Legends and Genitals of Japan

Vagina Epilogue: A Royal Mess

I was reading up yet another travel site in preparation for my trip to Japan. At one informative and earnest government tourism site, I came upon this description for an ancient tomb:

A large tomb mound that is said to be the burial ground of a noble princess. The princess married "Ohmononushi", the deity of Mt. Miwa. One day the princess learned that her husband was a snake and screamed aloud in surprise. Her husband, the deity, returned to Mt. Miwa.

So far so good, right? In fact, you're probably already rather bored. You think she's gonna kill herself in despair and thousands of years later, her burial ground becomes the tourist attraction of a rather sleepy town. Think again.

The princess was so distraught she killed her private parts by stabbing herself with hashi(chopsticks). This is how Hashihaka (the Chopstick Tomb) was named.

Pretty violent and pornographic even by the standards of legends, no? And wait, why was she so distraught she decides to 'kill her private parts'? It wasn't her private parts that screamed and scared away her husband, was it? Why didn't she just slit her throat? And besides, how do you 'kill' your private parts? Suicide by self-mutilation of the genitalia - with chopsticks! - has got to be the worst and stupidest way to die.