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The Demon Horse ChronicleAuthor: Okamoto Kidō
| Original Title | 馬妖記 |
|---|---|
| Author | 岡本 綺堂 |
| Genre | Detective & Mystery |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In rural Tsuyama, a centuries-old mystery lingers within the Kambara family—a bundle of coarse, bluish-black hair, preserved as “Demon Horse’s Hair,” tied to an eerie legend. Whenever auspicious or tragic events befall the family, three phantom horse neighs are said to echo, though skeptics dismiss it as folklore. The artifact’s origins trace to 16th-century Japan, when samurai under Lord Kobayakawa guarded Najima Castle amid rumors of a monstrous creature haunting Tatara River. Villagers whispered of a beast emerging from dark waters, its unearthly cries sending domestic horses into frenzy and leaving trampled victims in its wake. Young warrior Kambara Mozaemon Motoharu joined a perilous hunt for the entity, encountering shadowy violence and village secrets entangled with its terror. His chronicle details clashes with an indistinct, colossal foe—part horse, part phantom—whose true nature eludes capture. Centuries later, the hair remains, a cryptic relic of unresolved encounters between valor and the unknown. Blurring history and myth, the tale beckons readers into feudal Japan’s shadowed corners, where honor and dread gallop side by side. |
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