Iconic urban tales from Honjō (modern-day Sumida, Tokyo) in the Edo period
The Seven Wonders of Honjō
A cluster of legendary mysteries told from the Edo period onward in Honjō, the southern part of present-day Sumida Ward, Tokyo. Although nominally seven, the oral tradition records at least nine episodes, with the actual roster shifting from era to era, narrator to narrator, and one printed sōshi to the next. Only Oitekebori (the put-it-down moat) and Kataha-no-ashi (the one-sided reed) are universally counted; the remaining five are drawn from Okuri-chōchin, Okuri-hyōshigi, Akarinashi-soba, Ashi-arai-yashiki, Ochiba-naki-shii, Tanuki-bayashi, and Tsugaru-no-taiko. Set in the low-lying east bank of the Sumida — a patchwork of warrior estates, merchant streets, and townsmen's quarters at the periphery of Edo proper — these tales became staples of late-Edo urban kaidan, recurring in rakugo, woodblock prints, kabuki, and the works that followed Toriyama Sekien's Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, and still inspire modern manga, anime, and games.