There were numerous stories circulating in Edo-period Japan about Buddhist temples that had become haunted or fallen into disrepair and were abandoned. In this tale a samurai spent a night in a haunted Buddhist temple to prove his courage, a test described in several well-known tales. We see Tokiuji wrestling violently with a demon who has taken the form of a fearsome temple guardian figure, pinning it to the ground face-first. Intimidating guardian figures, often known as The Guardian Kings are commonplace in Buddhist temples, where their ferocious expressions are meant to frighten away demons and evil spirits, making it ironic that a terrifying ghost should take on this form. Everything in the small village temple depicted here seems to have become twisted and evil, rather than serene and reassuring. Behind him the temple’s Buddha image comes alive in distorted, grotesque fashion, perhaps a comment on the corrupt state of the Buddhist priesthood in 1865, while skeletons are seen dancing and reveling in the background.

Have you ever entered an empty temple or other religious space that made you feel frightened or uneasy, as if an unwelcome presence was there?