the "Fujiwara no Hirotsugu Rebellion", after failing to remove his rival, the priest Genbō, from power). Vengeance According to the belief of Ikiryō, a person's soul or spirit exists naturally when it is stable or in balance. When too much hatred or resentment brews, it can become separated from the body, resulting in the spirit becoming an . This can allegedly also occur in individuals who died an untimely death. Traditionally in Japan, driven by vengeance were thought capable of causing not only their enemy's death, as in the case of Hirotsugu's vengeful spirit held responsible for killing the priest Genbō, but causing natural disasters such as earthquakes, fires, storms, drought, famine and pestilence, as in the case of Prince Sawara's spirit embittered against his brother, the Emperor Kanmu. In common parlance, such vengeance exacted by supernatural beings or forces is termed . The Emperor Kanmu had accused his brother Sawara, possibly falsely, of plotting to remove him from the throne. Sawara was then exiled, and died by fasting. According to a number of scholars, the reason that the Emperor moved the capital to Nagaoka-kyō thence to Kyoto was an attempt to avoid the wrath of his brother's spirit, according to a number of scholars. This not succeeding entirely, the emperor tried to lift the curse by appeasing his brother's ghost, by performing Buddhist rites to pay respect, and granting Prince Sawara the posthumous title of emperor. A well-known example of appeasement of the spirit is the case of Sugawara no Michizane, who had been politically disgraced and died in exile. It was believed to cause the death of his calumniators in quick succession, as well as catastrophes (especially lightning damage), and the court tried to appease the wrathful spirit by restoring Michizane's old rank and position. Michizane became deified in the cult of the Tenjin, with Tenman-gū shrines erected around him. Examples Possibly the most famous is Oiwa, from the . In this story the husband remains unharmed; however, he is the target of the 's vengeance. Oiwa's vengeance on him is not physical retribution, but rather psychological torment. Other examples include: How a Man's Wife Became a Vengeful Ghost and How Her Malignity Was Diverted by a Master of Divination In this tale from the medieval collection , an abandoned wife is found dead with a full head of hair intact and her bones still attached. The husband,