Who Is The Old Merchant of Kyobashi?

The Old Merchant of Kyobashi is the hero of "Mujina" in Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan, an elderly merchant from the Kyobashi district of Tokyo. Hearn writes that he was the last man to see the mujina.

Hurrying up the Kii-no-kuni slope late at night, the merchant finds a girl crying alone by the moat. Afraid she might throw herself into the water, he gently offers to help if she is in trouble and puts his hand on her shoulder. But when she turns, her face is blank. He screams and runs up the slope, finally rushing into a soba seller's stall — only to be shown a faceless face once again.

The irony that his kindness toward someone in trouble is exactly what lets the mujina trick him is part of what makes the story fun.