Who Is Hoichi?
The blind biwa player who lost his ears to ghosts
Mimi-nashi Hoichi (Hoichi the Earless)
Hoichi is the hero of "The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi" in Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan. He is a blind biwa (Japanese lute) player who lives at Amidaji temple in Akamagaseki (today's Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture). He was famous for chanting The Tale of the Heike to the biwa. His telling of Dan-no-ura, the last battle between the Genji and Heike clans, was said to be so moving that even demons would weep.
One summer night, while Hoichi is alone at the temple, a samurai appears and leads him to the mansion of a "person of very high rank." There Hoichi performs the Battle of Dan-no-ura. He is told to come back every night and never to tell anyone. In truth, he has been playing in front of the tombs of the Heike clan, surrounded by ghost fires. The priest writes sutra text all over Hoichi's body and warns him not to answer, no matter who calls. But the ears were forgotten, so the samurai who comes for him tears both of them off.
Hoichi recovers under a doctor's care. As his strange story spreads, he becomes a famous performer known as "Hoichi the Earless." Akama Shrine in Shimonoseki, which was once Amidaji temple, has a small hall, the Hoichi-do, dedicated to him.
