World and Lore / Kyoto mystery

The Legend of the Shrine Tree

Long ago, in the Itsutsuji neighborhood of Kyoto, there grew an old tree that was said to be inhabited by a kami, or god, and was treated by the local population with due awe and reverence. Then one day, a certain man decided to cut down the tree, thinking it to be a nuisance. But before he could even swing his axe, he fell gravely ill. When he returned home later that evening, he began to behave strangely, and in the end disemboweled himself in a final act of madness. The truth is that he had been cursed by the spirit of the tree he had so rashly tried to cut down.