Yaoya Oshichi

The drama we're going to perform is led by an arsonist, so I get to like to know famous arsonists in the past. And I found Yaoya Oshichi.

Oshichi was a 16 year-old girl, daughter of a vegetable store (Yaoya in Japanese) owner, living in the district of Hongo in Edo. In 1682, while seeking shelter from a large fire, Oshichi fell in love with a young priest whom she met at his temple. Hoping to see him again, she set fire in 1683 to her own new home, causing a massive blaze that destroyed a huge section of Edo. She was arrested, trialed and condemned to be executed for arson. She was burnt alive to pay for her crime. Then Yaoya Oshichi became a legend and a leading character in several Joruri or Kabuki plays.

There were lots of big fires in Edo period. Most buildings on that time were wodden, and those wodden houses easily catched fire. Once there was a fire, it wasn't easy to extinguish, taking a heavy toll of lives. So arson was the most serious crime. Even an attempt arson was liable to the death penalty.

Of course Oshichi must have known that. Her emotion to her lover might exceed that. I think that emotion is same as one which characters in the drama Nocturne have. A girl couldn't forget her lover, so she could keep her memory and her tattoo for long periods of reincanations, and she asked an arsonist to set a fire to meet him. A samurai also couldn't forget his lover, and in order to meet her again, he sold his soul to a demon when he was about to die.