Imagine that the building you are inside, or the bridge you are walking on, is filled with human corpses. The legend, or practice of burying living humans inside of pillars of important structures, known as Hitobashira in Japan, has existed since ancient years. This was a popular practice up until the 16th century, but is still seen in some 20th century construction projects.

The idea behind Hitobashira was that this form of sacrifice would appease spirits from messing with the structural integrity of the formations. This practice was most commonly used in castles to stop assaults, fire, flooding, and other disasters. The word Hitobashira has a complicated meaning that gave people a basis for volunteering as a sacrifice. In summary, hito can be related to another word, kami, meaning god when discussing Shinto tradition. The second half of the word, bashira, refers to being enshrined in a significant way. Thus, the sacrificed person would become an actual pillar and gain a connection to the gods.

As time went on, the actual meaning behind Hitobashira was lost and legends began to form. The legends tend to tell a story that the buildings that had a sacrifice hidden inside became haunted by the souls of those humans. A famous legend is the one of Maruoka Castle in Fukui Prefecture. When the walls of the castle were being constructed, they would collapse no matter how workers tried to fix them. The only solution left was to improve the stability of the castle using a human sacrifice. A woman named Oshizu agreed to become a hitobashira. She was promised that her son would become a samurai after her death, but instead the castle’s lord was transferred and the promise could not be fulfilled. After the events passed, when rain would come, the castle would overflow. People claimed this rain to be Oshizu’s tears of sorrow. To calm her spirit, a cenotaph was erected inside the castle grounds.

When visiting Japan, you can find stones with the names of those who were sacrificed for Hitobashira at temples, castles, or other structures. Research has been conducted to find human remains inside of pillars of the different formations to prove that this tradition is not only an urban legend, but is a reality.