Just then, acolytes at shoro (bell tower) of Gango-ji Temple were dying of unnatural deaths almost every night, and there was a rumor that an ogre was killing the acolytes.
折りしも元興寺の鐘楼の童子たちが毎晩のように変死する事件が続き、鬼に殺されたものと噂が立っていた。