Hitobashira

By Crusader1307

In Ancient and Feudal Japan, the Act of ''Hitobashira'' was to sacrifice a person to the associated God or Goddess invoked during the construction of a structure or even road. It was commonly thought that when bridges were built, sacrifices were chosen and ''sealed alive'' inside of support pillars or buried alive in foundation. This was thought to appease the invoked Deity. Some of the first ''records'' involving Hitobashira go back as far as the 3rd Century AD. Many Feudal Japanese Castles ''claim'' Hitobashira'' practices which naturally add credence to many Haunted Castle Stories and Legends. Some cite that the practice continued into the 16th Century AD.