Later that year, he conquered Shimotsuke and Kōzuke Provinces, claiming the title of Shinnō (New Emperor). The armed revolt officially began when Masakado attacked one of the central government’s outposts in Hitachi Province. In 939, Masakado started a minor rebellion referred to as the ‘Tengyō no Ran’ (天慶の乱) ("War in the Tengyō era" or "Tengyō Disturbance"). Masakado, injured in the fight, tried to flee with his wife, Yoshikane’s daughter, but was unsuccessful. In 937, Yoshikane, anxious to avenge his humiliating defeat, once again battled with Masakado. Fujiwara no Tadihira, Masakado’s lord, however, most likely lightened his punishment and helped him get a pardon from the court. After his victory, Masakado was summoned to the imperial court in Kyoto due to complaints received about him. On the day of their battle, Masakado, despite only having around 100 poorly-equipped soldiers, was able to inflict heavy casualties on Yoshikane and Yoshimasa’s forces, which was estimated to be thousands strong. Yoshikane, who was the assistant governor for Kazusa Province, was easily able to gather many warriors and other officials from his province. Upon winning the duel, Yoshimasa, embarrassed by his defeat, called upon Taira no Yoshikane, another one of Masakado’s relatives who fought over the same woman. Taira no Yoshimasa, who was either Masakado’s parental uncle or cousin, wanted to avenge Kunika and challenged Taira no Masakado to a duel. Enraged by this, Masakado retaliated by burning down their residence, killing one of his uncles, Kunika. During the tenth century in Japan, Taira no Masakado, a prominent samurai from the Kanto region was ambushed one day by three of his cousins due to quarrelling over marriages. One of the first known myths of the Gashadokuro dates back to the tenth century. Though this tale has been conflated with that of the Gashadokuro, the two are in fact unrelated, the Gashadokuro having originated in the later half of the 20th century. He removes the bamboo shoot and offers the skeleton dried boiled rice, upon which the skeleton tells him the story of its murder and its personal history, and rewards him for his kindness. It tells of a man in Bingo Province (Hiroshima Prefecture) who is in a field at night and, hearing an eerie voice moaning, "My eye hurts," finds a skeleton there with a bamboo shoot growing from its eye socket. In the entry for Gashadokuro in Mizuki's book, a related tale from the Nihon Ryōiki is introduced. Otherwise, a Gashadokuro will continue hunting its prey until its pent up anger is released, causing the bones to crumple and the Gashadokuro to collapse. The Gashadokuro are said to possess the powers of invisibility and indestructibility since it is composed of the bones of people who are already deceased, though Shinto charms are said to ward them off. There is a way to know of their approach, as the victim would hear the sound of loud ringing in the ear caused by the rattling of its teeth. The peoples’ desire for vengeance causes the Gashadokuro to roam after midnight, grabbing lone travelers and biting off their heads to drink their spraying blood. The Gashadokuro are spirits that take the form of giant skeletons and are fifteen times larger than an average person, said to be created from the ghosts of the people who died in battle and were not buried.
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