A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

In Hearn’s account of the blind biwa-player Hōïchi, a commanding stranger comes to the Amidaji temple at night and orders the musician to perform for an unnamed lord and his noble household. Hōïchi hears the clank of armour and feels the strength of the hand guiding him. He experiences a great gateway, attendants and an audience moved to tears by his recitation of the defeat at Dan-no-ura. The messenger requires repeated visits and secrecy, supposedly because the lord travels incognito.

Temple servants eventually discover Hōïchi playing alone before the memorial tomb of Antoku Tennō, surrounded by ghostly lights. His priest explains that the apparent house and court were an illusion and that the dead have placed him in danger. To protect him, the priest and an acolyte write the Hannya-Shin-Kyō upon his body and instruct him to remain silent and motionless when called. The acolyte inadvertently leaves the ears unmarked, and the priest fails to notice the omission.

The returning retainer can see the instrument and the two ears but not the protected body. Concluding that the ears are all that remain, he tears them away to show his lord that he has obeyed as far as possible. Hōïchi bears the pain silently; the retainer departs, and no further visit follows. Medical care heals the wounds, and the musician’s growing fame brings wealth. Hōïchi remains a living human: the supernatural subject here is his unnamed ghostly escort, within the larger assembly of the Heiké dead.

The messenger’s harsh voice, armoured footsteps and powerful grip are experienced through Hōïchi’s hearing and touch. The comparison of his hand or fingers to iron does not establish a metal body. Hearn’s opening links these hauntings to drowned warriors and their households; it does not give the retainer an individual historical name or explicitly identify his unnamed lord as the child emperor.

Summons a blind musicianArmoured footsteps and powerful gripCannot see the sutra-covered body
01

Origins & earliest records

Japanese tales retold in English by Lafcadio Hearn

02

Records & interpretation

Entire named story and its separate notes read, with original and digitizer notes distinguished.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things

    Lafcadio Hearn · 1904

    The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hōïchi; Project Gutenberg1210 transcription; original work1904, no scanned pagination assumed

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Complete historical retelling

Lafcadio Hearn, Kwaidan (1904), Project Gutenberg1210

Kwaidan. The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hōïchi; chapter anchor chap01 and corresponding Notes section

Full chapter ending and all attached author/digitizer notes read in1210.html/hearn-kwaidan.txt. Original preface read; no particular older manuscript independently collated.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical literary retellingHearn, Kwaidan, The Story of Mimi-Nashi-HōïchiResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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