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Kuro-zuka, Adachi-ga-hara and the Mountain Ascetic
[Kanzeji Temple, Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture]

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The Origins of Adachi-ga-hara and Kuro-zuka in Okushû
(modern Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures)

Kuro-zuka is the place where, in 726, Ajari Yûsui Tôkô of Kishû-no-kuni (modern Wakayama Prefecture) prayed to the bodhisattva Nyoirin Kan'on (Cintâmanicakra), shot an arrow with an exorcising bow, killed the fox-demon, and buried her. Taira no Kanemori (?-990) wrote the following poem about the incident:

Is it true what I have heard?
A demon is hidden
in the black burial mound
at Michinoku
in Adachi-ga-hara.

The story has been performed numerous times in Kabuki and Nô and is famous throughout Japan.
The fox-demon's cave can still be seen at Kanzeji Temple.
Haiku poet Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902) wrote:

In the coolness,
if you listen,
you will know
that long ago
this was a demon's abode

Kanzeji Temple

Monument to Kuro-zuka

Cave of the Demon-woman

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NPO Hiroshima kagura Art Laboratory

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