Gakkou No Kaiden
Hyakki Yagyo – Night Parade of a Hundred Demons

According to the old folks in Satoyama village, on certain nights between June and August, a parade of one hundred different Oni and Yokai are said to march through the narrow streets of the village. The local monks at the nearby temple will warn you it's best to stay safely shut inside your home on these certain nights unless you wish to encounter such a terrible sight. But be warned if you do encounter such a parade you will spirited away and be forced to join in the march, forever.

Now, this story was told to me by an old villager. I will call her 'Granny-San' because that is what the other villages call her. She is a shy, old woman, who lives alone in the mountains and only comes to town a few times each week to buy what little she requires from the small shops of the village. Her income comes from rent the local farmers pay to use her land to grow rice and other such crops.

She told me this story late one autumn afternoon while she and I were sitting around her kitchen table. I had come across her earlier that day while I too had been shopping for a few things I needed. And had offered to carry her groceries home for her, since the shop's delivery boy was out of town that day, visiting his girlfriend in neighboring Gifu City. And as a small token of her gratitude she invited me in to enjoy some tea and sweets with her. As we enjoyed our tea, she told me this story.

Now Granny-San had been born and raised in this village, her family as she'll proudly say have made Satoyama their home since the Tokugawa Period (1603 – (1876) when the local Lord opened the village to settlement by the common people.

Now when Granny-San was young she used to love collecting stories about the supernatural. And would often write them down in her notepad to share with her friends and family. One night, a visiting monk from a nearby temple was visiting with Granny-San. The monk was an old man, with a shiny bald head. With bushy eyebrows that looked like white fuzzy caterpillars. The monk often visited Granny-San's house to play a game of Go with her father. After their game the two men would sit out on the porch and drink tea and talk about the weather. Or certain events that were going on in the village.

One afternoon the talk turned to the supernatural. The old monk told Granny-San's father Yokai and Oni that they lived in the mountains. Were gathering for the first parade of the summer season. And told Granny-San's father that his family should remain inside on the first night after the new moon. As that would be the night of the parade and their house was located on the route they wished to take.

Now Granny-San at the time was a young inquisitive girl who wanted to know everything. She also happened to pass by when the talk of the supernatural came up. The talk of the supernatural piqued her curiosity and caused her to move a little closer so she could eavesdrop onto the conversation. As she listened at the door she learned of the parade that was to take place. And decided then and there she must witness such a sight.

Now what happened then? Well it happened that night was the first night after the new moon. And using the excuse that she needed to return a book to a friend she slipped out an hour before sunset and once she was out of sight she hid herself in some mulberry bushes that grew on the side of the road. Once she was hidden she started to wait till the sun set. As she waited she felt herself grow tired and so she laid down upon the hot earth. As soon as she laid down upon the hot earth sleep overtook and she fell into a light, but uneasy sleep.

Full darkness had fallen about the time Granny-San awoke from her nap. She awoke to the sound of cymbals banging together, drums being beaten, flutes being blown. And a bedlam of noise. Slowly she looked up and noticed that the street seemed to be filled with all manner of demons and monsters. She knew some of them from the folk stories her grandmother had told her.

Dozens of Kappa's marched side beside one behind the other, in their webbed hand they held polished cymbals and at every other step they would bang them together. Causing the windows in the nearby houses to rattle. Above them floated dozens and dozens of Yuki-Onna whose ice cold breath froze all gutters and turned the water in them to ice.

Next legions of other demons she did know the name of came, walking side by side, and one behind the other. The sound of their laughter filled the air and it sounded like the cackle of a dozen different witches. Demons with skin the color of lava marched too, each one holding a bright burning torch that seemed to drip hot waves that cooled as soon as it touched the ground.

Granny-San told me she became so frightened that she tossed herself down on the ground and started to shiver as the parade passed her by. At this she ended her tale, but I had to ask her, why was she not spirited away like the old story says?

At this her old wrinkled face grew dim and she seemed to grow sad.

“Because.” She said at last. “After the demon's with skin like lava. I saw row upon row of human's. It said if there is a human that you knew in the parade they will spare you. All the human's were chained together and linked together so when one moved the other had to move.” She sighed. “In the front I saw my mother who had died of cancer the season before last. I think her spirit took my place.”

And if you want another scary story. Please go ahead and read the next one.