One morning during the Edo period, renowned master gunner Oma Shinzaemon was traveling north through Matsumoto-toge Pass, which at the time was a community road. By the time he had finished his errands and was returning home, the sun had gone down, and it was completely dark. As he was traveling through the Matsumoto-toge Pass again hurrying home, he saw a large mysterious shadow in the moonlight. Startled, Shinzaemon raised his gun thinking: “Surely this is some kind of monster. When a monster shapeshifts, its head is always downwards.”—Shinzaemon took aim at the figure's feet and fired, the bullet hitting its mark. However, when he drew close for a good look, he realized that it was not a monster but a Jizo (guardian deity of children) statue that had been erected during the day after Shinzaemon had traveled through Matsumoto-toge Pass. The bullet holes Shinzaemon inflicted at the foot of this Jizo statue standing quietly on Matsumoto-toge Pass remain to this day.
Never misses a target?! A superlative sniper
Oma Shinzaemon
Although renowned as a superlative sniper, he is actually extremely short-sighted and afraid of ghosts. Despite ordinarily being cool, calm, and collected, he is afraid of the dark and jumps at the slightest sound. He's the kind of person who finishes work right on time and goes straight home.
