Mujinazuka at Kenshō-ji

Perhaps a missing link between traditional folklore of feudal Japan and modern urban legends, a series of strange phenomena known as Nise-kisha (“false steam train”) were once observed across Japan, during its modernization in the Meiji period (1868–1912).

The Nise-kisha was a sort of phantom train, appearing out of nowhere and scaring steam train drivers out of their wits before disappearing into thin air. As railroads kept getting constructed throughout the country, the legend of the phantom was spread everywhere, and many attributed the phenomena to the tanuki, supernatural raccoon dogs with mischievous nature and shapeshifting abilities. 

Located along the Joban Line railway, the Kameari neighborhood of Tokyo was one of several areas that suffered from Nise-kisha hauntings, until one night the steam train driver decided not to stop but to keep running as the phantom train came rushing towards him. All he heard was a thud and a cry of gyah, and he knew he had run over some animal. Sure enough, it was a raccoon dog, huffing out its last breaths. 

Feeling pity for the animal, a priest at the nearby Kenshō-ji Temple buried it in the temple grounds and had a stele made as its grave, marked Mujina-zuka or “badger tomb.” This one-of-a-kind gravesite can still be found at the temple to this day, though its history is not explicitly stated.