Among those banished to Chiburijima Island around the year 1200 was the Priest Mongaku.

During his life here, Mongaku constantly cursed Emperor Go-Toba—the man who ordered his banishment. One day, he told a friend in Chiburijima:
“I will be going to a cave in Nishinoshima Island to train and I probably won’t come back to Chiburijima. Everyday I will be making signal fires, and I’d like you to look for them. If there’s ever a day that you don’t see this fire, just assume I’ve died.”

This friend would watch for the signal fire and sigh in relief to know Mongaku was safe. One day, however, this fire was nowhere to be seen. Rushing over to Nishinoshima, he found his friend Mongaku dead, sitting in the “seiza” position in prayer. He brought Mongaku’s corpse to Chiburijima and made a grave for him here, looking out upon the cave where Mongaku would train.

Strangely enough, Emperor Go-Toba was soon exiled to the Oki Archipelago himself, perhaps due to the curses Mongaku laid on him. Thereafter, something mysterious would happen to his descendant, Emperor Go-Daigo.