Story 75
It Might Have Been the Work of Jigami-sama
About 45 years ago.
The eight dogs we kept at my parents’ house suddenly started barking and howling in the middle of the night.
Our whole family woke up and quietly peeked out the window. The dogs had begun biting their own legs and causing a commotion.
At that time, my father hunted wild boar, so our household kept not only companion dogs but also hunting dogs outside.
The six of us, awakened by the dogs’ cries, panicked, thinking that perhaps a thief had broken in.
Truly, seeing the dogs continuously bite themselves was a bizarre sight.
Looking back rationally, it would make sense for dogs to bark if a burglar had entered—but why they resorted to self-harm was a mystery.
For about ten minutes, our family was in a state of panic, but my calm father soothed us, telling us to stay quiet, and we slowly regained composure.
Just as the family’s panic began to subside, the dogs’ voices fell silent.
But there was still no room for complacency.
My father, staying calm, grabbed his hunting rifle and went outside.
However, by the time he went out, it was already too late.
All of the dogs—every single one—were dead.
From their heads to their tails, their bodies were slashed roughly in a vertical line.
It’s one thing to slit a neck or stab a belly, but to cut relatively large hunting dogs vertically from head to tail in a single stroke…
This incident quickly spread throughout the region where my parents lived.
People whispered that it was the work of Jigami-sama.
Jigami-sama is a malevolent deity who frequently appears in our hometown area and loves to kill living things.
Especially in years of abundant harvest, it seems Jigami-sama is displeased by the abundance and slaughters many animals in the region…
Sometimes even humans…
Indeed, that year, animals were killed repeatedly, and some humans were also victims.
The following year, similar events occurred.
Eventually, I left my hometown and stopped hearing about Jigami-sama.
When my father passed away and my siblings gathered, the topic of Jigami-sama came up.
My younger brother, who had lived at the family home longer than I had, said that after I moved out, he had often helped deal with animals killed by Jigami-sama.
Later, relatives told me that Jigami-sama still occasionally appears.
Those of you who know about Jigami-sama might be from the same hometown as I am.
