miminashi houichi

Rendered in English as "Hoichi the Earless". A famous folk tale from Japan. Concerns a blind biwa player named Houichi whose prowess lead to him being bewitched by ghosts. Upon learning this, a priest painted the Heart Sutra across his body, making him invisible to ghosts. Unfortunately, the priest had neglected to write it on his ears, which were torn off when a ghost was sent to collect Houichi.