The Sad Tale of the Principal Post is a Horror Short Story by Junji Ito. It was included at the end of Gyo.
The story focuses on a family who are celebrating the completion of their new house, only to then find out that the father isn't with them. They manage to locate him... and are shocked to find out he somehow ended up stuck under the principal post: the main pillar holding the house up.
The Sad Tale of the Principal Post contains examples of:
- Bittersweet Ending: Or a Downer Ending depending on how you look at it. Knowing that his house will likely be destroyed if he's saved, the father chooses to die a slow and painful death being crushed by the principal post of his house. However, he dies surrounded by family and friends, and his family gets to keep their house because of his sacrifice.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: The father is slowly crushed to death by the principal post of his house, with the whole weight of the home bearing down on him.
- Face Death with Dignity: Knowing that his family's new house will likely be destroyed if the principal post is moved to save him, the father chooses to die supporting his house.
- Help, I'm Stuck!: The father of the family somehow ended up stuck underneath the main support pillar of the house. No one ever finds out how he got there, and in the end, he dies with the secret.
- Riddle for the Ages: How exactly did the father get under that pillar? When asked how he ended up down there, the father simply answers "It's a long story".
