The Lantern Ghost, Iwa

A traditional chochin paper lantern, battered and ragged, hangs bright against the dark blue night sky. The lantern has morphed into a grotesque, twisted face of a woman, with a gaping, toothless mouth, and red-rimmed, drooping, pitiful eyes. It swings, ominously, as an eerie smoke rises around it. This is the ghost of Oiwa. Oiwa was a beautiful woman who married Iemon, her childhood sweetheart, and began to live a seemingly idyllic life with him. But Iemon soon became restless, embarking on an affair with another woman, Oume, who had wealth but none of Oiwa’s beauty. He conspired to kill his pregnant wife and secretly fed her poison. Oiwa was immediately ravaged with pain. She lost her child and her face became hideously disfigured—her left eye in particular came to droop, dreadfully, down her face. But she did not die. Iemon, still determined to free himself from her, then pushed her off a cliff to her death. And this time she did die—but she came back. Iemon, alone in his chambers the night before his wedding to Oume, notices something strange about his lantern. Slowly but surely, the lantern takes on the appearance of Oiwa, scarred from poison, and intent on vengeance. -- For over three years, we are delivering art to more than 250.000 every day. We need $15.000 to create new version of DailyArt with new features and extra content. On this website you will find more details and help us: http://support.getdailyart.com. Thank you!