In the Higashiyama area of Kyoto City stands a candy shop which boasts a unique regular customer, the specter of a woman who comes for their candy. The legend began in 1599 and has been handed down from generation to generation to the present day.
The shop, now called Minatoya Ghost Child Care Candy Main Office, only sells its legendary Ghost Child Care Candy. RocketNews24’s Kuzo decided to head down to Kyoto to investigate the bittersweet story behind this candy shop’s connection to the other side.
■ Kyoto’s Famous Ghost Child Care Candy
As Kuzo approached the shop he could see the signboard reading “Kyoto Famous Ghost Child Care Candy”. Entering, he met the female proprietor of the shop which has been run by her family for 20 generations since its founding. Kuzo thought in awe about how this woman’s ancestors must have been the ones who met the ghost woman on that fateful day 1599. He inquired about what had happened back then.
■ The Legend of Ghost Child Care Candy
A long time ago there was a woman who visited this candy store every night to buy candy. “It’s for my child,” she would tell them. On one particularly quiet night, after buying the candy, the woman’s wooden footsteps could be heard on the stone path outside. Then, suddenly, the footsteps stopped just outside a nearby cemetery.
When the shopkeeper went to check it out, a baby’s cry could be heard coming from the grave of a woman who died while pregnant. After digging up the grave, a living baby was found inside. It would seem that the ghost woman was the child’s mother who fought against death to feed him.
■ Familiar story
It was a creepy, and also a sadly touching story, but Kuzo couldn’t shake the feeling that it was a familiar tale. He was sure he heard something like this before. Then it dawned on him that this was a lot like the origin of Kitaro from the manga Gegege no Kitaro. It seemed like this shop’s story was the inspiration for that episode. As he realized this, Kuzo felt that this was a pretty cool candy store.
■ Ghost Child Care Candy
Of course, our reporter took this chance to try some Ghost Child Care Candy for himself. It was deliciously sweet but a little dangerous; as if he were possessed, Kuzo ate eight pieces before he even realized it. While that should be no problem for children, it’s something middle-aged men battling love handles might want to be careful about.
Original Article by Kuzo
Photos: RocketNews24
Gegege Kitaro image: Amazon
Store Information
Minatoya Yurei Kosodate Ame Honpo
Higashiiru, Yamato Oji, Matsubara Dori, Higashiyama Ku, Kyoto Shi, Kyoto Fu
10:00am – 4:00pm
Holidays: Monday (unless it’s a public holiday)
▼ “The candy that inspired Mr. Shigeru Mizuki to create Gegege No Kitaro”
▼ The Legend of Ghost Child Care Candy
[ Read in Japanese ]