A Ghost Among the Pampas Grass: Narihira's Encounter with Ono no Komachi's Skull

From Tsukioka Yoshitoshi's "New Forms of Thirty-six Ghosts" Series

The Exiled Poet

This haunting print depicts a legendary encounter between two of Japan's most celebrated poets. Ariwara no Narihira, traveling in disgrace with his hair shorn short after a court scandal, finds himself in the remote region of Yasoshima in northern Japan.

Aki no Kaze Poem: "With the autumn wind, I see the dew’s fragility reflected in the grass" (Narihira)

The Mysterious Voice

One autumn night, Narihira hears a haunting voice carried on the wind, reciting the first half of a poem:

"With every autumn breezeAh, how my eyes ache..."

The Ghostly Discovery

The next morning, investigating the source of the voice, Narihira discovers a skull with pampas grass growing through its eye sockets. Local villagers reveal it to be the remains of Ono no Komachi, the legendary beauty and fellow poet who had died in exile.

The Poetic Response

Moved by compassion, Narihira completes the poem with:

"I shall not say it is Ono's remains—Only that pampas grass grows here"

Artistic Interpretation

Yoshitoshi captures the moment of discovery, with Narihira contemplating the skull among the swaying pampas grass, creating a powerful meditation on the transience of beauty and fame in this world.

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