Taira no Masakado: Head Mound and Curse in Tokyo

The rebellion begins as a family feud. In February 935, Masakado and his men were ambushed at a place called Nomoto by the three sons of Minamoto no Mamoru. He repelled the attack, and all three brothers died in the battle. Masakado then burned and ransacked the houses of their supporters across southwestern Hitachi. Nomoto lay near the border between Hitachi and Shimōsa, in what is now Chikusei, Ibaraki; the exact field is not known today.

Location precision: The sources give only Nomoto in modern Chikusei, Ibaraki, so no exact pin is shown.

After taking the title of Shinnō (New Emperor), Masakado was killed in 940 at the Battle of Kojima in Shimōsa Province. His cousin Taira no Sadamori and Fujiwara no Hidesato took his head to the capital. Kokuō Shrine in Bandō, Ibaraki, is said to be where he met his end, founded by a daughter who built a hut at the place of her father's death. Treat the spot as local tradition rather than proven.

Location precision: Tradition names Bandō as the place of his death, but the Battle of Kojima site is not fixed; the pin marks Kokuō Shrine.

Legend says the head did not stay put. It flew back toward Kantō until a kami shot it down with a bow. Mikubi Shrine, in Gifu Prefecture, is said to stand where it fell. The shrine was designated an Ōgaki landscape heritage site in 2011.

Location precision: This is a shrine legend, and the site is a traditional identification, not a documented burial place.

The head eventually found its way to Shibasaki, a small fishing village on the future site of Edo, and was buried there. The grave now lies in Ōtemachi, in Tokyo's financial district, on some of the most expensive land in the world. After the 1923 earthquake, a temporary Finance Ministry office was planned beside it, and officials died one after another; the office was pulled down and a memorial stone raised. The belief that neglect brings disaster is why the shrine is still well maintained.

Visitor guidance: Near exit C5 of Ōtemachi subway station, facing the Imperial Palace; a quiet spot, so be respectful.

The local people who feared and respected Masakado enshrined him at Kanda Shrine, where he stands beside Daikokuten and Ebisu as one of three main kami. A legend says Tokugawa Ieyasu was uneasy about building his castle near so powerful a spirit and moved the shrine. In the Meiji period Masakado was removed as an enshrined kami for a time, though his spirit later proved so popular that it was symbolically returned.

Visitor guidance: An active shrine in Chiyoda, Tokyo, popular with business people praying for success.