Kuragari Seishin

To free himself from agonising and perpetual suffering, Renshin must find a worthy and willing soul before the last night of Obon, one who will take upon themselves the burden of the Kuragari Seishin curse, or else endure another hundred years as a ravenous, supernatural wraith.

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Long ago, in the Tokugawa era, when Samurai governed the islands, the former Ryukyu Kingdom was disbanded and claimed by the Shogun as part of Japan. From then on, the island was known as Okinawa, and was controlled by the Satsuma clan of Samurai warlords.

The Samurai demanded tribute from the islanders – wealth which had formerly been sent to the kings of China. And they enforced a strict policy by which no man could be armed with a blade of his own. None could wear a sword but the Samurai.

One day, in the early years of Japan’s initial rule, a young Satsuma Samurai named Tokoda arrived at the port of Naha to negotiate with the village elders and collect new taxes for the coming year. Disembarking his ship, he saw that the villagers were in the midst of a great panic. It was late at night when his ship docked and so he was perplexed to see so many of the villagers out of their homes and running around wildly.