In the city of Hiratsuka, an unusual legend is told and an unassuming mound in the corner of a cemetery attests to its apparent credibility.
According to the story, the incident took place during the Kounomachi, an annual festival jointly rub by five major shrines in the former Sagami Province region. Young men from two of the shrines, Samukawa Jinja and Hiratsuka Hachiman-gū, got into a heated argument and a fight broke out, which ended with the latter men throwing Samukawa’s sacred palanquin into the river.
Though the palanquin was later recovered, the 16 men of Hiratsuka were initially sentenced to death for their insolence, but the judge decided to pardon them, cutting off their chonmage—hair buns typical of the period—instead of their heads.
Unsupported by any historical documents, it is uncertain whether the legend was inspired by actual events or not, and the dating of the incident is also unclear. Still, there is a monument called Chonmage-zuka (“hair bun mound”) commemorating the legend, believed to be the burial site of the said buns.
