Ghostly Tokyo: Masakado's spirit haunts Otemachi

Otemachi is Tokyo's financial district, a forest of skyscrapers sitting on among world’s most valuable real estate. However, in Otemachi we can surprisingly bump into a small plot with few maples, some flowers and a stele. It is the site of the rebellious warlord Taira no Masakado 平将門 's grave, a man who died 1000 years ago but has his own bank account, opened by the most popular Japanese bank, Mitsubishi. Tokyoites still believe that Masakado's malevolent spirit haunts Tokyo and salarymen are regular visitors to his shrine.

In the 10th century, the warlord Taira no Masakado failed to fight against the emperor and in 940 he was executed: his severed head paraded through the streets of the capital, Kyoto. Tradition has it that Masakado's head - whose spirit was full of anger and hate - took flight and landed in Tokyo's Otemachi, at the time a small village of fishermen, who decided to bury his head and build a small shrine.
In 1923 the Great Kanto Earthquake felled the nearby Ministry of Finance building. Since there was no head beneath Masakado's grave, new offices were built on the site. After that, however, many officials, including the finance minister himself, met with accidents or early deaths. Masakado's spirit was extremely angry. Therefore, the government decided to demolish the offices and restored Masakado's grave. But that was not enough. In 1940, the 1000th anniversary of Masakado’s death, the new Finance Ministry next door was struck by lightning and destroyed. In an effort to placate the Masakado's Vengeful spirit, the present stone was erected, rituals are performed regularly and the bank Tokyo-Mitsubioshi UFJ (the largest bank in Japan) opened an account for the warlord. This bank looks over the area containing the grave and so the bank employees are instructed not to open the windows to the man's grave, nor to turn their backs on it, even when at their desks. 

Will all these measures placate Masakado's spirit? There are many haunted places in Japan, especially in Tokyo, with shrines trying to placate vengeful spirits, whose stories are full of violence, superstition and coincidences, stories in which the unreal have a real effect on real estate. Besides, if you are looking for a cheap rent you can try a haunted house.