A pair of ghost lights adrift over the Seto Inland Sea
Takurobi
Two faces float on the swell. No sound, only a quiet swaying, as if huddled close together.
Overview
Takurobi is said to float in pairs over the sea off eastern Hiroshima, resembling two ghastly faces of flame side by side. Local legend ties it to the vengeful spirits of two women who died tragic deaths.
Encounter
It is said to appear over the Seto Inland Sea off eastern Hiroshima on nights from summer into autumn. Two flames shaped like unsettling faces drift side by side above the water before sailors working the island-hopping routes by small boat, though sightings are said to have grown rare.
Lore
The lights are said to be noted in the Edo-period gazetteer Geihan Tsushi, and legend from central Hiroshima holds that two women who met tragic deaths became a pair of standing stones known as Kyo-joro and Chikushi-joro, their spirits becoming Takurobi. Little of the account survives beyond a few old books, and it is said to be barely known even among local elders.
Traits
Because the two flames drift together side by side, it is also called "the paired fire." No account tells of it directly harming or threatening anyone, and it is said only rarely to have caused a fire. It simply drifts quietly over the water, showing itself to sailors — a ghost light of uncertain origin.
