes (847 ~ 9 18). When he died, the funeral procession passed the bridge and happened to meet the eight people who had been practicing in other places and came back from Kumano. After quiet and sincere prayer, Qingxing woke up, and the father and son could finally say goodbye. People will call this bridge "the bridge of crime" in the future. (Crime: もどり, meaning to come back. )

In the middle of Ping 'an, the military commander Yuan (948 ~ 102 1) and the minister Watanabe Gang (953 ~ 1025) happened to meet a beautiful woman when they passed Riqiao one day. Watanabe inadvertently looked at the river under the bridge and found that the shadow reflected on the water was a female ghost. Now he pulls out the famous knife given by the master and cuts off the female ghost's right arm. Yuan put his arm in the box, but in the future, he was cheated back by a female ghost who became an old mother. This story is also recorded in the story of Ping Jia? Sword roll.

There is a small "bridge base temple" on the west side of the bridge. It is said that the goddess has cut off the relationship between men and women at present. When local people hold weddings, they usually avoid passing by shrines. The shrine is dedicated to a statue of a female ghost, with the upper body naked, the lower body wearing a scarlet trouser skirt, a snake wrapped around her left hand and a fish hook in her right hand.