Walter Meyer wrote:

>Well in the Japanese film, *Kwaidan*, in which the music is by the late
>Toru Takemitsu, one of the ghost tales is of "Earless Hoichi", a blind
>singer threatened by evil spirits, against which he is protected by holy
>texts written all over his body by the monks, so as to render him invisible
>to his pursuers.  Unfortunately, they forgot to write on his ears, which
>the spirits seize and yank off.  I always wondered whether those ears
>weren't actually a "sanitized" substitute for another part of the singer's
>anatomy.

Interesting.  I've seen Kwaidan twice, once when it came out--a LONG time
ago.  That must have been early in Takemitsu's career.  Do you happen to
know when it was released? Also, do you know who directed it?

Jim

[Kaidan, directed by Masaki Kobayashi, was released in 1964.  -Dave]