Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: –
Category: Flame
The Myth
Kusakaribi, meaning Grass-Cutting Fire, is a mysterious supernatural flame from the Himeji region of Japan. It appears unexpectedly along roads at night, sometimes emerging as a single flame before multiplying into several fires that twist and intertwine with one another. These strange lights vanish as suddenly as they appear, leaving travellers unsettled by the unexplained spectacle.
At the beginning of the Genbun era (1736–1741), during the rainy season in May, a man named Hanshichi from Sayo Village was staying in Himeji. When his business failed to progress as he had hoped, he decided one evening to visit an acquaintance in Kamata Village. As he travelled through intermittent rain, darkness fell before he reached his destination. Suddenly, a flame burst forth from the middle of the road. As Hanshichi stopped to watch, another appeared, and the two fires twisted and tangled together before abruptly disappearing. After a short while, another flame appeared and vanished in the same mysterious fashion.
Uneasy after witnessing the strange lights, Hanshichi continued his journey and eventually reached his acquaintance’s home. When he described what he had seen, his host explained that the fire had been witnessed on other occasions and was known as the Kusakaribi. According to local legend, two boys who worked cutting grass had once quarrelled and killed each other with their sickles. Their violent deaths supposedly left behind a supernatural presence that continued to appear as a demonic fire along the road. The account was reportedly based on a story that the author, Haruna Tadanari, heard directly from Hanshichi himself.
Sources
“Kusakaribi.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1077434946.html