Ichijo Modoribashi Bridge

Ichijo Modoribashi (一条戻橋) is a small bridge over the Horikawa canal in Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto, at the intersection of the former Ichijo avenue of the Heian capital. According to the Tsurugi-no-Maki chapter of the Heike Monogatari and tales in the Konjaku Monogatari-shu, the warrior Watanabe no Tsuna cut off the arm of the demon Ibaraki-doji at this bridge while bearing the sword Higekiri. The bridge name derives from a tale in the Senjusho and the Fuso Ryakki that the corpse of the scholar Miyoshi Kiyoyuki (847-919) was briefly revived here through his son Jozo's prayers. The Noh play Kanawa later set its confrontation of the jealous demon-woman and the onmyoji Abe no Seimei on this bridge, and to the present day brides avoid crossing it to ward off the omen of returning.