Possessed by Hideyoshi: the neighborhood samurai syndrome

The possessed samurai craze reaches the stairwell

Can the spirit of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japan's sixteenth-century unifier, take over a neighbor in your building and convince him to slash everyone's doors with a katana? According to an episode circulating on social media, yes. The man in question, armed with Hattori Hanzo's katana, decided to imitate the style of Oda Nobunaga, the "Demon King," and leave his neighbors' doors slashed while hurling insults. The scene has its fans: some suggest complementing the attack with shuriken stuck in the doors as a warning; others see material for a manga; some lament that he didn't summon Masamune, the legendary swordsmith, instead of Hideyoshi. The episode, seemingly absurd, fuels the debate over the contemporary fascination with samurai culture and its most ridiculous manifestations.

Historical possession is a classic of urban folklore, but here it takes on a Spanish twist. The man behind the stunt is, at heart, a bored weekend idler who, having exhausted his Sunday leisure options and finding nothing appealing at the movies, decides to emulate the warlords. The mix of epic and satire is nothing new: some witnesses suggest setting the scene to a Philip Glass soundtrack, while others recall the master Paco Martínez Soria as counterprogramming. The overall score doesn't get past 3 out of 10, not for lack of blood, but for the absence of a reference to Masamune.

In short, samurai culture still lingers in the West, but its adaptation to Spanish apartment lobbies produces more laughter than terror. The neighbors, just in case, might start shopping for an armored door; the spirit of Hideyoshi, apparently, doesn't respect gated communities.