English Version
Koi Pass, located around Koiue 3-chome in Nishi Ward, Hiroshima City, is known among some local ghost-story fans as an unsettling mountain road with a number of eerie rumors attached to it.
One reported story claims that after someone paid their respects at a roadside Jizo statue, they heard a voice say, “You should have died.” Other rumors say the spirit of an old woman appears near the place where a Jizo statue stands.
There is also a tale that seven Jizo statues are enshrined along the route through the pass, and that anyone who finds all seven will be cursed. Like many stories of this kind, it is passed around as rumor rather than confirmed fact.
Koi Pass is also said to be feared as a “devil’s pass” because of its many continuous curves and frequent accidents. According to local accounts, that is not the only reason people find it frightening. Some say the area was once the site of a family massacre, and the number of strange experiences reported here has helped give the pass a reputation as a haunted spot.
If you visit the area, treat it as a real road used by local people. Do not stop in unsafe places, walk into restricted areas, or search for statues at night. The curves and traffic conditions are a more immediate danger than any legend.
Japanese Language
お参りをすると「死ねば良かったのに」という声が聞こえてきたという報告がある。お地蔵様が建っている場所に老婆の霊が出る、地蔵尊は峠の道中に全部で７体祭られていて全ての地蔵を見つけると呪われてしまう、などといった噂が実しやかに語られている。カーブが連続して事故が多発しているため魔の峠と呼ばれ恐れられているとのこと。だが恐れられている理由はそれだけではなく、一家惨殺事件が起きた場所であるともいわれ、このような怪奇現象の体験談が多いことからも、心霊スポットとして知られるようになってきた、ということだ。
広島県広島市西区己斐上３丁目
