Translated from Edo no Kimyo no Hyakumonogatari
There was a villain named Tomedo whose heart was wicked. He attempted to seduce a young widow named Oyoshi, who held an amulet in the shape of a shogi chess piece that he desired. When she refused him, he became enraged and killed her, pruning off her left leg and arm as if she were a bonsai tree and throwing them into a ditch.
From that time, the ditch grew nothing but a weed called kataba no ashi, which means “one-sided reed” and has leaves that grow on only on the right side.
Even now, they say that this reed is the spirit of Oyoshi.
Translator’s Note:
This print, by Utagawa Kuniteru, is called Kataba no Ashi (片葉の葦), and depicts one of the Honjyo Nana Fushigi (本所七不思議) meaning one of the Seven Wonders of Honjo.
百物語怪談会 Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai 
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